Tendulkar still rankled by debacle at Harare

By Vijay Lokapally

HARARE, JULY 5. That one devastating hour at the Harare Sports Club, when he saw the Indian hopes crumbling in front of him, still haunts Sachin Tendulkar. The rapid deterioration of the innings left him numb in the dressing room. The team faced defeat, a possibility which had not occurred to the Indians at all until that fatal moment.

Tendulkar reflected on that Test as he met the Indian media here to share his experiences of the season thus far, and this tour especially, which has seen him collect three `man of the match' awards in four one-day matches.

``The tour's gone on well, except for the fourth morning of the second Test. That one hour cost us the match.'' It was an understatement one thought as the famed Indian batting lost seven wickets for just 37 runs.

Conceding that the team ``didn't play good cricket,'' Tendulkar shared the blame for allowing the opposition ``to get back into the game. If you lose so many wickets in no time it's very difficult to win a Test. Right until that moment I felt that we were in the driving seat. But those wickets really mattered a lot.''

It also hurt Tendulkar that once again the team would return home without winning a series abroad in 15 years. ``I think a series win was much needed this time because we were playing good cricket. This is a very promising unit and I was expecting it to win. We had our plans in place and knew what we had to do but that one hour disturbed the whole thing.''

That one hour. It has happened countless times before. In Bridgetown; in Harare; in Wellington; in Durban. A lethal hour indeed. And it returned to flatten Indian cricket again, at the hands of a team which has hardly 20 quality first-class cricketers to pick the side from.

Tendulkar was not going to pick the men responsible. ``We can't point fingers at each other. We all need to take responsibility for it and try and ensure that we don't repeat it. I know its difficult but we have to look at it positively.''

The team's focus was marshalled by the astute John Wright and a captain who believed in collective effort than individual brilliance. Tendulkar agreed. ``Our morale was very high. We had a good camp at Bangalore. We had done well against Australia at home. We were on the right track I thought.''

In hindsight, what did Tendulkar think about the decline. ``I know it's very hard to express in words as to what we should do and what we shouldn't do. It just happens. The only thing one could have done was to hang around there as much as possible. We should've waited for the new ball to wear out.''

Personal goals

Tendulkar had set a few goals for himself and some for the team. But he did not really achieve them keeping in mind his high standards. ``When I embarked on this tour, I had personally decided to try and hang around as much as possible. And that's what I was trying to do. I told myself not to play big shots and that meant I had to cut down on my natural instincts to hit the ball.''

What really prompted Tendulkar to adopt such uncharacteristic approach? ``I basically did it because of the pitches here. I think on these kind of tracks you can't play the way you play in India or anywhere else. We have to adapt accordingly. Of course, there are times when one may not get the flow or swing of the bat right everytime. But that doesn't really matter because it eventually boils down to how many runs you get.''

Tendulkar conceded that the Zimbabweans bowled to a plan, on and outside the off-stump. ``Every side has got to have a plan. They kept bowling outside the off stump in this instance. It can work in one odd game. But then you've got to analyse it over every three-four years. Not just by one odd game.''

How did he view these tactics then? ``I don't have to worry about what the other side is going to do. I should actually worry about what I should go and do.'' Fair enough one thought.

It was Tendulkar's third visit to Zimbabwe but not a Test century to his credit. It was disappointing, he confessed. ``One always goes out to score hundreds. I wanted to score a hundred both in Bulawayo and here. I'm a little disappointed in not doing so. But it happens to all the players. If it weren't so, then all the great players wouldn't have got out for 70s and 80s.''

Good show by bowlers

The personal disappointments were quickly set aside because Tendulkar was happy at the way the team was shaping up. The progress made in the bowling department was what stood out in his opinion. ``All the bowlers showed promise and improved. Srinath of course is experienced. Ashish (Nehra) has done well. Zaheer (Khan) and Ajit (Agarkar) have also contributed. Harvinder (Singh) and Debasis (Mohanty) have done exceptionally well. Harbhajan (Singh) is an added advantage. He's done wonderfully well for a man who is just 21. I expect greater deeds from him. All the guys have different qualities and that's so important when you perform as a team.''

As Tendulkar pointed out, there were plenty of gains from the tour. ``We made a positive start by winning a Test match abroad after 15 years. It augurs well when you look at the average age of the team. It is around 23-24. The team is young and if this lot can stick together for years to come I'm sure we can produce better results. All the youngsters we have are very talented. And they are all hungry to do well. They're all prepared to work hard and this is a good sign.''

What stood out? ``The fielding. It has improved by leaps and bounds. Now we are a very good fielding side. Rahul (Dravid) and Sourav (Ganguly) have been around for more than five years and have a lot more to contribute to the team. Hemang (Badani), (V.V.S.) Laxman and (Shiv Sundar) Das have done very well this season. Das showed tremendous technique on this tour. I'm sure he's going to work harder to achieve better things. That goes with all the other players, with (Sadagopan) Ramesh and others too.''

As the seniormost member of the side, what role did he see for himself. ``I know I'm the senior most player here. If I see something wrong and know how it can be corrected I would just go and tell the particular player what I feel. Then it's up to the player to take a decision. But as a senior member I feel I should tell where they are going wrong.''

Tendulkar is working hard to achieve goals set for the season. He has a few points to make, a few arguments to settle. And he was candid about it when he said ``I'm particularly happy this season and if I continue to stay like this I would be happy. We should keep winning and that makes it better for all of us. We're playing tough cricket ahead. We go to Sri Lanka, South Africa, West Indies and England. It will be good quality cricket there and I just hope that we play at the same level and be as hungry as we've been so far. That is surely going to help us to form a better unit.''

On the remaining three days of this tour, Tendulkar concluded with an apt sum up. ``We're playing good cricket now and hopeful we'll end this series on a good note.''

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Sport
Previous : Kasparov pulls further ahead
Next     : England loses its way