NEW DELHI: India's third-highest successful run chase in Tests wasn't as easy as it was made to look by the Big Four.
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Though the bleak, winless past few months of away cricket can't be brushed under the remains of the Feroz Shah Kotla turf, the clinical precision with which Sehwag, Dravid, Tendulkar and Laxman crafted a chase of 276 was proof India's batting domination at home is still formidable.
This one might not have come against a top-class attack but it was a tricky low pitch on which only the supremely patient and skilful had succeeded.
India have now not lost at Kotla since 1987, when the shoe was on the other foot and the West Indies won by an identical margin of 5 wickets.
The seamless finish to India's first Test win in six outings masked the topsy-turvy nature this contest had acquired over the past three days.
After India's mighty came undone in the first innings and gifted a 95-run lead to West Indies, Virender Sehwag seemed at pains to emphasise, "We got out to soft dismissals. We will not make the same mistake again." His comfort talk couldn't hide the jitters.
The inevitability of the win as Tendulkar and Laxman went about their task on Wednesday would have come as big relief.
In the end, the West Indies came away disappointed but knowing they could punch above their weight in these conditions. Spin proved to be their undoing, as expected. A more assured approach from the other batsmen was needed in the second innings to support Chanderpaul and Sammy's fine efforts.
As MS Dhoni hinted, India had only themselves to blame for having to pull off a rescue act.
For a while, the looming prospect of Sachin Tendulkar's 100th international century nearly overshadowed the proceedings. India had needed 124 at the start of play on the fourth day, with Tendulkar (76; 148b, 10x4) batting on 33.
Ten runs into the day's play, a peach of an incoming delivery from Fidel Edwards, who had got the reverse swing going early, sneaked past Dravid's defences to leave India at 162/3.
Enter fourth-innings specialist and miracle man VVS Laxman (58 not out; 105b, 6x4), from whom a big innings was overdue. Laxman got going with a trademark flick to the boundary off a loose one from Edwards. With Tendulkar too holding firm, the Windies gradually relinquished all hopes of a turnaround.
At one stage, with the result of the match a foregone conclusion, Laxman slowed down. Tendulkar had entered the 70s and the 100th ton seemed as inevitable as the win.
That was to be the only twist in the day's play as a Bishoo googly, and the low pitch, contrived to change the script. Amid gasps of disappointment, it was left to Laxman to finish the job. With the scores level, there was some minor drama as Yuvraj fell to a shooter from Sammy but the target hadn't proved big enough to challenge India.
This has been a smooth end to a bumpy ride for MS Dhoni's men and they will be hoping the rest of the series goes easier. There have been some important gains: the return to form of Laxman and Sehwag, and some wickets in the bag for the new spin duo of Pragyan Ojha and Man of the Match Ashwin.
The second Test begins in Kolkata on Monday.
