A poor advertisement for the one-day game

The way the contest turned out between New Zealand and Sri Lanka in the Triangular series on Tuesday, reinforced the fact that cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties. One was forced to rub one's eyes in disbelief. Was it the same New Zealand team which played superb cricket against the Indians?

A meek surrender, so to say, by the Kiwis, losing by 106 runs to the Lankans. But that is what one-day cricket is all about. One day you play like a champion, the next like a club side.

Frankly, the Kiwis played horrible cricket failing totally to click in any department-be it batting, bowling or fielding. On a day when the match was restricted to 36 overs-a- side, it was expected that the run-rate would obviously be high as the batsmen would go all out and try to hit even good length balls and that was what the Lankans did. The Sri Lankan team, led by an astute Sanath Jayasuriya, has a bunch of young and spirited cricketers who are always willing to put up a fight and most of all have the ability to deliver the goods in pressure situations.

Take the instance of Mahela Jayawardene in this encounter. He was under tremendous pressure, having failed in the earlier matches. But the team management had faith in his abilities, and he did not disappoint them. He dominated the Kiwi attack with sweetly timed drives and clean hits to the fence. No doubt, it was a brilliant innings.

The match on the whole was a poor advertisement for the shorter version of the game. If such is the quality of the matches then I fear the response from the spectators in future would further dwindle, as was evident today.

Just compare this with the spectator interest when teams like South Africa and Australia play. One factor that was missing in the Sri Lanka-Kiwis encounter was quality.

And a quick analysis of the Lankans and the Indians will reveal what the latter lack. The Sri Lankan team has youngsters such as Russel Arnold, Mahela Jayawardene, and Dilhara Fernando to name a few who have it in them to come good when the situation demands. Even when the seasoned campaigners fail to click, there is someone or the other who comes to the rescue of the team, time and again. That has been the mantra of the Lankans. On the other hand, the Indian team depends too much on their senior cricketers instead of rallying around them. Their problem has been with the newcomers, and I think time has come for them to play match winning knocks. Yuveraj Singh, Reetinder Singh Sodhi and Hemang Badani are yet to play to their potential. In international cricket, one has to grab with full hands whatever opportunities that come one's way, and there is no point in ruing about the lost opportunities later. They should not miss this golden chance to cement their places in the Indian team.

The result of Tuesday's tie has only brightened India's chances and it is now up to them to rise to the occasion in the remaining matches to seal a berth in the final.

By K. SRIKKANTH

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Section  : Sport
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