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Cricket
Indians almost threw it away, almost!
By K.Srikkanth
Though the Indians won the third ODI in Chennai, the manner in which they achieved the victory was extremely disappointing. The home team almost made a mess of a simple chase.
Actually, it is quite pathetic watching the Indians making a heavy weather of gettable targets time and again. The team put pressure on itself by adopting strange tactics when an element of commonsense would have seen it through against a mediocre England attack on a flat wicket. One wonders whether it's a case of lack of application or a lack of ability.
The whole cricketing world now knows that once Sachin Tendulkar is dismissed, the rest would come apart. It is a very sad situation to be in. It was totally a different game when Tendulkar and Sehwag put the English attack to the sword and the Indians were off to a thundering start. The later batsmen struggled against ordinary bowling.
Towards the end, the young Ajay Ratra saw India through to victory and he is a cheeky little player, in the mould of several wicket-keeper batsmen of the past. He displayed good temperament, was quick on the field, and one hopes he keeps up the good work. On their part, England never gave up, and kept fighting till the very end. The visitor probably deserved to win more for its sheer attitude and aggression.
Actually, it was a ODI, where the bowlers of both sides dominated on an easy pitch.
The Indian bowlers turned in a superb performance too, seldom allowing the English batsmen to launch into aggressive strokes. And to think that bowling is considered India's weaker flank.
In his first ODI as India captain, Anil Kumble was impressive. He maintained his cool after the English openers had provided their side with a good start, and was generally attacking in his methods.
www.krishsrikkanth.com
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