India rides on Yuveraj Singh's shoulders

By Vijay Lokapally

NAIROBI, OCT. 7. No sight on a cricket field can be more pleasing than witnessing an Australian debacle. It is so rare. At the Nairobi Gymkhana, in its quarterfinal match of the ICC knockout tournament, the seemingly invincible Aussies were rudely stopped in their tracks by a rejuvenated Indian team which rode on the shoulders of a 20- year-old from Punjab.

The Australians were brought down to earth with a loud thud through the efforts of Yuveraj Singh, who cracked a gem of an innings, just when the team needed, and the timely realisation by the Indians that a collective effort would propel them past the lethal opposition. It was a much-needed tonic for Indian cricket, ravaged by many on the field embarrassments last season, not to speak of the off-field scandals.

Everything worked well for India from the time it was put in. A decent batting performance was followed by good work from the youngsters in conditions which favoured none. That it won against a quality opposition and Yuveraj, the `man of the match', chose to display his mettle against a team of high calibre should augur well for Indian cricket in the forthcoming engagements.

Once India set a target of 266 it was a matter of sticking to a plan. Not easy but not impossible either because Australia was penalised two overs for slow over-rate. The Aussie resilience surfaced towards the end when Brett Lee and Steve Waugh threatened to snatch the game away but India had a battery of some glorious young performers, this time Zaheer Khan making a worthy contribution by removing Steve Waugh.

Dream match for Yuveraj

What a match Yuveraj had! A dazzling innings of 84 was followed by some stunning acts in the field - a catch and a run out keeping the Australians under pressure. It was nice also that Sourav Ganguly remembered the bowler in Robin Singh and the Tamil Nadu all-rounder made a telling dent by scalping Martyn Damien and confirming India's decisive steps on the winning path.

Yuveraj was simply outstanding. He was living his father's dream, building the innings like a champion architect and guiding the side with the shoulders of a veteran. A star was born at the Nairobi Gymkhana in Yuveraj, the robust belter of the ball from Punjab, and a batsman to watch in times to come.

In Yuveraj's success lay the story of India's revival, the story of a team which executed what it planned and impressed one and all with a refreshing change in attitude. Aggression was the password as the young side chose the option to take on the Australians in the manner they deal with the rest of the cricketing world.

There could not have been a more thrilling sight on a cricket field than watch the cocky Australians come across a tough opposition. Yes, India was a tough opposition this afternoon as Yuveraj swung the fortunes of the team with a smashing performance.

It may have hurt Yuveraj that he did not get a century but his contribution was priceless, its reach much beyond the boundary. A sagging team suddenly sprung to life as the young lad with high ambitions tore into the Aussie attack.

It was a sight to watch Yuveraj deal so firmly with the Aussies. He punched the ball with awesome power, pulled it with contempt, cut with lot of time to place the stroke and showed little discomfort otherwise.

Yuveraj's confidence was a revelation. More than the number of runs he scored, he stood out for the manner in which he got them. He stood up to drive the ball fiercely in front and not once was he hurried in his act of aggression or defence.

The Punjab lad belongs to the category of youngsters who grew up wanting to emulate Sachin Tendulkar and this day he outshone his ``hero'' and the rest with his remarkable deeds. Coming through the grind of age group tournaments, Yuveraj was a brave selection and he came good because he is indeed good.

Son of former fast bowler Yograj Singh, he was the inspiration the team had been searching for some time now. A most unpretentious cricketer, he took over from the lead shown by Tendulkar and Ganguly, who gave the Aussies a pasting in the initial overs.

A clear strategy

The Indians clearly had a strategy and stuck to it well. The idea was to unsettle the Australians and Tendulkar executed the assignment as one would have expected him to. He waded into Glen McGrath with some blazing shots, predetermined though, stepping out to cart him over the straightfield and once pulling him into the crowd at midwicket. McGrath was indeed rattled by this rough treatment by Tendulkar, who once top edged the bowler to third man for a six. Ganguly too joined the act with some graceful strokes off Brett Lee and the Aussies by now realised they had a fight on hand. The opening pair lashed out at every ball and connected a few to set up a scorching pace.

Having decided to attack all the way, it was tough on Tendulkar to slow down and he did succumb to the desire to smash a few more. It may not have been Tendulkar at his best but then he had carried on the specific orders very well. Ganguly left soon to a leg-side tickle and when Dravid picked the lone fielder behind square-leg the Indians seemed to have lost the tempo. It was here that Yuveraj walked in and took charge in a majestic manner.

Getting support from Vinod Kambli and Robin Singh, the energetic Yuveraj matched the Australians in tenacity. He did the bulk of the scoring, picking his boundaries with elan. Some of his shots may have lacked finesse but they hit the boundary boards with a thud. It was inexperience that saw Yuveraj show haste and play an indiscreet stroke which cost him his wicket. There was some spirited show in the lower order by Kumble and Zaheer while Prasad signed off in style with a grand six off the last ball.

Prasad may have been treated harshly by Ricky Ponting later but he did hit back by snaring Ian Harvey, who looked in good touch. But the Australians came across as a shaky bunch on Saturday. Mark Waugh was not in his elements and holed out to third man while Adam Gilchrist, looking dangerous, overdid the act of hitting on the rise.

Harvey was snapped astoundingly by Yuveraj in the covers and Ponting defied for a while before being held brilliantly by Robin at squareleg. India's fielding looked extremely sharp now as Bevan and Shane Lee were run out by direct hits and the curtain came down on the match to give the Indians victory in a close finish. A small consolation for the wounds inflicted by Australia last year at home.

Scoreboard

INDIA

Sourav Ganguly c Gilchrist b Gillespi       24
(42b, 5x4)
Sachin Tendulkar c Martyn b B. Lee          38
(37b, 3x4, 3x6)
Rahul Dravid c S. Lee b Gillespie            9
(18b, 2x4)
Vinod Kambli c Gilchrist b S. Waugh         29
(40b, 4x4)
Yuveraj Singh c and b S. Lee                84
(80b, 12x4)
Robin Singh b Harvey                        19
(30b)
Vijay Dahiya c M. Waugh b B. Lee             5
(11b, 1x4)
Ajit Agarkar c McGrath b S. Lee              3
(9b)
Anil Kumble(run out)                        21
(21b)
Zaheer Khan(not out)                        13
(13b, 2x4)
Venkatesh Prasad (not out)                   6
(1b, 1x6)
Extras (b-1, lb-12, nb-2, w-8)              23


                                           ---
Total (for nine wkts in 50 overs)          265
                                           ---

Fall of wickets: 1-66 (Tendulkar), 2-76 (Ganguly), 3-90 (Dravid), 
4-130  (Kambli), 5-194 (Robin), 6-215 (Dahiya), 7-222  (Agarkar), 
8-239 (Yuveraj), 9-258 (Kumble).

Australia  bowling: Glenn McGrath 9-0-61-0, Brett Lee  10-0-39-2, 
Jason  Gillespie 8-0-39-2, Ian Harvey 9-1-54-1, Shane  Lee  10-0- 
31-2, Steve Waugh 4-0-28-1.

AUSTRALIA

Mark Waugh c Kumble b Agarkar               7
(24b)
Adam Gilchrist c Ganguly b Zaheer          33
(23b, 4x4, 1x6)
Ian Harvey c Yuveraj b Prasad              25
(24b, 3x4)
Ricky Ponting c Robin b Tendulkar          46
(59b, 5x4, 1x6)
Michael Bevan(run out)                     42
(52b, 3x4, 1x6)
Steve Waugh b Zaheer                       23
(34b, 2x4)
Damien Martyn b Robin                       1
(8b)
Shane Lee (run out)                         4
(6b)
Brett Lee c Ganguly b Agarkar              31
(28b, 3x4, 2x6)
Jason Gillespie c Robin b Prasad           14
(15b, 3x4)
Glenn McGrath (not out)                     6
(8b, 1x4)
Extras (lb-4, nb-2, w-7)                   13

                                          ---
Total (all out in 46.4 overs)             245
                                          ---

Fall  of  wickets:  1-43  (M.  Waugh),  2-51  (Gilchrist),   3-86 
(Harvey),  4-159 (Ponting), 5-163 (Bevan), 6-169 (Martyn),  7-189 
(S. Lee), 8-224 (S. Waugh), 9-226 (B. Lee).

India bowling: Zaheer 10-0-40-2, Agarkar 8-1-59-2, Prasad  7.4-0-
43-2, Kumble 8-0-42-0, Tendulkar 7-0-31-1, Robin 6-0-26-1.

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