Chris Cairns spoils India's party

By Vijay Lokapally

NAIROBI, OCT 15. It hurts when you are beaten by one man in a team game. The Indians experienced it.

They saw it from close but could not feel it. The ICC knockout tournament trophy was snatched from under their nose by Chris Cairns, who played the innings of his life. In the process, the Kiwi shattered the dreams of an Indian team which was just about planning to enjoy the fruits of a resurgence. Alas, the party will have to wait!

But none shall grudge the Kiwis a win here for they had shown the resilience to battle with tremendous mental strength. The win against Pakistan in the semifinal was the first step on a journey which reached its rightful, glowing destination at the Nairobi Gymkhana on Sunday. The Kiwis deserved the honour.

What a gallant performance it was by Cairns. He set aside a knee injury and played the messiah, guiding one partner after another and ensured the job was finished in style with two balls and four wickets to spare. It was New Zealand's first major title in international cricket after having earned the tag of a semifinalist team for a long time.

The trick lay in the Kiwis marshalling the chase wonderfully, never allowing the pressure to increase. The Kiwis had targetted Anil Kumble and made the most off his erratic second spell even as Venkatesh Prasad bowled splendidly this evening. But for Prasad's early dents, and some tight bowling by Sachin Tendulkar and Yuveraj Singh, the contest may not have produced such a gripping climax.

The Indians, led by Sourav Ganguly's spirited century, may have blundered by falling at least 25 runs short after promising much more when the skipper and Tendulkar took the attack by the scruff. But a run out of Tendulkar left a decisive mark on the course of the match.

The intensity among the Indians was visible in their electric movements. There may have been a few errors but once again the team appeared determined to gag the Kiwi attempts to repeat the performance that carried it past Pakistan.

Bowling had been an area of worry for India and the fears came true this evening with Kumble and Zaheer Khan faltering under pressure.

It was a grim battle. Roger Twose was stroking magnificently and threatening to dominate again while Nathan Astle was rarely troubled and drove with style, picking the ball on the rise to hammer it square.

There was an early success for India in the shape of Craig Spearman who went ahead with his cut despite being cramped for the shot and Yuveraj Singh held it smartly at point. Good fielding had given the Indians the breakthrough and the onus was now on skipper Stephen Fleming, who had opted to chase on this pitch.

But Fleming looked out of touch. His timing was awry and he tended to play from his stance position. It was not surprising when Prasad foxed him into playing across and the batsman stood plumb in front.

Prasad striking early rhythm was good news for India. The Karnataka seamer had accounted for the first two wickets and was bowling with lot of guile as he realised how much the team depended on him. But Prasad lacked support from Zaheer who was dismissed from the firing line by a clinical charge from Astle.

It took Kumble to keep India in the game. First to perish was Astle to a catch at short leg and then came a gem from wicketkeeper Vijay Dahiya, who stumped Twose in a flash. It was a big wicket and the Indians could now recoup their ammunition to target the Kiwis.

Despite the Cairns-Craig McMillan partnership swelling with some sound batting, the Indians were evenly placed, what with Kumble on the prowl and Tendulkar on the spot. The fall of McMillan was on the lines because the Kiwi batsmen had shown an uncharacteristic urgency to upset the spinners. Five down with the target 133 runs away. India was on the road to victory.

So one thought!

The pair of Cairns and Harris stood in the way. Ganguly tried various combinations. It clicked for a while and then it did not as the trusted Kumble faltered and bowled a miserable second spell. Harris showed remarkable temperament not attempting the big shots and his presence inspired Cairns into playing that magnificent innings. Harris fell 11 runs away from the target but Cairns was at hand.

Cairns paced his innings like a champion and peaked at the right time with some lusty blows. Harris' was a valuable contribution but Cairns was a winner all the way. He had bowled tidily and combined it with some intelligent batting to cap a brilliant competition for his team. He was indeed the `man of the match' as New Zealand emerged the team of the tournament.

On his part, Ganguly once again provided the launching pad with a century which gave an insight into the man's ability to motivate himself. Of course he had the company of Tendulkar to give the innings the right direction in the first half but India fell much short of the desired target of 280-plus.

If the pitch was a belter, the Indian planning did not suggest so. After the rousing start and then the soft dismissal of Tendulkar, the innings needed a batsman who could maintain the momentum. The Kiwis had run of ideas when Ganguly and Tendulkar were on a song, batting immaculately, but the game took a remarkable turn in a matter of time.

Crucial run out

The run out of Tendulkar, an unfortunate judgement on behalf of both, presented the Kiwis with a chance to redeem their position. The left-hander pushed Nathan Astle and made the first move. Tendulkar responded swiftly but was stropped in his tracks even as Scott Styris swooped on the ball at point. There was little chance for Tendulkar to regain the crease and this dismissal signalled a struggle for runs.

The run out was needless. The batsmen had looked at ease with the bowling with the exception of Cairns, who proved the lone bowler to command respect while the rest erred in line and were promptly punished. Tendulkar showed his best form of the tournament, playing some vintage shots as he became India's highest run- getter during the course of this innings.

The Kiwi attack was erratic in the initial phase with too many short balls giving Ganguly and Tendulkar enough width to hammer the ball square.

After Tendulkar departed, the innings went into a shell, what with Rahul Dravid looking out of touch. Ganguly meanwhile continued to bat with freedom. His drives on the off bore his trademark-all timing and effortlessly placed beyond the fielders.

For the Indian innings to prosper, it was imperative that Ganguly play the anchor role since he could read the situation well and pace his knock accordingly. He hit four sixes to make up for the sluggish run-rate at various stages but the pressure was increasingly telling on his batting now. A few desperate heaves confirmed the fear that the Indian skipper was unhappy with the matters at the other end.

The flow of runs had subsided substantially. From a rosy 67 runs in ten overs, the Indians had collected had just 37 in the next ten when Cairns bowled a tight spell. Even as Ganguly tried hard, Dravid failed to raise his game and the Kiwis did not relent the pressure this time. This phase was to prove fatal later.

Once again a run out reflected the state of the batsmen's mind. Once again Ganguly sent his partner back and disaster greeted Dravid, who had looked a shadow of the brilliant batsman we saw in the match against South Africa.

Very soon Ganguly fell prey to his desire to clear the field to catch up with the rate. This time his stroke fell short and landed into the hands of long-on. A superb innings had culminated in an ungainly manner but the skipper put his form to the best of use and placed the Indian challenge in a healthy state.

The rated Indian batting strength did not measure up to the task on this occasion. Yuveraj ran out of motivation, Vinod Kambli was a misfit, Robin Singh made a brave attempt while Agarkar's wild heaves fetched the Indian team some valuable runs as New Zealand did well to recover from the initial pasting.

Well, in the end the effort was not enough to help India. A big title abroad still remains elusive after the triumph of the WCC in 1985. Here was a good chance lost and a moist-eyed Ganguly said it all.

Telemachus suspended

NAIROBI, OCT. 15. Roger Telemachus became the second player to be suspended for breach of disciplinary code in the ICC knock-out tournament here.

Telemachus was found guilty of giving Rahul Dravid a shoulder push in the India-South Africa semifinal on Friday.

After a hearing by Match Referee, Mr. Cammie Smith, the seamer was suspended for the first game of the next one-day international series involving South Africa.

Earlier, Alistair Campbell of Zimbabwe had been handed a one- match suspension for showing dissent in the match against New Zealand

-Our Special Correspondent

Scoreboard

INDIA

Sourav Ganguly c Harris b Astle          117
(130b, 9x4, 4x6)
Sachin Tendulkar (run out)                69
(83b, 10x4, 1x6)
Rahul Dravid (run out)                    22
(35b, 1x4)
Yuveraj Singh c Twose b Styris            19
(19b, 2x4)
Vinod Kambli c O'Connor b Styris           1
(5b)
Robin Singh c Spearman b Allott           13
(11b, 1x4)
Ajit Agarkar (not out)                    15
(17b)
Vijay Dahiya (not out)                     1
(2b)
Extras (lb-1, nb-2, w-4)                   7 

                                         ---
Total (for six wkts in 50 overs)         264
                                         ---

Fall  of  wickets:  1-141  (Tendulkar),  2-202  (Dravid),   3-220 
(Ganguly), 4-229 (Kambli), 5-237 (Yuveraj), 6-256 (Robin).

New Zealand bowling: Geoff Allott 10-0-54-1, Shanye O'Connor 5-0-
38-0,  Chris  Cairns  10-2-40-0, Scott  Styris  10-0-53-2,  Chris 
Harris 10-0-46-1, Nathan Astle 5-0-32-0.

NEW ZEALAND

Craig Spearman c Yuveraj b Prasad          3
(8b)
Nathan Astle c Robin b Kumble             37
(48b, 5x4)
Stephen Fleming lbw b Prasad               5
(11b)
Roger Twose st Dahiya b Kumble            31
(35b, 4x4)
Chris Cairns (not out)                   102
(113b, 9x4, 2x6)
Craig McMillan c Ganguly b Tendulkar      15
(14b, 2x4)
Chris Harris c Robin b Prasad             46
(72b, 4x4)
Adam Parore (not out)                      4
(3b, 1x4)
Extras (lb-15, nb-7, w-1)                 23
                                         ---
Total (for six wkts in 49.4 Overs)       265
                                         ---

Fall of wickets: 1-6 (Spearman), 2-37 (Fleming), 3-82 (Astle), 4-
109 (Twose), 5-132 (McMillan), 6-254 (Harris).

India  bowling: Zaheer Khan 7-0-54-0, Venkatesh Prasad  7-0-27-3, 
Ajit  Agarkar 6.4-0-44-0, Anil Kumble 9-0-55-2, Sachin  Tendulkar 
10-1-38-1, Yuveraj Singh 10-0-32-0.

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