Thursday, Nov 07, 2002
Thursday, Nov 07, 2002 |
| Sport | ||
|
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | Sport
-
Cricket
What a finish it was to the first ODI at Jamshedpur with Ramnaresh Sarwan slamming the last ball for a boundary, with three required to win. West Indies' victory does not surprise me since it is a combative one-day side. The manner in which the West Indians planned the chase was admirable. They knew if they had wickets in hand towards the end, they could always win. The asking rate was over eight runs an over in the last five overs, however, despite the stumble towards the end, the Caribbeans made it, because of solid runs made earlier. The West Indies got the partnerships going and the Wavell Hinds-Marlon Samuels, Samuels-Ramnaresh Sarwan, and Sarwan - Shivnarine Chanderpaul stands enabled the side to get itself into a situation from where it could win. The stroke-making of Hinds and Sarwan in particular was admirable, and the two were able to find the gaps without much difficulty. The Indian spinners had an ordinary game, and Anil Kumble was unimpressive on the field as well. Their performance re-emphasised the fact that on placid tracks our spinners are not the same force, not just in Test cricket, but in the one-dayers also. The West Indians could step out to Harbhajan and Kumble with ease, and clear the ropes. We need to learn to operate on batsmen-friendly surfaces, especially since the pitches for the ODIs aren't really going to favour the bowlers. With the World Cup around the corner, this is a specific area where the team-management has to work on. The West Indians lost their way towards the end, thanks to a fine penultimate over from Aashish Nehra, that almost undid all the earlier good work by the visitors. However, Sarwan finally clinched the match for the West Indies. The crowd disturbance also upset the rhythm of the West Indians when they were coasting towards a win, and the behaviour of a section of the spectators was disappointing. They should upset Indian defeats gracefully. In the Indian innings, it was good to see Ajit Agarkar batting at No. 3 and he did produce an aggressive innings. Such tactics should be used to disrupt the opposition. However, the strategy should only be a surprise weapon. The Indians would have scored much less, but for Mohammed Kaif's quick-fire innings towards the end. I believe Yuveraj and Kaif should be batting higher up the order, where they deserve a chance. Right now, they do not really have time to play themselves in, and have to go for strokes straightaway. The Indians would be better off, if they push at least one of them higher up the order for the coming games. www.kris-srikkanth.com
Printer friendly
page
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
|
|
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | Home |
Copyright © 2002, The
Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu
|
