5 heartbreaking Test losses for India where they failed to build on crucial moments

#2 West Indies vs India, Barbados 1997

Those were the days when an Indian win hinged on how one man performed. That man was India's skipper, the Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar. And those credentials were further established when in his failure, India failed to chase down a poultry 120 runs on a Kennington oval pitch which had considerable patches of grass aiding pace and Bounce to the point of treacherous, coupled with prodigious lateral movement off the seam. "The pitch is a killer", reckoned Geoffrey Boycott on air as India's opener Navjot Singh Sidhu got out to an unplayable ball from Franklyn Rose. The ball had nipped back in with prodigious bounce, offering a simple catch to slip.

At 2/16, in walked Tendulkar, with hopes of a billion hinged on his shoulders. Tendulkar had asserted his author early in the game when he compiled an outstanding 92 helping India post 319 in reply to West Indies first innings total of 298, thanks to Shiv Narine Chanderpaul's magnificent 137. Tendulkar had VVS Laxman (19) for a company who surprisingly looked more at ease against Ambrose (3/36), cutting and pulling ferociously than Rose (3/19) who eventually bowled him with an absolute 'Jaffer'.

However, the match-defining moment came when the little champion Sachin Tendulkar, poked at a seemingly innocuous delivery from Ian Bishop (4/22) wide of the off stump. Tendulkar went for a mere 4 and with him went India's hopes too as they were bowled out for an embarrassing 81, 38 runs adrift of the target.

The day that had started with India standing at the brink of their first win in the Carribean since their 404 run chase at Port of Spain, 1976 ended in anguish and agony of yet another overseas defeat.

West Indies 298 (Shiv Naraine Chanderpaul 137, Venkatesh Prasad 5/82) & 140 (Brian Lara 45, A.Kuruvilla 5/68) beat India 319 (Sachin Tendulkar 92, Franklyn Rose 4/77) & 81 (VVS Laxman 19, Ian Bishop 4/22) by 38 runs.