India takes another hard knock

By G. Viswanath

EAST LONDON, OCT. 20. Indian cricket took another hard knock on Friday night at the Buffalo Park. By getting bowled out for 236 runs in the chase for victory against the home team, India tasted defeat (by 46 runs) for the third time in the Summer Spice- Standard Bank tri-series which has entered its final phase.

The outcome of the seventh league match in favour of South Africa has kept the interest alive in the series to the last match before the Cup final.

The two matches featuring the Kenyans in the Western Province region of Cape Town and vineyard territory of Paarl would have been dead events had India not bungled at the St. George's Park, Port Elizabeth against Kenya. The team made wholesale changes and just gave that leeway for Kenya to get a toe hold in the championship final.

India is now in the familiar situation of having to make a last- ditch effort to enter another Standard Bank series final. Five years ago, Sachin Tendulkar's salvos that lasted until he made a century at the Willowmoore Park, Benoni, helped India overcome the odds and Zimbabwe. Some how India has the knack of making reckless moves. Sourav Ganguly's team ought to have closed all routes for Kenya and made certain of its place in the final even before the match here.

The Proteas play the Kenyans at Newlands on Sunday. Shaun Pollock's team beat the Kenyans by handsome margins at Benoni and Kimberley and it would be foolish to expect a result contrary to what happened in the first two matches. A victory for South Africa will take it to the top of the table with 21 or 22 points, leaving India and Kenya way behind to fight it out in Paarl for a place in the final.

India's plight on Friday was symptomatic of the form it showed in the immediate past match against Kenya and also the over reliance on batsmen, who hold three of the top four positions in the batting order.

When asked if the India is a `three batsmen team', Ganguly said: ``I have no answer to that question.'' The three batsmen-Ganguly, Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid-together contributed 193 runs to the total of 236. Shiv Sundar, who Ganguly said was a quality batsman and any time a better batsman than Jacob Martin, made two, Yuveraj Singh three and Virendra Sehwag four.

A total of nine runs from the middle order nullified the powerful and stupendous start given by the Indian captain and Tendulkar. It has become a habit for these two (now 13 runs away from the record of 5,150 made by the West Indies openers, Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes) to trail blaze a start every time they go out to bat in a one-day International, but what's often overlooked is their determination to challenge the four pronged pace attack, as is the case when playing Australia and South Africa.

Ganguly has been going great guns, especially against the likes of Pollock, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Kallis and Klusener, with the bat right from the beginning of the tri-series at `The Wanderers'. He has taken on the mighty bowling attack confidently and cleverly and has succeeded too.

The other day at `The Centurion' he stepped out and cut hard at Pollock's short delivery to sent the ball sailing over the backward fence.

The left hander was in his element, yet again, against the likes of Pollock, Nel and Ntini. There has been talk of the South African attack being slower in the absence of Allan Donald and Mfuneko Ngam, the views being aired by the South African selectors themselves. Nel, who returned to the share the new ball with Pollock, after a one match break, appeared genuinely quick, so much so that even a backfoot defensive shot by Ganguly raced to the advertising boards in front of the sight screen, gun barrel straight.

Nel appeared to be flustered and was seen mouthing something to the Indian captain, running down the pitch after his follow through. Soon a message was sent out-at the instance of the Match Referee, Ahmed Ebrahim,-from the South African dressing room asking Nel cool down. Ganguly faced a barrage of short balls.

``A bowler is allowed to bowl one bouncer an over. That's how one-day cricket has become these days. These guys are quick, they are going to hit the deck. They are as good as anybody in the world. If they are not going to bowl short, then there must be something wrong with them. That's expected,'' said Ganguly.

If his first boundary shot of Nel, made the bowler's blood boil, then the two sixes off the South African captain, actually quietened the supporters. The first six was directed over long off, a little wide; the second one went straighter and a little longer. There was one streaky four when he inside-edged Pollock.

Tendulkar has been more of an ideal foil to his captain in this tournament. It went well with the team's plans. He struck two forcing shots in front of square on the offside, the strokes catching everybody's attention because he went up on his toes, and completed the shots in a flourish and with full follow through of the bat. He even managed to split the cover and point fielders when he hit Nel for his fifth four.

Ganguly struck six more boundary shots; two of them were sixes. The six-his third he flicked of his hip off Nel-was a super effort. He just moved beside the line and used the pace generated by Nel to deflect the ball over backward square leg. It was an extraordinary shot. He followed this with an extracover driven six off Ntini. A cut over point off Ntini took India to one run short of a hundred, six more than what South Africa had made at the end of the 15th over.

The century plus stand for the first wicket went up on the board before Jacques Kallis made Tendulkar under-edge the ball onto his stumps. There was an immediate fall in the run rate, but as Ganguly said afterwards at the press conference, such things always happen when a new batsman is at the crease. Das perished soon, following a misfield at third man and as a result of a combined effort by Nel and wicketkeeper Mark Boucher.

India's hopes of making a match of it was dashed after the dismissal of Ganguly. He seemed to have picked the spot very well (long off), but Kallis outwitted him, covering good ground and in full control of the catch. ``I should have tried to clear him (Nicky Boje), but....'', said Ganguly. The Indian captain fell at 151, after which the rest of the batsmen made 85 runs, out of which Dravid contribution was 48. He was left alone in the end, with 32 balls remaining!. ``He (Dravid) made 71 (not out) of 87 balls and nobody was with him in the end,'' said Ganguly.

Commenting on Yuveraj Singh and Sehwag, coach John Wright said: ``They are talented and have something special in them. They need the experience. We all like to see Ganguly and Tendulkar play their shots. They are easily the best opening pair in the world in one-day cricket. The others (Yuveraj, Sehwag) hold the key part of the middle order.''

Ganguly faulted Deep Dasgupta and Ajit Agarkar, both of whom were run-out victims. ``You are playing at international level. It's because of not responding to calls. Ajit should have made it and there was an easy single in Deep's case. I would call it bad luck in Das' case. It was poor judgment and no coach can teach these things.''

Scoreboard

SOUTH AFRICA (for four wkts) - 282

INDIA

S. Ganguly c Kallis b Boje      85
(129m, 95b, 6x4, 4x6)
S. Tendulkar b Kallis           37
(70m, 34b, 5x4)
S. S. Das run out                2
(5m, 3b)
R. Dravid (not out)             71
(122m, 87b, 7x4)
Y. Singh lbw b Klusener          3
(11m, 8b)
V. Sehwag c Boje b Klusener      4 

(10m, 5b)
A. Agarkar run out              16
(18m, 23b, 1x4)
D. Dasgupta run out              0
(5m, 1b)
Harbhajan Singh c Boucher b Nel  7
(11m, 9b)
A. Kumble c Pollock b Nel        0
(1m, 1b)
J. Srinath c Rhodes b Nel        5
(9m, 5b, 1x4)
Extras (nb 3, w 3)               6
                               ---
Total (in 44.4 overs)          236
                               ---

Fall of wickets: 1-101 (Tendulkar), 2-103 (Das), 3-151 (Ganguly), 
4-168   (Yuveraj),   5-178  (Sehwag),  6-200   (Agarkar),   &-205 
(Dasgupta), 8-220 (Harbhajan), 9-220 (Kumble).

South Africa bowling: Pollock 8-1-38-0, Nel 7.4-0-45- 3, Ntini 8-
0-39-0, Kallis 8-0-44-1, Klusener 8-0-44-2, Boje 5-0-26-1.

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