Confident Indian team on a mission

By Vijay Lokapally

HARARE, MAY 25. ``Practice at four.'' The announcement from coach John Wright was just a soft reminder to the boys about their priorities. Two hours after landing the Indian players were to report in the lobby to make a trip to the Harare Sports Club.

There were no sullen faces. No disgruntled murmurs. The team too appeared keen to get on with the job even if there were no traces of jet-lag at the end of a long haul which carried the players from Mumbai to Johannesburg to Harare.

It may not convey much but it does reflect on the fact that the team well understands it is on a mission here. To break the long, barren spell of winless assignments overseas. The skipper, Sourav Ganguly, and his deputy, Rahul Dravid have a few plans lined up but more about that later.

On the flight to Harare from Johannesburg, Ganguly and Dravid found their way to the cockpit to chat with the captain and the co-pilot. The Indians were keen to know of the weather conditions they would encounter in Zimbabwe over the next few days while their friends in the cockpit had some uncomfortable querries on the match-fixing episodes. Of course, the conversation drifted away from the ugly side of the game even as Ganguly and Dravid enjoyed the experience.

Ganguly and Dravid will have greater responsibilities to handle and their past knowledge of the place should keep them on their toes. They have some tough navigation ahead and the maturity shown by these two in the recent series at home against Australia does indicate rosy times for Indian cricket.

The camp at Bangalore has obviously done good since much of the time was spent in chalking out tactics for this tour and the subsequent ones. The seniors are going to take care of the newcomers in the squad and the signs were clear from the manner in which the players mingled with each other throughout the flight. ``One has to guide them,'' said Ganguly on his role. Obvious thing to say for a captain but it did send quite a meaningful message. The emphasis will be on a collective effort and that is what Wright has tried to instill in the minds of the players. ``One man can't win a match,'' is the loud refrain.

The team, young and combative, looked fit even as one remembered the squad which played Zimbabwe in the one-off Test here in October, 1992. From that squad, only Tendulkar and Javagal Srinath, on their third visit here, remain in the fray and it goes to suggest how times have changed. Apart from Tendulkar, the biggest hit with the fans on the flight and the airports were V.V.S. Laxman and Harbhajan Singh, the two new stars on the Indian cricket horizon.

Tendulkar was flocked by Sameer Dighe, Sairaj Bahutule and Zaheer Khan, all on their first visits to Zimbabwe even as Ajit Agarkar recalled his Test debut here in 1998. Few would like to remember that visit which saw Zimbabwe win the one-off Test and few from that team have made it to Harare this time.

S. Ramesh, Hemang Badani, Shiv Sunder Das, Ashish Nehra, also making their first visits to Zimbabwe, had plenty of questions to ask on playing conditions. In the evening, Tendulkar will possibly have them as visitors in his room, readily sharing his wisdom. Add to that the input of Wright and manager Chetan Chauhan, known for his gutsy approach as Sunil Gavaskar's partner in many rousing partnerships. Part of his courage at the crease seems to have been acquired by the players (Laxman and Dravid) while a couple of them were keen to know about his exploits in details.

The welcome for the team was low key even as the Acting High Commissioner, Mr. D. Ramamoorthy, and his colleague Mr. Anil Kumar were at hand to facilitate their progress at the newly- built airport. The streets were deserted, what with the city closed on account of Africa Day.

The Indian cricketers, who made a quiet entry to Zimbabwe on Friday, were confident of catching everyone's attention with their deeds on the field by the time they leave and the practice session, after a brief rest, was the first step in that direction.

The tour begins on Monday with a three-day match against Zimbabwe `A' at Mutare. Physiotherapist Andrew Leipus, away for his wedding, will join the team on June 6.

* * *

India's itinerary

HARARE, MAY 25. Following is India's itinerary for the Zimbabwe series:

Vs CFX Academy at Harare from May 28 to 30.

Vs Zimbabwe at Mutare from June 2 to 4.

Ist Test at Harare from June 7 to 11.

IInd Test at Bulawayo from June 15 to 19.

Triangular series from June 23 to July 7.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Sport
Previous : The spotlight is now on Meenakshi
Next     : Pakistan may face India in Asian Test tourney