The Hindu : A priceless effort by Dravid

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 23, 2002

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Sport - Cricket

A priceless effort by Dravid

By G. Viswanath

Leeds Aug. 22. Rahul Dravid's 12th Test century (110 batting, 16 x 4s) on the first day of the npower third Test against England was a priceless effort. Any batsman who would have shouldered the burden of his team like Hercules on Thursday deserved the highest accolade of the day. More often than not Dravid comes across as the stoical man, rarely the dashing debonair.

The game of cricket has the tendency to place the spectacular deeds above determined and resolute efforts. India's vice-captain managed to blend hard labour and style to steer towards a modest total of. When captain packs his team with four seamers, the batsmen find themselves secured under a helmet, even when a slow bowler makes a rare appearance.

For a majority of the 93 overs he was in the middle, Dravid saw balls delivered by six footers of the fast bowling ilk. Dravid was never hit above shoulder height, but he must have found out what a handy device a helmet can be while facing Alex Tudor, who was the one who made the ball hurry through of the pitch and forced Dravid on the back foot and make his hands move in reflex action to defend.

It was day when a batsman not possessing proper technique and short on luck would have survived long as was the case with Virender Sehwag. His new partner Sanjay Bangar's game is founded on defence and in the circumstances he was, with Shiv Sundar Das not picked, the most suitable candidate for the job the team looked upon him to do. Apart from a confident shout for leg before the umpire Ashoka De Silva did not show interest in, Bangar showed good temperament and technique, especially while facing Matthew Hoggard in the first two hours.

He like Dravid was beaten on occasions by deliveries that lifted and seamed away, but with the bowlers not able to generate pace, Bangar managed to be on control for nearly five fours during which he put a record second wicket stand against England at Headingley. India profited much in the post tea session because of the 170 run partnership between Bangar and Dravid, the second wicket pair and thereafter Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar adding 104 runs.

The scoreboard began ticking at a brisk pace because the Dravid was able to punish the slightest error the tired England seamers made even after the second new ball was taken after the 81st over. India's obsession with trial and error method produced a remarkable result in the most adverse conditions. They will continue to experiment until it discovers a sound opening pair as good as two `Sunil Gavaskars', which they have failed to since the little master hung up his boots very long ago. But the gamble to pick Bangar as the opening partner for Sehwag in the crucial Test paid off. Even conceding that he was not cut out for the spectacular, Bangar merited plaudits for his handling the England seam attack with a great deal of confidence.

He was picked with the double purpose of confronting the England seamers with all the ability he had and also bowl a few stingy overs. But by accepting the first of the challenges and proving equal to the task he has sent a message that it will be difficult to leave him out for the fourth and final Test at the Oval.

He had played a great role in the second wicket partnership of 170 England failed to separate for four hours. In a way India's cricketers who are well into the third month of the tour of England and have been in defiant mood off the field in the past week straightaway took the fight into the rival camp whose tactics was demonstrated by its ruthless seam bowling right through the first four hours.

England, which had offered moral support to their cause against image rights issue with the ICC on Wednesday, was not going to extend any helping hand in so far as to stage a comeback in the series they are down by one Test. By teatime Bangar and Dravid had tamed England by a display of batting based on discipline and common sense.

They travelled to the Headingley on Thursday morning in the knowledge that their Australian counterparts had agreed upon a satisfactory arrangement with their Board to facilitate their taking part in the controversy raged ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka less than month's time from now and also that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had gone ahead picking the 25 probables for the event in Colombo.

They had put their careers on the line by refusing to toe the line of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and BCCI and hence all the more the reason had bigger stakes in the Test that began in conditions that had helped England win five Tests in the last ten years. Having taken a bold and mutinous stand they had much to prove and turning out to be meek against four-pronged seam attack that was expected to bare its teeth with the recall of Caddick and Tudor would have shown them in poor light.

When India's new opening pair walked out after Sourav Ganguly had opted to bat under a low cloud cover, there were trepidations of Bangar and Sehwag's calling to handle the likes of a successful new ball bowler on Hoggard and Andrew Caddick. Last winter Bangar made 36 against the Nasser Hussain led England at Mohali, but when sent as an opener against the West Indies at Port of Spain he made 9 and 16 before being fast bowler Adam Sanford dismissed him in both the innings.

Conditions at Headingley were most favourable to seam bowling that enabled England to draw first blood when Hoggard teased and taunted Sehwag to drive and nick into the big hands of Andrew Flintoff at second slip. Bangar and Sehwag, who scored a brilliant second Test century at Trent Bridge, was given an opportunity to make a shot that be at the most can be described as a square slash.

He had taken a chance against Caddick and the ball for most part remained in the air, but clear of a fielder. He survived for half an hour before he was lured into a drive that only spelt doom.As sunshine made a brief appearance before teatime, Bangar and Dravid looked comfortable against Caddick and Flintoff, but Hoggard who had fine bowling figures of 10-4-20-1 before he was rung in for a second spell and Aled Tudor troubled the Indian pair, but Dravid the most.

The first session had seen Hoggard showing exemplary skill in making the ball seam away, The Yorkshire seamer playing in his first Test at his home ground was the pick of the England bowlers, but lack of support from Caddick prevented England enjoying more than one success up to the end of the second session.

Bangar lapped up quick lessons judging the exactness of length and leaving deliveries that sometimes seamed away prodigiously. Such was the exhibition of Hoggard, who later got support from Tudor who made life miserable for Dravid, but the technician in the India vice captain came to the fore. He took blows in his knuckles and under the shoulder.

It was not before the 50th over that Hussain tossed the ball to left arm spinner Ashley Giles. It was hard labour for the second wicket pair, but both Bangar and Dravid struck a few lovely shots, too as India took control of things in the first day.

By stumps Dravid had played a lot more shots of quality, through the covers and down the ground. "It was a satisfying effort considering the challenging conditions. Bangar gave me confidence. He had not played in such conditions before," said Dravid who scored 5000 runs during the course of his innings.

SCOREBOARD

INDIA — 1st innings

S. Bangar c Stewart b Flintoff 68

(297m, 236b, 10x4)

V. Sehwag c Flintoff b Hoggard 8

(30m, 23b, 1x4)

R. Dravid (batting) 110

(331m, 247b, 16x4)

S. Tendulkar (batting) 18

(64m, 46b, 3x4)

Extras (b-13, lb-7, nb-12) 32

— —

Total (for two wkts) 236

— —

Fall of wickets: 1-15 (Sehwag), 2-185 (Bangar)

England bowling: Hoggard 22-8-48-1 Caddick 21-5-51-0, Tudor 21-10-49-0, Flintoff 14-3-34-1, Giles 12-2-34-0