A day for Hayden and Harbhajan

A wonderful day's cricket at the Eden Gardens, watched by over 75,000 people, ended with Australia at 291-8. And two men, one on either side, dominated the day with performances of character.

Matthew Lawrence Hayden, from Kingaroy, Queensland, has long been a dominant opener at the first class level, with a career average over 50 and 46 centuries. Tall as a church steeple, possessed of good timing, solid technique, and a crunching cut and pull, Hayden had somehow failed to reproduce his first-class form at the international level. Making his debut in South Africa 7 long years ago, Hayden shuffled in and out of the test side without ever getting a truly extended run, playing 12 test innings in six years. He continued to excel at the first class level in both Australia and England, and was never entirely forgotten by the Australian selectors even if his next chance came only after the failures of both Blewett and Elliot.

Since his comeback to the Australian side a season ago, Hayden had played 6 tests against New Zealand and West Indies prior to the India tour, without completely establishing himself in the team. He looked good in the home tests against West Indies, but twice paid the price for his opening partner's misjudgements when appearing to be on the verge of major scores.

Thus India was a vital moment in Matthew Hayden's career. At his age another failure would certainly doom his international prospects for good, and a terrific player and excellent teammate would go down as yet another "firstclass bully", who could not cut it at the international level. For Hayden India was the very definition of a make-or-break tour.

It takes more than just ability to perform at those times - it takes a certain strength of character to buckle down and produce one's best under that sort of pressure. Hayden, supposedly suspect against spin and with his best strokes unlikely to be of as much use in the low-bouncing conditions in India, has demonstrated that character in spades. Not a member of the Australian One Day squad, he spent his time off after the West Indies tests working hard on specially prepared slower and low-bounce pitches readying for his Indian experience.

When his team was reeling at 99/5 in the first test, Hayden had scored half of the runs and was still there, bloodied but unbowed. When Gilchrist came in and was shaky at the start, it was Hayden who was the calming influence. When Gilchrist played an incandescent knock that took the game away from the Indians, Hayden played the perfect foil - rotating the strike, but always putting the bad balls away with power and precision. His hundred, while not quite receiving the hosannas of the crowd that Gilchrist's did, was just as vital a knock - and was greeted with as much acclaim by his teammates, who knew just how important it had been.

Yesterday in Calcutta, Hayden was qualitatively a different player from the one we have previously seen at the international level. His confidence on a high after Bombay, he blossomed into full flower at the Eden Gardens - the strokes flowing from his bat had the stamp of authority we have often seen from the man in the first-class game but never before today at the test level.

Venkatesh Prasad was picked out for special treatment early - three times he strayed on leg-stump, and each time he was on-driven with perfect timing and a minimum of effort for boundaries through mid-wicket. He was cut with power past point, and twice gorgeously off-driven for fours, as Hayden comfortably outscored his partner early.

When Harbajan Singh came on, Hayden jumped down his throat right away - a sweep to the vacant mid-wicket bringing back immediate memories of the Wankhede. He was then smacked for 2 sixes, before Slater joined in the fun, hitting another six over mid-wicket the last ball before lunch.

Harbajan had gone for 29 runs in 4 overs before he was taken off, and the pressure on this young man was intense - just as intense as it had been on Hayden at the start of this tour.

Seen as a bright new hope for Indian spin, Harbajan Singh of Jullundar in Punjab had been brought into the Indian side the last time Australia toured when he was still only 17. He suffered through a questioning of his action before being cleared, but it was not the end of his troubles - the Indian selectors are notoriously fickle, and have an especially poor track record of nurturing young talent thrust in before it is ready.

Harbajan was a semi-regular in the test side before his 18th birthday. Forced to learn "on the job" as it were, he still produced fair performances, playing 8 tests by the time he was 19 and always showing the potential of more. But one poor match on a flat track against New Zealand doomed him - he was cast into the wilderness for nigh on 2 full seasons. It was only selectorial desperation, with Kumble injured and Joshi and Karthik bowling abysmally against Zimbabwe, that enabled Harbajan to come back into national contention.

Returning for the Wankhede test match, Harbajan bowled beautifully on the 2nd morning, claiming 3 top-order wickets as Australia slid to 99/5. But as Gilchrist and Hayden attacked and Harbajan tired, he began to be taken for runs. With no support at the other end, Ganguly had to keep the tiring Harbajan on for almost 3 hours continuously, and his figures took a beating. He claimed 4 wickets, but failed to spike the guns of his critics.

As late at this morning, many expected Harbajan to be left out of the side for his Punjab team-mate Sharandeep Singh. The Conventional Wisdom of the "experts", so often wrong and long the bane of Indian cricket, was already fitting him for the damning label of "talented, but lacking the temperament at test level" - a label that has cost India countless young prospects over the years. When Australia came out after tea cruising at 193/1, it was not only Indian cricket that was in the doldrums, but Harbajan Singh as well. As young and as talented as he is, his neck was on the block.

And, just as Hayden had, Harbajan Singh responded - and came up with one of the best spells seen from an Indian spinner in years.

Finally given a deep mid-wicket for the left-hander by his captain (a test and 2 sessions too late), he induced an inner-edge loft from Hayden, having him caught by the newly placed fielder. Worked away on leg-side by the everelegant Mark Waugh, he bowled a gorgeous straighter one that caught his edge for Mongia to do the rest.

And then came the over that 75,000 Calcuttans will always remember, and perhaps a million will claim to have been present for down the ages. Ponting was pinned by the length and beaten by the turn - plumb leg before. Gilchrist was trapped similarly the very next ball - an excellent piece of bowling, if a very fortuitous decision. And, amid decibel levels no other cricket ground in the world can approach, Warne was brilliantly caught by a diving Ramesh at short-leg next ball. The first hat-trick by an Indian in a test match in history - by a man who, 5 hours earlier, had almost been left out of the side!

In one session after tea, Harbajan Singh bowled 20 overs, and claimed 5 for 37. On a fair batting track, on a first day's pitch, he single-handedly changed the course of a test match, and perhaps the test series. Under severe pressure on a personal level and with his team under the cosh, he wrote himself into Indian cricketing history.

One of the great attributes of test-match cricket is that it reveals a man's character, as no other game in the world can. In four days of cricket this series, we have been privilaged to witness two men from different worlds undergo a similar trial by fire, and come through with flying colours. They have been tested as never before, have stood up to it with courage, and in the process have demonstrated to critics and fans in two countries the sterling character of which they were made.

It has been a pleasure to watch.