Monday, May 13, 2002
Monday, May 13, 2002 |
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Cricket
By Vijay Lokapally
CELEBRATION TIME: Ajay Ratra who hit his maiden Test century raises his bat on reaching the milestone. (Right): The other centurion of the match V.V.S. Laxman pulls Mervyn Dillon on the third day of the fourth Test against the West Indies at Antigua on Sunday. — Photos: V.V. Krishnan
It definitely gave the team the confidence to look at contributions from batsmen other than the top half. With this knock, Ratra confirmed that he was a youngster worth investing in — competent behind the stumps and in front too.
Kumble back into action The injured Anil Kumble, who did not join the team when it took to fielding, came back into action later and claimed the wicket of Brian Lara, who fell lbw to Kumble for just four runs. Kumble was wearing bandage around his injured jaw. Hinds made 65 before being out to a Tendulkar delivery. Zaheer Khan took the wicket of Gayles who scored 32. West Indies made 135 for 3 in 53 overs. The Indians, with their tactics, ensured that the West Indies had to bat under pressure. Even if slow at times, the Indian batting came good with some splendid work by Ratra and Laxman. For Ratra, it was his maiden Test century in his third match. At lunch on the third day, the West Indies was 17 for no loss in reply to India's imposing total of 508 for nine declared. Ratra became the second wicketkeeper after Vijay Manjrekar to hit a century overseas. Manjrekar achieved the distinction in 1953 when he had to keep wickets in place of P.G. Joshi in the fifth Test at Kingston. Ratra and Laxman had been guilty of some slow batting in the second session on Saturday when they compiled just 65 runs but they picked up momentum with some enterprising show in the last session when 125 runs came in 33 overs. It was the most entertaining phase of the first two days and one which brought the best out of Laxman. ``It's always satisfying to hit a century and it becomes special when you get one in the West Indies. I had always dreamt of scoring a century in the West Indies. I'm so glad that I got one when the team needed it most," said Laxman, who played some superb hooks and pulls during the course of this attacking knock which ended on the third morning when he was hit wicket. Ratra returned unconquered as the Indians declared the innings closed. For Ratra it was a momentous innings. It was a significant step forward for this unsung wicketkeeper, who had to prove his batting qualities since the demanding skipper was not happy with just his glovework. Here was a committed cricketer who had nothing but team interest in mind. ``At no point did I play for myself. All the time I wanted to do well for the team and it was important that I got runs. I was not at all tense because I was confident of giving Laxman the support," said the modest Ratra. The fact that Laxman was willing to fight it out was a good sign and Ratra was motivated by his senior partner. The best thing that emerged from Ratra's batting was to end any more speculation concerning his batting abilities. It should also establish him in the side as the number one wicketkeeper. The one thing that the skipper held against Ratra was his batting. "He needs to score a few runs," Sourav Ganguly had remarked after the win at Port of Spain. "I never doubted his batting abilities," the India skipper said on Saturday after watching Ratra carve an innings which gave a great boost to his career. Ratra had been picked as the first choice wicketkeeper but the team management ignored him for the first Test. And then he made an entry only because Deep Dasgupta failed to deliver. The selectors need to be patted for backing Ratra who rose through the ranks. Ratra had indeed looked out of place at Barbados but as he confided it was because of the big stage and the fact that he had not known such pressure. So, when coach John Wright encouraged him and when he walked into another pressure situation, Ratra was ready. He was mentally prepared to play the innings that mattered so much. It was tough but then he was not going to let go this opportunity. Laxman praised his young partner. "I have played with him on a few occasions. He has tremendous talent. What I like about him is his guts and competitive spirit. I always had a lot of confidence in him," said Laxman on the 21-year-old Haryana wicketkeeper. On his own innings, Laxman commented, "I have been confident because I have been batting well right through the tour. I knew it was just a matter of occupying the crease. I concentrated on not throwing away my wicket because I had got out at 69, 69 and 74." All through this innings, his third Test century, Laxman had timed the ball well and was the main source of inspiration for Ratra to produce a quality innings. Just the kind which was needed to put things in the perspective as far as the wicketkeeping slot was concerned. It is indeed strange that he had to secure his place in the side with a good show with the bat rather than the gloves. For some time now, there should be no debate on who is the best wicketkeeper in the land after Nayan Mongia. Meanwhile, leg-spinner Anil Kumble was ruled out of the rest of the fourth Test because of a fractured jaw. He had suffered a blow on Saturday following a nasty bouncer from Mervyn Dillon. The ball crashed into the grill of the helmet and hit him on the left jaw. X-rays revealed a fracture even though Kumble appeared to have recovered. The pain was unbearable, according to Kumble, and he was looking forward to bowl but the X-ray report effectively ruled out chances of the leg-spinner playing any further part in the remaining part of the tour. Kumble had been included in this Test after missing out the last two Tests at Trinidad and Barbados.
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