Tuesday, May 14, 2002
Tuesday, May 14, 2002 |
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Cricket
By Vijay Lokapally
West Indies skipper Carl Hooper sends India's Sachin Tendulkar to the fence on the fourth day of the fourth Test match at St. John's in Antigua on Monday.—
The very thought that Anil Kumble was on the flight home was enough to encourage the likes of Carl Hooper and Shivnarine Chanderpaul take charge. Hooper century pushes total A century (136) by skipper Hooper and his 196-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Chanderpaul (77 not out) saw the West Indies to a total of 382 for 5 in 149 overs an hour before the scheduled close of play. Hooper was caught by Nehra off Tendulkar. In the absence of Kumble, the Indian attacked looked thin and disillusioned. It was as if the bowlers had resigned themselves to a hard grind even before the West Indians had looked confident in the middle. Hooper continued his excellent form of the series as he swelled his aggregate in quite a confident manner. At lunch on the fourth day, Hooper, in the company of Chanderpaul, had carried the West Indies total to 266 for four. The West Indies, resuming at 187 for three, lost Ramnaresh Sarwan quickly this morning. Sarwan had batted with lot of assurance until he played across to Zaheer Khan, the pick of the Indian bowlers. But Hooper, with so much time to play his shots, batted like a champion, belting the short ball with utter disdain, picking gaps at will. His contemptuous pull shots off Zaheer and Nehra brought back memories of a very attacking Hooper, who was known to be a compulsive strokemaker against the short ball. The ease with which Hooper batted inspired Chanderpaul to get into his act right away. The same pair that defied the Indian bowlers at Georgetown and Bridgetown was now at work. Hooper was the dominant partner simply because he decided to punish the erratic attack and not graft as most of the batsmen had on this track. It was not Chanderpaul chose to curb himself. He too picked on the right balls to score off and the partnership gradually balanced the contest. The match, however, had came alive in the last session on Sunday. The pitch looked venomous and batting became an arduous exercise as the West Indies ran into a motivated Anil Kumble at the Antigua Recreation Ground here. There was no inkling of the things to come when Chris Gayle and Wavell Hinds began the West Indian response to a challenging total by India. The bowlers were content to keep the scoring rate in check even as India skipper Sourav Ganguly did his best to utilise the limited attack of just three seamers. The injury to Kumble meant that Sachin Tendulkar was the next best spinner in the side and he did his bit with a wonderful delivery. The day belonged to Kumble. By taking the field he made many people, and not just the batsmen, uncomfortable. It was wonderful commitment that stood out on a day when the emphasis was on waiting for the batsmen to make the mistakes. Kumble is the kind who induces errors from the batsmen and his successful plotting of Brian Lara was a fantastic reward for the man's loyalty to the side. The West Indians had looked in comfort when the openers put the bowlers in their place with a calculated assault. Gayle may have looked a bit tentative at times but then he managed to play his shots before Zaheer surprised him with bounce. With Hinds and Sarwan at the crease, the Indian bowlers found it tough to make an impact. Hinds did not compromise with his aggression and raced to a half century to signal a welcome return to Test cricket. From the time he made a promising start to his career, Hinds had been guilty of casting his wicket away on a number of occasions after doing all the hard work. Sarwan once again played a quality innings, treating the ball on merit and middling it right from the time he arrived in the middle. His confidence against the seamers sets him apart as no bowler troubled him at any point. His excellent footwork and temperament was a fine combination and kept the West Indies in control. Hinds and Sarwan did not allow the pressure to shackle them and the absence of Kumble too made things easier for the batsmen. Srinath and Nehra worked hard but sacrificed control and direction in their quest to bowl fast even as Zaheer explored the batsmen with a nagging line. Hinds and Sarwan compelled the Indians to bowl a defensive line but it looked different once Tendulkar came to bowl. The wily spinner, with his crafty bag of tricks, commanded respect from Hinds even as Sarwan looked sure with his excellent footwork. But the focus was clearly on Hinds as he continued playing shots until Tendulkar tested his skills against the spinners. Hinds was unable to read Tendulkar and gradually lost his rhythm. The drives lost the punch and his time went erratic. This was the time for Tendulkar to strike and he did with a well-concealed googly as Hinds was bowled behind the legs.
Legends shower praise on Kumble
Lara now took the centrestage and so did Kumble. Knowing the leg-spinner it was not surprising that he came onto bowl. Praise came from some of the legends here with Sunil Gavaskar and Viv Richards describing his wonderful gesture in glowing terms. Kumble had been a great team-man but he grew in the esteem of his mates even as he placed himself in danger by taking the field with a fractured jaw. Kumble was specifically advised against taking the field but the bowler in him could not resist. "I had to be in the middle with my team. I had nothing else in mind but to go and bowl for the team," said Kumble. He brushed aside the pain and walked on to the field to take charge. The spectators encouraged him and the team showed its gratitude by applauding every ball. It might not have been Kumble at his best but he was setting an example, and also proving a point to someone. When he trapped Lara with a flipper it was a great moment for Kumble. His jaw strapped, he could not even appeal and express his feelings to his mates but the deed spoke for the man and his commitment. Kumble should have had Hooper twice but luck favoured the West Indies skipper. West Indies survived the Kumble onslaught but it was the leg-spinner who stole the honours for the day.
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