For the first time in the ongoing series the West Indies' batting came together.
When Darren Sammy called correctly in the morning, even he wouldn't have imagined his batsmen would vindicate his decision in such a spectacular style.
With Shivnarine Chanderpaul, their batting mainstay, failing to recover from injury, the West Indies captain would have, at most, expected his team to somehow survive the day.
He was in for a shock, though, as was the Indian team and spectators. The West Indies top order not only offered staunch resistance, but also made significant contributions, all the four frontline batsmen registering half-centuries.
The end result: The West Indies ended the opening day of the third Test against India at the Wankhede stadium comfortably placed on 267 for 2.
Kirk Edwards was unbeaten on 65, and giving him company was Darren Bravo, on 57, the duo having put together a valuable 117 runs for the third wicket.
With the visitors having already lost the series, following defeats in the first two Tests at the Ferozshah Kotla and Eden Gardens respectively, it was all about them playing for pride and ensuring respectability in the final margin.
Adrian Barath and Kraigg Brathwaite started off in achieving just that, putting on 137 runs for the opening wicket.
Barath's 148-ball 62 was his fourth Test fifty, his second against India and second in succession following his 62 in the second innings in the Kolkata Test. The 21-year-old's innings was inclusive of eight hits to the fence.
Brathwaite's 184-ball 68, on the other hand, was his third Test half century, his second against India, following his 62 in the first innings of the Kotla Test.
It was the best opening wicket partnership for West Indies in the series. More importantly, the duo negotiated the opening session, and a good part of the second, to lay a solid foundation for the visitors.
Though the two fell in quick succession, Ashwin helping himself to both the wickets, they had done the job they were expected to do. And well at that!
It was left to Edwards and Bravo to carry forward from then on, and, to their credit, they did so with aplomb.
Edwards's fifty was his third in Tests, his second against the hosts, following his 60 in the second innings at Eden Gardens. The 27-year-old's 117-ball knock was inclusive of 10 hits to the fence.
Bravo, having scored a spectacular 136 in the second essay at Eden, served a perfect follow-up to the same, his 98-ball innings -- his sixth Test fifty and third against India â"studded with seven boundaries.
The 22-year-old rode his luck to good effect, after being dropped at first slip by Dravid (off Ojha) when on 33.
All of that didn't matter though as the West Indies batsmen gave a good account of themselves on a wicket that was conducive for the same.
R Ashwin was the pick of the Indian bowlers with figures of two for 86.
Debutant Varun Aaron toiled for 16 overs sans success. He generated some pace and bounce at times, though.
On the whole it was a disappointing bowling effort by the hosts, coupled with good batting by the visitors.
The final score (of the day) provided an apt indication of how things panned out and which team called the shots.
And, yes, after 91 overs had been bowled, Sammy could afford to flash that smile. He had enough reason to be happy.
