India falters but edges past inexperienced Zimbabwe
The rest days during a tournament can sometimes bring about unwarranted hassles for the team management
Woorkheri Raman
27-Oct-2000
The rest days during a tournament can sometimes bring about unwarranted
hassles for the team management. This was experienced recently by Sourav
Ganguly. His statement about a decent personal score resulting in a victory
for the team being preferable to a century without serving the team's
purpose was made into a sensational item of news in some quarters.
Ganguly's fault was in referring to the number of hundreds made, and that
gave room for speculation that he was subtly hinting at Sachin Tendulkar.
Ganguly should realise that his statements will be dissected, as he is the
captain of the team. Fortunately, Tendulkar was professional enough to
disregard all these minor issues.
As the controversy was gradually brewing up, the Indians took on Zimbabwe
on Diwali day. Ironically, the match had no real sparks or fireworks to go
with the occasion. The inexperience in the Zimbabwean ranks and the
irritating habit of the Indians to make heavy weather of things highlighted
the day's proceedings.
Ganguly obviously felt confident that his team could chase any total. This
prompted him to insert the opponents on winning the toss. The Zimbabweans
had only an outside chance of qualifying to the final and as such they made
a lot of changes to give it all they had. Grant Flower opened with Alistair
Campbell and it was very clear that Flower was out of touch. His
frustration led him to charge Prasad and this resulted in his downfall.
Campbell, who has been consistent for Zimbabwe in recent times, played an
innings which was a good mixture of caution and aggression. He was not
provided adequate support by the middle order batsmen, with exception of
Andy Flower. Unfortunately for Zimbabwe, Andy Flower's dismissal signaled the
beginning of the end for them. Campell however, continued responsibly and
carried the bat. His innings was uncharacteristic as he is a batsman who
basically likes to play shots. Campbell's ton gave Zimbabwe's total a hint
of respectability. Despte Campbell's effort, the total was not a difficult
target to chase by any standard.
Left arm speedster Zaheer Khan is making his presence felt every time he
has the leather sphere in his hands and he once again emerged as the most
successful bowler for India. Prasad bowled within himself but showed what
experience is all about.
Dravid's injury forced India to start off with the most established opening
pair - Ganguly and Tendulkar, with Sriram filling up the vital number three
spot. The Indian followers would have expected the match to be more of a
formality but the Zimbabweans were determined to give the Indians a run for
their money. Tendulkar was dismissed early on, which gave a lot of heart to
Heath Streak and his boys. Travis Friend worked up a fair bit of pace as
usual and also accounted for Sriram whose mistimed pull was snapped up at
fine leg. The Tamil Nadu southpaw would do well to bat normally, as he is
capable of keeping the scoreboard ticking over without taking undue risks.
Vinod Kambli, who was given another opportunity to make or break his future
in the One-Dayers joined Ganguly out in the middle. He played with aplomb
and his partnership with Ganguly consolidated the India innings before
Ganguly departed after a responsible knock. At this juncture the Indians
had the game in the bag but what transpired shortly was totally unexpected.
The Singh twins, Yuvraj and Robin departed in quick succession that made
the game evenly poised. Kambli, involved in the mix up with Robin Singh,
soon played an indiscrete shot, and he too perished.
Vijay Dahiya and Sunil Joshi stemmed the rot, and played sensibly. Their
partnership was vital since an early dismissal of either would have made
life miserable for the Indians. Dahiya departed playing a typical One-Day
shot and Agarkar's positive attitude ensured a victory for the Indians. The
tailenders once again contributed for the Indians and this is one area in
which they were found wanting in the past. As for Zimbabwe, they can take
heart from the fact that a very promising mediumpacer, Travis Friend, has
come along very well.