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India makes a heavy weather of it
We can trust the Indians to huff and puff their way to victory,
when they appear to be coasting. This has been seen time and
again, and at Bulawayo, the Indians almost blew a match they had
in their grasp.
Full marks to the solid Rahul Dravid for holding his nerve and
guiding the side home, and for a change, Ajit Agarkar, played a
useful knock towards the end.
However, the Indians did not exactly cover themselves with glory,
losing their way against Grant Flower's part-time left-arm spin.
Against a stronger side, with more depth in the attack, they
might well have paid a heavier price.
On the positive side, it was a welcome return to form by Sourav
Ganguly, who must be a much relieved man after enduring a barren
run.
Credit is due to him for working his way through a bad patch when
the self doubts must have crept in. It is essential for the
captain to lead by example and seen in that context too, this is
a good sign for Indian cricket.
The Bengal batsman did produce some pleasing shots and the sound
of the ball hitting the middle of the bat must have been music to
Ganguly's ears. Success following periods of frustration and
anguish is always sweeter.
The other nice aspect of India's second successive win in this
tournament was Dinesh Mongia's promotion to the No 3. slot. It is
against the weaker teams like Zimbabwe that the young batsmen
should be allowed to get a feel of international cricket.
Even if the batsman in question fails to do the job, the seniors
following him can always close out the contest. In this case,
Mongia, who does appear a compact southpaw, did not fare badly,
but the men following him, save Dravid, struggled. There is
nothing wrong with the idea though.
Given that spearhead Heath Streak was absent from the attack, the
target of 230 odd should not have troubled the Indians, but they
stumbled before the winning runs were registered amid needless
tension.
Coming to the Zimbabwean batting, one felt the Indians let the
opponent off the hook. Some of the bowling after the initial
successes was tardy and the fielding, especially the catching,
was below par.
Consistency is what the Indians require. They are brilliant on
the field one day, and then they slip up in the next.
Agarkar, quite superb in the first game, was wayward sending down
all those wides and no-balls, and the team- management has to
ensure that these vital extra balls and runs are not given away.
On the other hand, Zaheer Khan impressed once again, and a
healthy competition seems to be developing between Zaheer and
Ashish Nehra, a good sign for Indian cricket, for this can only
bring the best out of the two young left-arm pacemen.
The Zimbabweans managed to make a reasonable recovery and Guy
Whittall, a spunky batsman, was innovative in the end overs. Even
those runs should not have made it difficult for India.
But then, the same old story continued, with the Indians finally
making it, but only just.
K SRIKKANTH
www.krishsrikkanth.com
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