Tuesday, Aug 27, 2002
Tuesday, Aug 27, 2002 |
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By G. Viswanath
THE FINAL NAIL: Anil Kumble and Parthiv Patel appeal after forcing Andrew Caddick to nick one to Sourav Ganguly in the slips, signalling England's defeat in the third Test at Headingley, Leeds, on Monday. — Photo: N. Sridharan
There was never an iota of doubt about India coasting to a comfortable win after the first breakthrough was made half an hour into the morning, but not before England's captain Nasser Hussain and another virtuoso performer in Alec Stewart had put up a stout defence. The margin of victory — an innings and 46 runs — was resounding. It was not a booming shot to the boundary or a towering six from a batsman that announced India's fourth triumph against England on English soil. But it was the good old and dependable magic of spin bowling that worked wonders. Ganguly's swift change of attack from pace to spin after Zaheer Khan was cover driven and hooked for imperious shots by the England captain reflected a truth that his team can achieve the desired results only through Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh. The Indians must have been a little anxious when Hussain seemed prepared to baulk them, not just by showing the full face of the bat but also by keeping the scoreboard ticking, seizing opportunities when the left-arm seamer got his length wrong, either bowling full or very short. A cover drive was his first authentic shot of the morning and a hook took him one run short of his 12th century in his 75th match; he reached the landmark turning Zaheer to deep square leg. The standing ovation from the famous Western terraces and the verandah outside the team dressing room did not stop until Hussain was ready to face the next ball. England's Zimbabwean coach Duncan Fletcher led the round of applause, but it was not before that Kumble was charging into bowl at Hussain. It had been a little over three hours since the Indian bowlers had tasted success, when Kumble came bouncing from the pavilion end to offer a bat pad chance to Virender Sehwag at short leg. The Indian opener, who did not have a great Test with the willow, made up for that by taking half a dozen catches. He was agile enough to hold the catch that was dipping to his right. The previous catch too (off John Crawley) had gone in the direction of Sehwag at cover on Sunday. He was excited but did not cross the line to be warned for excessive appealing for which he was docked a one-match suspension after the second Test at Port Elizabeth last November. Hussain and Stewart showed their prowess with some good strokeplay. Zaheer and Ajit Agarkar were a bit wayward, pushing themselves hard after the fall of Crawley. Ganguly's team was not only exhausted, but also had run out of luck after Stewart joined his captain. Things changed rapidly after the Indian captain ushered in Kumble after Zaheer had gone for 11 runs from three overs. Stewart's pull shot off Agarkar saw the lead dip under hundred, but it was not long before that Kumble had him caught at slip by eventual Man of the Match Rahul Dravid. It was another instance when Kumble, who went past Allan Donald's tally of 330 wickets, proved that he is a quality bowler which his captain acknowledged at the press conference. Only a few months ago, the tour selectors had sidestepped him and chose Harbhajan Singh as the first choice for the Trinidad Test, but on Monday, Kumble showed his worth and conveyed a forceful message to the `Doubting Thomases' that Indian cricket can still count on him. It was just that he was in the thick of action again in the end throwing his hands up after seeing the ball that was edged by Caddick and travel towards Ganguly at first slip. Kumble's seven-wicket haul in the match took his tally to fourteen wickets from two Tests a quantum leap from eight wickets in four Tests from his previous two visits to England in 1990 and 1996. He played to his strength and seldom gave width for the batsmen. He was responsible for taking three of the six wickets that fell on the fifth day. Flintoff fails again Andrew Flintoff's wretched luck at Headingley continued to dog him. The first ball he faced was a no ball, the second he nudged it to Dravid at slip. Four years ago, against South Africa his scores were 0 and 0; he repeated that again here in this Test. England's lower order batsmen in Alex Tudor and Ashley Giles spent 65 and 41 minutes respectively before Giles was run out. The eighth wicket stand delayed a certain win for India. There was not even a drop of rain. The England captain Hussain said that his team was outplayed. "There are no excuses. We picked four seamers thinking that the ball would seam and swing around. It is easy to say `bowl to a little fuller length.' But they all have natural lengths. On the contrary, we now have not bowled well at Auckland, Trent Bridge and Headingley, which are supposed to suit our bowlers. I think Rahul played a great knock. It was one of the best I have seen in Test cricket." 
Indian cricketers rush to congratulate the captain, Saurav Ganguly, after their victory against England in the third test at Headingley on Monday. — Photo: N. Sridharan
The Indians will be under pressure to make history at The Oval, because they have not won a Test series here for many years. In professional sport, the curve is not always on the cup. Delighted at his team's victory, Ganguly said it was a result of `team work.' "I thought Dravid and Bangar were fantastic on the first day. The bowlers should get all the credit. Kumble is a world-class bowler. I thought Zaheer Khan bowled splendidly right through the match. He looked like taking a wicket in each of his spell. There were doubts about his fitness initially. Ajit bowled well in the first innings, but generally the bowlers did a fantastic job. I must also give credit to John Wright, who has changed the work ethics.'' England's coach Duncan Fletcher felt it is not easy to maintain top class performance and there are bound to be dips in form. "The bowlers were not up to the mark on the first day.'' Ganguly was not prepared to accept that his team has the psychological advantage. "We have been in this situation before in Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and West Indies. We have to play very well. England is a good team and Hussain is a top class batsman,'' he said. Team management's request Meanwhile, the team management has asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) whether it can utilise the services of Sunil Joshi, Dodda Ganesh and Sairaj Bahutule, who are playing in minor counties here, for the four-day match against Derbyshire from Aug. 28 to 31. This request is to give the senior players a rest.
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