The Hindu : West sitting pretty

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Mar 21, 2002

Sport

Sport - Cricket

West sitting pretty
By Our Special Correspondent

PUNE, MARCH 20. Failing light brought a premature end to the second day's play of the inter-zonal Duleep Trophy match here at the Nehru Stadium on Wednesday after Sarandip Singh demonstrated that he is no rabbit with the bat.

He could not have commanded a batting order either side of No. 8, but while those who went ahead of him proved to be paper tigers, Sarandip (batting 69, 11 x 4s) roared in a splendid show of rear guard action that took North from a declining 132 for 6 to 231 for 8 when the umpires offered light to the batsmen.

With West using young seamers Irfan Pathan (Jr) and Avishkar Salvi for 31 overs, it would not have been in a position to finish its quota of 67 overs by 5 p.m. It had to bowl eight more when the teams retired for the day at 4. 45 p.m.

Sarandip, out of the Indian team after the third one- day International against Zimbabwe in Kochi, did not have things going his way in bowling 32 overs. It was refreshing to see him make amends with the bat. But in spite of his individual pursuit which saved many a blushes for his side, West is sitting pretty and poised to take the first innings lead, having posted a formidable 396 straddling on Sairaj Bahutule's first century in the inter-zonal championship and his first three figure knock

in seven years.

Contests between West and North many times in the past, especially in the 1970s and 80s, have been a tight rope walk with the players of both the teams making an earnest attempt to rise above themselves, bringing team work into play. Unfortunately this was absent in the mid session after North had managed to break the flourishing ninth wicket stand of 84 runs between Bahutule and Irfan Pathan (Jr).

It required a direct hit attempt by Shafiq Khan to get the last man and debutant Avishkar Salvi in the middle.

The remains West batsmen did not trouble the North attack. Bahutule, who had struck a four each of Vineet Sharma, Rahul Sanghvi and Nehra, glanced Mithun Manhas to the fine leg boundary to bring up the first century of the match and also his first in the championship.

His very impressive and attractive knock ended in a tame fashion when on 105 (209 mts, 17 x 4s, 1 x 6) he hit hard

and long, but in the air and straight into the hands of substitute Sangram Singh at cover.

Bahutule did no harm to his batting reputation. He crossed 3,000 runs in first class cricket on Tuesday. His effort would have pleased the two selectors, chairman Chandu Borde and Shivlal Yadav, who leave Pune for Mumbai on Thursday morning for the selection committee meeting to pick a 16-member team for the tour of West Indies.

A couple of hours after his immaculate performance with the bat, Bahutule had a hand in the dismissals of four North batsmen, which would necessitate at least a discussion about him for the second part of the series in the West Indies.

North was in a peculiar situation on Wednesday when it began its innings about 20 minutes before lunch. It did not have Yuveraj Singh, who had cut and carved the South attack to make a double century in Faridabad.

When a couple of key players leave the ranks, the team often gets outflanked. It happened to North when Bahutule smashed a century and then had them searching for answers before Sarandip held his own with some help from Rahul Sanghvi who batted for 26 minutes and with Nehra who has defended stoutly for 33 minutes.

It was Irfan Pathan (Jr), who initiated the downfall of North. He had Vikram Rathour driving and edging low into the hands of Wasim Jaffer at second slip and then he trapped Aakash Chopra leg before. Thereafter the Mumbai leg spinner twinkled on his toes to the bowling crease and tweaked the ball to break the back of North.

In between medium pacer Salvi removed North's captain Mithun Manhas. North lost two wickets each at scores of 89 and 132, Vijay Dahiya appeared baffled when Bahutule's delivery pitched on the boot marks and bowled him round his legs.

Sarandip came in at 132 for 6. West believed he would fall by the way side. But it was the young sardar from Punjab who had West by its scruff for 106 minutes. He did not waste scoring opportunities off the spinners and even off Irfan Pathan (Jr) who added three more to his ten wicket bag in Rajkot.

Sarandip might have lived dangerously, but fortune favours the brave, and Sarandip, it must be said, took his chances and turned out to be a thorn in the flesh for the home team. He has so far struck 11 fours and that he scored 60 of the 99 added after the fall of the sixth wicket only mirrored his unyielding nature.

The scores:

West Zone-Ist innings: C. Williams b Nehra 7, W. Jaffer b Nehra 78, H. Kanitkar c Dahiya b Sharma 11, A. Merchant c Manhas b Sarandip 0, V. Kambli c Kanwaljit b Sarandip 33, N. Mongia b Manhas 76, A. Bhoite c Chopra b Manhas 36, S. Bahutule c sub (Sangram Singh) b Nehra 105, R. Powar b Manhas 0, I. Pathan (Jr) run out 25, A. Salvi not out 4, Extras (b 6, lb 5, nb 10) 21, Total (in 110.1 overs) 396.

Fall of wkts: 1-17, 2-67, 3-68, 4-138, 5-138, 6-215, 7-270, 8-296, 9-380.

North bowling: Sharma 19-5-78-1, Nehra 24.1-6- 70-3, Sarandip 37-8-129-2, Sanghvi 16-1-77-0, Manhas 14-4-31-3.

North Zone-Ist innings: A. Chopra lbw b I. Pathan (Jr) 24, V. Rathore c Jaffer b I. Pathan (Jr) 17, P. Dharmani c Mongia b Bahutule 26, M. Manhas c Bhoite b Salvi 12, S. Khan c Williams b Bahutule 27, Kanvaljit Singh c Williams b Bahutule 9, V. Dahiya b Bahutule 0, Sarandip Singh (batting) 69, R. Sanghvi b I. Pathan (Jr) 4, A. Nehra (batting) 1, Extras (b 12, lb 10, nb 19) 42, Total (for 8 wkts in 59 overs) 231 for 8.

Fall of wkts: 1-35, 2-66, 3-89, 4-89, 5- 132, 6-132, 7-154, 8-190.

West bowling: I. Pathan (Jr) 18-2-69-3, Salvi 13-4-45-1, Powar 8-1-24-0, Bahutule 17-5-52-4, Bhoite 3-0-19-0.

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