Kambli steals the show

By Sharda Ugra

MUMBAI, APRIL 19. In keeping with the flavour of the season, if there were to be any bets on which Mumbai batsman would wrest control of the proceedings on the first day of the Ranji Trophy final, Vinod Kambli would not have been the odds-on favourite.

The maverick left-hander scored his fourth Ranji hundred this season in front of an adoring Wankhede Stadium today, under trying circumstances. Mumbai was 303 for six at stumps after being put in. If the home team holds any aces at the moment, it is because of Kambli's measured 108 and his explosive 69-minute, 104-run fourth-wicket stand with Sachin Tendulkar which has left the Hyderabad's medium pacers a chastened lot.

Half an hour after lunch, the two schoolmates tore into the Hyderabad bowling, hitting 60 runs in seven overs, with only the Hyderabad spinners preventing total pillage. While a Kambli- Tendulkar partnership will always command centrestage, the occasions when the left-hander out-dazzles his more famous righthanded buddy are rare. This was one of those days, as Kambli walked in at 72 for three, the openers got out to the medium pacers and No. 3 Jatin Paranjpe, to one of umpire Jasbir Singh's less explicable decisions.

Ten days ago, Kambli lost his mother. Before coming to the ground this morning, he took part in traditional bereavement ceremonies and shaved his head. It was a sombre reminder of a deep personal loss but in typical fashion he chose to mark it by flooding his team's innings with all things bright and beautiful. In Tendulkar he had an unselfish companion, and the two made the most of the allowances of width and length given to them by the bowlers. Tendulkar began with a classic straight drive off Parth Satwalekar and Kambli welcomed Venkatapathy Raju's second spell by hitting him for his third boundary over mid wicket. Raju went for 15 in that over, Tendulkar taking 10 off him with two crisp blows.

Before lunch the two had put up 44 in just under nine overs, after the break they cut loose. In half an hour's play Hyderabad sent down seven overs and Kambli and Tendulkar scored 60. Kambli struck six boundaries off N.P. Singh, while Tendulkar recognising the signs, turned the strike around quickly.

Raju's perseverance finally paid off. He stopped Tendulkar in his tracks, inducing an edge off a casual-looking drive to the keeper. Tendulkar's 53 (71b, 7x4, 1x6) was virtually equal share of the whirlwind fourth-wicket wicket stand of 104 (15.1 overs) scored in only 69 minutes.

When Raju dismissed Amol Muzumdar for 13, Kambli was alert to the danger of more rushes of blood. He calmed partner Paras Mhambrey down and coasted his way to a hundred. Mhambrey, who can play a long innings down the order, was put down twice (on 5 and 6), first by short leg Nanda Kishore and then keeper Riaz Shaikh who tried to grab a catch heading for first slip Laxman. Kambli's brief word to Mhambrey about the specific nature of his responsibilities, was advice well taken.

When Kambli reached his hundred with a scrambled two to midwicket, his partner joined in the celebration, running down the length of the wicket and hugging his teammate, who looked skywards and offered thanks. The bowling side got its own word of gratitude in, 15 minutes later as Kambli drove one firmly back into bowler Fiaz Ahmed's hands, out for 108 (225 minutes, 158b, 15x4), with an hour's play still remaining. There was no more damage to the Mumbai innings as Mhambrey and partner Ajit Agarkar soldiered on for eight overs scratching out 20 runs to stumps.

Both Kambli, who spent close to four fruitful hours at the crease, and Hyderabad skipper Azharuddin still believe there is much more in the wicket than was used by the Hyderabad medium pacers today. Left-arm spinner Raju was on in the tenth over itself, making the ball turn and jump. The Hyderabad trio of N.P. Singh, left-armer Fiaz Ahmed who had his moments and three wickets with it and Parth Satwalekar failed to keep things on the straight and narrow. Mumbai is confident that its four pace bowlers could do plenty with the firmness of the deck and the movement available to it.

Azhar planning legal action

Hyderabad's immediate prerogative tomorrow will be to fire out Mumbai's long tail and keep the first innings down to within 350. ``Our medium pacers did not do a good job, they have been struggling in the past too. The spinners did what was expected of them, but the medium pacers were disappointing. They couldn't make use of the seam movement available,'' said Azharuddin at the end of a day when he also confirmed that he was planning legal action against a national newsmagazine that has named him in the betting-match-fixing scandal.

Looking relaxed, the former India skipper remarked that the track would assist bowlers of discipline and courage. The forecasters overstated their case when they called this track a `green top' but it can still act as an ally to a smarter kind of bowler. Hyderabad has the opportunity to put the pressure back on Mumbai but only just.

The scores:

Mumbai - 1st innings: Sameer Dighe c Azharuddin b Fiaz Ahmed 3, Wasim Jaffer c V. Raju b N.P. Singh 32, Jatin Paranjpe lbw b Fiaz Ahmed 10, Sachin Tendulkar c Riaz Shaikh b Raju 53, Vinod Kambli c & b Fiaz Ahmed 108, Amol Muzumdar c Satwalkar b Raju 13, Paras Mhambrey (batting) 38, Ajit Agarkar (batting) 14. Extras (b-8, lb-8, w-2, nb-14) 32. Total (for six wkts.) 303.

Fall of wickets: 1-18, 2-61, 3-72, 4- 176, 5-202, 6-283.

Hyderabad bowling: N.P. Singh 14-4-54-1, Fiaz Ahmed 14-2-46-3, Venkatapathy Raju 34-10-100-2, Parth Satwalekar 4-1-16-0, Vanka Pratap 2-1-8-0, Kanwaljit Singh 22-0- 63-0.

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