Saturday, Jul 06, 2002
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Cricket
By Srikkanth
It is good to see India performing consistently well on this tour. At Chester Le Street, the Indian batsmen had set up what would have been a hat-trick of victories, only for the weather to intervene. However, the signs are good from India's point of view. The batting of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid was delightful. I particularly liked the manner in which they paced their innings. In the past, we have had instances of India either progressing at a snail's pace or zooming ahead, only to be pegged back towards the end. This time around, Tendulkar and Dravid joined forces when India had lost early wickets, and then, after enabling India recover, played a flurry of exciting shots. It was smart cricket. My guess is that Tendulkar wanted to prove a point to himself. That he can score a hundred, walking in at any number. He is a great cricketer, loves new challenges, and can do justice to any role. Yet, I still hold on to the view that he should open the innings, for apart from having an opportunity to launch into the bowling straightaway, he has the chance of facing the fifty full overs. Dravid's innings confirmed his importance to this Indian line-up. He keeps his end and lends solidity, enabling the others to score around him. Dravid's is a crucial role. And towards the end, Yuveraj Singh destroyed the English bowling, the experienced Darren Gough included. What I like about this lad is his timing. He is such a clean and effortless striker of the ball, and doesn't get intimidated by situations. The pleasing aspect of Indian batting's performance so far, is that there has not been over-dependence on any one cricketer. If Tendulkar doesn't get the runs, Sehwag will, if Dravid fails, Yuveraj or Kaif succeed. This is how, it should always be. The English batting, too, has boomed in this tournament, the highlight being the successful chase of Sri Lanka's 240 in 32 overs at Lord's. The key man, once again, was Marcus Trescothick, who gets his runs at a fast clip, but with normal strokes, rather than contrived ones. He is just the right kind of player for England at the top of the order. Trescothick's innings fired England towards Lanka's daunting score and then, Paul Collingwood and Alec Stewart finished it off, confirming the depth in this English line-up. Sadly, Sanath Jayasuriya's fine, attacking knock was in vain. The Lankan skipper must be feeling miserable that his stroke- filled century couldn't provide his side victory. An effort in vain, however good it might be, is not remembered for long. I have myself scored a few unrewarded hundreds and I can assure you that it can be quite depressing. The Lankan attack, or rather the lack of depth in it, was exposed at Lord's. The team now is paying the price for its over- dependence on Muttiah Muralitharan. Sri Lanka has a lot of unfinished work on the bowling front before the World Cup. It desperately needs to have viable options. www.krishsrikkanth.com
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