India vs. Pakistan - 3rd Final - Match
Report
When the Indian openers, Saurav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar walked
to
the crease, every Indian cricket fan present at the Dhaka National
Stadium bore a grim expression on his or her face.
For the Indians had their
backs to the wall. Due to some listless bowling and depressing fielding,
they had allowed rival batting mainstays Saeed Anwar and Ijaz Ahmed to
help themselves to centuries as Pakistan piled up a mammoth 314/5 in the
third and decisive final of the Coca Cola Indpendence Cup.
And then, of course, there
was India's none-too-impressive record while chasing and the fact that
Pakistan had bowlers like Saqlain Mushtaq, Aquib Javed and Mohammed Hussain
in their ranks.
Could it be done? Could
India defy all odds to chase 314 runs to win - something never achieved
before?? "No", millions of watchers around the
world would have answered. "Yes", replied the Indian XI.
And it was this rare and
commendable grit coupled with a never-say-die attitude which carried them
through to one of the most thrilling victories ever in the history of the
game.
The tone was set early when
Sachin got singled out Azhar Mahmood for special treatment, when he smashed
the medium pacer to all parts of the park in an exhilarating display of
destructive batsmanship.
Luckily for the Pakistanis,
Sachin didn't last beyond the eighth over when he holed out to mid-on,
off Shahid Afridi. But he hadn't departed without doing major damage, with
his whirlwind 41 coming off a mere 26 balls.
After his more flamboyant
partner's dismissal, Ganguly decided to take the Pak attack by the scruff
of its neck. He was given fantastic suppoprt by that wonderful fighter
Robin Singh, as the two southpaws added 179 for the second wicket. Robin
- whose occassional elevations to the one-drop slot has produced mixed
results - played a common sense game, while the elegant Ganguly made the
big hits. Their stand put India on course for victory, and with Azhar,
Jadeja and Sidhu to follow, they firmly held the upper hand.
That's when everything began
to go wrong. First, Robin played a tired shot when on 82, to be consumed
by Aquib Javed in the deep of Mohammed Hussain. Then, began India's troubles
with the light. The umpires, Rudy Koertzen and Russell Tiffin, began using
the light meter periodically and with the possibilities of the match being
abandoned due to poor light increasing, everyone's calculators began clicking.
Eventually, it was decided that should play be called off after forty overs,
India would have to have scored at least 289 runs to win on run rate, else
it would be Pakistan's trophy. This despite the fact that {Pakistan reached
289 only in the 45th over! Absurd, but true. The light began deteriorating
quickly and in the 40th over itself, with India on 258 for two, the umpires
decided the light was inadequate for play. So it looked like it was all
over for India and they would have to console themselves with second place.
But, determined not to let
go after reaching so close, Ganguly and Azhar (who came in after Robin
Singh was out) staged a silent protest by refusing to budge from the centre
even after the Pakistanis and the two umpires had made their way back to
the pavilion. This prompted match referee Mike Dennes to have a word with
the umpires and the two rival managers. And after about ten minutes of
dicussion, some sort of compromise was reached whereby a new white ball
will be used and the temporary football lights would be brought in to operation.
So the match re-started,
but the Indians were unable to maintain the momentum they had before the
disruption. Azhar, who never really settled down, was dismissed by Saqlain
for 4. To make matters worse, after completing his second one-day hundred,
Ganguly departed with 40 runs still needed from 5.2 overs. Sidhu joined
Jadeja, but was sent back to the pavilion 7 runs later after being adjudjed
leg before to Saqlain. With ninetenn still needed off fifteen balls, Jadeja
was bowled for 8 giving Saqlian his thrid scalp. To all the world, the
match was over.
But the men out there in
the middle had different idead. Nayan Mongia made amends for the sitter
he dropped earlier in the day, by smashing one four before perishing while
attempting a cheeky single.
This brought Hrishiskesh
Kanitkar and Javagal Srinath together - one a new comer to the world stage,
the other a seasoned campaigner, both under immense pressure.
With nine to get off the
final over, Kanitkar squeezed a single. Then Saqlain induced a top edge
from Srinath, only to seed the ball drop between three converging fielders,
much to his dismay. For India, the couple of runs that shot yielded was
all that mattered. Srinath managed to get another couple of the next ball,
making the equation 4 from 3. Wisely, he stayed away from heroics by taking
one a giving Kanitkar the strike.
Now, 3 off 2, Saqlain to
Hrishikesh; flattish ball ... pitched up ... batsman down on one knee ...
big heave ... the ball races past the boundary ropes ... Kanitkar was an
instant hero ... India had wona great victory.
A great victory, not only
because it was a world beating performance, but also becuase it showed
that our lads have the ability to fight from behind and defeat goods sides
in pressure cooker
conditions.
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Whats the reason for the slump?
From Toronto tigers to Sharjah sissies, what's the reason for yet another
slump in Indian cricket?? Pretty simple. The youth of the side which contested
the Sahara Cup successfully was inexplicably absent at the Champions Trophy,
and the selectors were back to using the tried, tested and unsuccessful.
The promise which our side showed in Toronto needed to be nurtured, not
dismissed as was done by the five wise men. Debashish Mohanty and Harvinder
Singh were admittedly raw quickies, but they both had in them tremendous
potential and were agressive, mean and not willing to give an inch. What
they required was careful handling which would enable them to learn and
develop into really top class pacemen. Instead they were dropped like hot
potatoes and relegated to the grind of domestic cricket. Then there was
Hrishikesh Kanitkar, the elegant southpaw from Poona, who - with his all
round capabilities - seemed just what our national side needed. But he
too was discarded without a fair trial and unfortunately yet another promising
youngster has been nipped in the bud.
If for any vague reason,
the selectors feel these three youngsters are unfit to play for India,
then it isn't that they have a lack of other young talent to choose from.
VVS Laxman, Gagan Khoda, Wasim Jaffer, Nikhil Chopra, Sairaj Bahutule,
Ashu Dani, Shafiq Khan, Amol Muzumdar ... there is certainly no dearth
of gifted yound blood.
And if what the selectors
are looking for is inspiration, then all they have to do is cast a glance
across the borders on either side. Both Pakistan and Sri Lanka have not
been afraid to pick young raw cricketers into their national teams. And
the results are there for all to see. People like Shahid Afridi, Ravindra
Pushpakumara and Saqlain Mushtaq are forces to reckon with in international
cricket today.
It's now time for the head
haunchos of the game in India to emulate their neighbours and understand
the value of infusing youth into the national side. This might just be
the tonic needed to reverse the fortunes of a demoralised and disillusioned
team. |
They've done it yet again. Yes, the Indian selectors have once more defied
common sense and scaled new pinnacles of idiocy by getting rid of a whole
bunch of promising cricketers. And one of the unfortunate victims of these
daft and foolhardy men who's myopic vision is fast leading to the demise
of the game in India, is Rahul Sharad Dravid - one of the most talented
and promising cricketers on today's international scene.
Ever since Dravid entered
the international stage he has been thrust with the tag of "crisis man"
and the cool authority with which he has dealt with the pressure has won
him praise from all quarters -- except the selectors'. In their profound
wisdom, the men in the hot seat claim he is unfit for the limited-overs
game and that he is a "test match player".
They've obviously not been
watching him -- for Rahul Dravid is the same guy who has time and again
rescued India from precarious positions in the one-day game by playing
solid, dour cricket; he is the same guy who slammed Alan Donald straight
over his head with utmost disdain for a six (and believe me that's no easy
task)en route to a quickfire 84 at Durban; he is the same guy who blasted
a hundred against the Pakistanis in the Independence Cup when faced with
an imposing target of well over 300. The past twelve months or so have
been full of instances where Rahul Dravid has played to the requirements
of the team -- slowly and surely on dicey tracks, solidly when the going
was good and quickly when fast runs were the needs of the hour.
They have also clearly not
been watching others around them. Solid, technically sound chaps like Marvan
Attapattu, Graeme Thorpe, Shivnarine Chnaderpaul and Roshan Mahanama have
proved to be valuable assets to their one-day sides despite not having
the ability to belt the ball to all parts of the park. Dravid's fine technique
and temperament have and will most defintiely in the future stand Indian
cricket in good stead in the shortened variety of the game.
If even all these facts
didn't convince the selctors that Dravid is amongst the best fourteen
players to be found in the country, then one look at the record books should
have. This year, the Karnataka lad has aggregated 951 runs at a fanatastic
average of 39.62 (only the Prince of Calcutta Saurav Ganguly has a better
average than him for this year amongst the current lot). His record this
season against Sri Lanka (against whom India minus Dravid is playing a
one-day series) is not to be belittled either. Only Azhar (who, incidentally,
was also on the selectors' hit list!) has scored more consistently than
Dravid's 39.29 . Even the much-hyped stars -- Ganguly (at 29.00), Tendulkar
(at 36.71), Jadeja (at 34.88) and Sidhu (at 23.00) -- fall pale in comparison
to Dravid's performance against the awesome Lanakns this year.
So - regardless of the result
in the India-Lanka series - the message is loud and clear -- BRING HIM
BACK! And the sooner this is done, the better it will be for Rahul Dravid's
confidence, for the selectors' already badly tainted image and, above all,
for Indian cricket. |
I've never ever been particularly good at keeping promises or new year
resolutions and, so, I don't make them. But I can think of a lot of
people related to Indian cricket who will not only have to make some
new
year pledges and promises, but also make sure that they keep their
word.
Here's a list of some of them --
(1) Sachin Tendulkar : Stripped of captaincy, it will be upto the little
maestro to put the past behind him and aim to revive his hunger for
runs. What ever happens, don't play in the angry and irresponsible
manner in which Azhar did when he was removed as captain in mid-'96.
(2) Mohammed Azharuddin : Back to the captain's position after over
a
year and a half, the stylish Hyderabadi will have to play more
responsibly than he has been doing of late. If he uses his seniority
and
class as well possible then he might just be able to reverse the dipping
fortunes of Indian cricket.
(3) The selectors : Undoubtedly the villains of Indian cricket in '97,
the onus is on the five "wise" men to mend their reputations. Continuity
in the side should be their top priority (they don't seem to have made
too bright a start by removing Sachin from the captain's slot!)
(4) The BCCI : Another gang with plenty to do, the mandarins of Indian
cricket should look to put an end to their senseless squabbling and
politicking. Hopefully, on their list are positive moves such as setting
up of a comprehensive cricket academy in the country and making sure
that influential positions go to former test players. It's also high
time that Raj Singh Dungarpur finds his spine and actually wields his
power as Board president instead of being a mere puppet in the hands
of
the ICC (read Jagmohan Dalmiya).
(5) Cricket critics : Endless nagging and silly criticism can certainly
be done without. Support our players, they're trying their best!!
(6) Indian crowds : Cricket followers in the country must learn to
accept defeat graciously. How ever stupidly our guy's play, there is
absolutely no excuse for disrupting matches by unruly behaviour. |
