Tendulkar in sparkling form

By Vijay Lokapally

HARARE, JULY 4. Given the nature of the contest, it turned out to be a surprisingly interesting exchange of wits as the teams experimented and prepared themselves adequately for the final showdown on Saturday.

What one saw on Wednesday was a good dress rehearsal, giving some indication of what could be in store for the last match of this triangular series.

The target was stiff enough for the Indians to expect the opening pair to show the way and there was enough from Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly to inspire themselves and make things easier for the rest. A rollicking opening stand of 133 marked India's six-wicket victory with Tendulkar and Ganguly matching each other in attacking strokeplay.

Tendulkar, while cracking his 29th one-day century, appeared to have made up his mind and was soon into his stride, striking the ball with disdain and picking boundaries at will. Ganguly was late to take off but once he got the timing right, it was a delight to watch the left-hander play some sensational shots in front and it was quite thoughtful of the captain to push Virender Sehwag and Hemang Badani up in the order to allow them exposure. It is another matter that they did not avail of the promotions.

Tendulkar was a joy to watch all the way as the pitch allowed him to bat with freedom, unlike the last contest when he had to control his pace. He hit the West Indians on the up and rarely played a hurried shot. It was a Tendulkar gem in keeping with his nick in this one-day series and one which showed why he is rated the best batsman in the world. What stood out in Tendulkar's innings today was his well-controlled and craftily placed sweep shots. He was the obvious choice for the `man of the match' award, his third of the triangular series.

Ganguly, looking to be in a hurry, gave rough treatment to left- arm spinner Neil McGarrell, hoisting him for a big six to long-on but got carried away and made the mistake of trying to treat Mervyn Dillon similarly. It was a loose stroke from Ganguly who looked in such splendid touch this afternoon.

The Tendulkar-Ganguly partnership was good news for the Indian camp as it laid a strong base for the victory. The Delhi all- rounder, Sehwag, however, shall rue this lost opportunity to make an impression high in the order. He may have got a poor decision in the end as umpire Kevin Barbour ruled him stumped. From the position he stood, Barbour could not have seen keeper Ridley Jacobs knock the bails off with his right glove which did not hold the ball. It was nestling in the left. The onus here was on the wicketkeeper, who chose to allow Sehwag to depart.

Sehwag may have been unlucky but Badani had no reason to play yet another poor shot, once again wasting his good form instead of consolidating his position up in the order. Obviously coach John Wright would need to do some talking with this talented batsman.

The West Indian camp suffered a blow this morning when Cameroon Cuffy, its best bowler thus far, limped off to see a doctor for a severe pain in the left in-step, effectively ruling him out for the final as it was diagnosed as a stress fracture. He will be out of action for four weeks.

It was obvious that neither team was going to give its best, having made it to the final. The atmosphere lacked the fervour of a one-day match even though there were some exciting strokes from the top-order batsmen in the two sessions. The weather was kind and that was what the spectators enjoyed apart from the innings from Tendulkar.

The West Indians, asked to bat, came up with a brisk start but the batsmen could not accelerate the innings. The tempo of scoring remained inconsistent the entire 50 overs as the Indian bowlers, with the exception of Harvinder Singh, gave a good account of themselves.

Harvinder paid dearly by striving for pace. He seemed on target in his first spell before his bowling went to pieces in the second spell when he conceded 38 runs with his wayward performance. Of course, for Harvinder it should be a lesson to work on his consistency.

Once again, Debasis Mohanty bowled two tidy spells, looking far more effective in his first spell even though it did not fetch him any wicket. Ashish Nehra lost control when he returned for the second spell, getting slammed for 20 runs in three overs. India's bowling in the slog overs was poor this day after the brilliant show at Bulawayo when it left the West Indians frustrated.

Harbhajan Singh established a psychological advantage on the West Indians with an impressive spell. He did not allow the batsmen the liberty to use their feet and excelled in the middle overs, which was quite a handsome contribution indeed. Even taking singles off the off-spinner became a challenge for the batsman as Harbhajan commanded respect in both his spells. He was easily the pick of the bowlers with Nehra a close second. The Delhi left-arm seamer, however, ended up bowling an over short.

The Indian fielding was not in keeping with the progress the team has made on this tour. It was brilliant in patches, with Reetinder Singh Sodhi and Hemang Badani outstanding in their work.

The top half of West Indies batted itself into a position of strength and there were some moments of absolute thrills for the spectators, a few of them having travelled from the Caribbean islands. They did have their share of joy.

Darren Ganga and Chris Gayle gave the West Indies a sedate start which was ended by Harbhajan deceiving the left- hander in the air with Sodhi completing the act with a diving catch. Ganga now had Wavell Hinds as a partner wanting to push the rate and it set the trend for the remaining part of the innings.

Ganga was the first to go. He had survived a run out earlier when the onfield umpire G. Evans chose not to refer the decision to the third umpire. The next over Ganga was not lucky as Sameer Dighe hit the stumps unerringly.

Hinds played a few strong shots in the front and picked Harvinder for a straight six. He fell when he misread the pace and offered the bowler a return catch. Shivnarine Chanderpaul's miserable run with the bat continued and it needed some lusty shots from Hooper and Jacobs to make a match of it. It all failed to alter India's unbeaten run in the league of this tournament.

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