Sport - Cricket

India labours to a four-wkt. win
By Vijay Lokapally

The Indian team which won the second and final Test to claim the Pepsi Test Series against Zimbabwe 2-0 at the Ferozeshah Kotla in Delhi on Monday. - Photo: V.V. Krishnan

NEW DELHI, MARCH 4. An easy victory would have been in direct contrast to the character of the Indian team. So it produced contrived excitement at the Ferozeshah Kotla, with the tail-enders saving India the embarrassment, as Zimbabwe made the home team earn every run until the last stages when it gifted a few precious ones to let the opposition off.

The victory taught nothing as far as the Indians were concerned since there were no gains from the series win against Zimbabwe. There were many moments to savour for the visiting team and nothing exemplified it more than the sight of Raymond Price pumping fist after trapping Sachin Tendulkar in front.

India won the match by four wickets but it was Zimbabwe which won the hearts. A modest target of 122 was achieved with great struggle by India with a `star-studded' line- up. For all the potential the home team boasts of, the celebrations might well have been in the adjacent dressing room but for a decision going in favour of India at a most decisive moment.

With 14 runs to get, Heath Streak, who bowled with lot of purpose, was unfortunate not to win a leg-before shout against Harbhajan Singh. The batsman flashed his bat, indicating a nick, even as the bowler pressured the umpire, Asoka De Silva, who put an end to the drama by signalling four leg-byes. The bowler was crest-fallen because it was a good shout and a wicket at that stage would have pushed India into a difficult spot indeed.

If the Indians got away this day it was essentially because of the small target. What should have been a mundane finish assumed the colour of a thriller with the `nail-biting group' furiously at work in the dressing room. It was an extremely tricky situation but no such signs were visible this morning with Tendulkar and Shiv Sundar Das in the middle.

Resuming at 36 for three, India had a taxing task simply because it was not the best pitch to bat on, especially for stroke-makers of the compulsive type. Yet, Tendulkar did not waste time and played some exquisite shots to win the initial round. It was the right tactic because a defensive approach could have put pressure on the lower half in case of a middle-order collapse.

Tendulkar, however, did not finish the job - the one shortcoming that stands out sorely and has been pointed out on a few occasions by Sunil Gavaskar too. A short-arm pull off left- arm spinner Grant Flower gave an idea of Tendulkar's aggressive instincts but then the tame surrender to Raymond Price was a reminder of a fact that the master batsman, for all his achievements, is yet to master the art of finishing the job.

Tendulkar left the job to the rest and the team came to grief soon. Shiv Sundar Das, annoyingly over-cautious, was adjudged leg-before, one of the decisions which skipper Sourav Ganguly described as `rough' after the match.

But then Das hardly projected himself as the man India could look up to because he was needlessly defensive even against weak deliveries. Rahul Dravid ended up with a poor outing when he edged the slightly spinning ball to short gully. The Indian camp now became jittery with the prospect of a defeat not ruled out. The home team's confidence could be gauged by the fact that an injured Virender Sehwag had been asked to be present at the ground, just in case!

A couple of lusty blows by `Man of the match' Harbhajan Singh carried India to the destination but it was not an ideal happening on the eve of the one-day series.

``It's good to win,'' remarked Ganguly, who did not give much importance to the fact that the team went through some anxious moments during the victory chase. ``Such things happen,'' said Ganguly, who recorded his ninth win in 18 Tests as captain.

The victory, which came amidst growing tension in the stands, took India 130 minutes on the final day. Four leg-byes and four overthrows came at the right time for India which now depended on Harbhajan and Sanjay Bangar to negotiate the home stretch. The Zimbabweans were shattered by a couple of fielding lapses but by then, they had done enough in this Test to feel proud of.

Making India gasp even when scaling a small peak was a feat for a team which had just one good seamer and one brilliant spinner to check the opponent. The Zimbabweans were not disgraced at all and the Indians too should not make much of this win achieved in favourable conditions.

Anil Kumble was adjudged the `man of the series' and this was a positive development for the home team, putting at rest any speculation regarding the genial leg-spinner's recovery from the shoulder injury.

Scoreboard

ZIMBABWE - 1st innings: 329

INDIA - 1st innings: 354

ZIMBABWE - 2nd innings: 146

INDIA - 2nd innings:
S. S. Das lbw b Streak              31
(173m, 126b, 2x4)
D. Dasgupta (run out)                1
(10m, 5b)
S. Ganguly lbw b G. Flower          20
(54m, 32b, 4x4)
A. Kumble c Gripper b G. Flower      0
(1m, 1b)
S. Tendulkar lbw b Price            42
(79m, 52b, 7x4, 1x6)
R. Dravid c A. Flower b Price        6
(43m, 22b, 1x4)
S. Bangar (not out)                  3
(36m, 21b)
Harbhajan Singh (not out)           14
(23m, 17b, 1x4, 1x6)
Extras (lb-4, nb-5)                  9
                                   ---
Total (for six wkts)               126
                                   ---

Fall of wickets: 1-3 (Dasgupta), 2-36 (Ganguly), 3-36 (Kumble), 4-93 (Tendulkar), 5-103 (Das), 6-105 (Dravid).

Zimbabwe bowling: Streak 16.5-4-53-1, Friend 3-0-17-0 (nb-5), Price 19-9-24-2, G. Flower 6-3-22-2, Gripper 1-0-6-0.

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