Tuesday, May 21, 2002
Tuesday, May 21, 2002 |
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Cricket
By Vijay Lokapally
West Indies' Cameron Cuffy exults after trapping S.S. Das leg before wicket on the second day of the fifth and final test against India at Kingston in Jamaica.
Formidable on paper, but often brittle in reality. It is this inconsistency that has given India's batting such a poor image when the challenge involves survival on lively — bouncy and seaming — tracks. After restricting the West Indies to 422, after such a strong start, in its first innings, India had a task on hand. The response had to be strong for the visiting side to make a match of it but it was missing once the West Indies made an early dent. The fifth and final Test at the Sabina Park gradually swung West Indies' way and it was through a well-crafted approach. An empty Sabina Park was indeed a shocking sight on Monday when the home team was to tighten the noose around the Indians. It was bound to be an intense battle, what with India looking to avoid the follow-on after resuming at 141 for four. An hour before lunch on the third day, India was 178 for six with Laxman battling on. Ganguly and Laxman showed exemplary commitment by applying themselves on the second day and continued the good work for some time on Monday before the left-hander made the fatal error of trying to reach for the ball. Ganguly got a nick which settled in the wicketkeeper's glove as Dillon made a big strike at the right time. It was the first time that Ganguly had made a tentative effort and it proved costly because his presence mattered a lot in the middle. He had shown the right temperament to deal with the situation in the middle order but his dismissal meant pressure on Laxman, even though there were expectations from Ajay Ratra to contribute but he fell fending Dillon. India was in trouble at the first drinks break indeed. The West Indian bowlers did not repeat the mistakes of the Indians and pitched the ball in the right area. There was nothing spectacular about the way the West Indies planned its tactics. It was just that the bowlers had to stick to a particular line and length and they achieved their target like true professionals. Look at the manner in which some of the Indian batsmen got out. Wasim Jaffer showed haste in playing his shots; Rahul Dravid shaped across the line; Sachin Tendulkar edged a harmless delivery onto the stumps; and Shiv Sundar Das showed rare aggression at the wrong time to push the team into a tight corner. Poor shot selection and shaky temperament showed the tardy side of India's batting which took a dip on the second day of the match. Let down by the bowlers, the batsmen had to share the responsibility but none seemed to have the mental toughness to fight it out. Jaffer may have been guilty of playing a shot too early but then that is his natural style. Dravid's gait suggested confidence of the batsman but then he made the mistake of attempting to play across the line. Losing two early wickets obviously created tension in the Indian camp but then hopes soared when Tendulkar displayed his known flourish. Tendulkar began with a clipped four, defended the next ball and then off-drove effortlessly to win the initial round against Mervyn Dillon, who had lost little time in finding his rhythm. Tendulkar seemed to have left his problems behind and looked set to play an innings befitting his stature. His timing was sensational even as the West Indian bowlers looked to stretch their domination but there was always this fear of an Indian collapse since the challenge was huge. And, Tendulkar departed just when he seemed to be in control. And it did not take a lethal delivery to do it. It needed a rank bad ball from Adam Sanford for him to attempt a square drive resulting in an inner-edge which destroyed India's hopes, for the day at least. In Ganguly and Laxman the Indians found a pair which was willing to mix caution and aggression to suit the needs of the team. Ganguly kept a steady head and chose the right deliveries to hit while Laxman maintained his splendid form of the series to see the day through. The two played some rousing drives and it was just the kind of treatment the West Indian attack deserved on a pitch which saw the ball come on nicely. Only the batsmen had to be discreet when playing the shots and Ganguly and Laxman were well tuned to tackle the situation that arose from the cheap dismissal of Dravid and the bonus that Tendulkar gave the home team by losing his wicket to Adam Sanford's innocuous delivery.
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