The Hindu : India squanders a golden opportunity

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 30, 2002

Sport

Sport - Cricket

India squanders a golden opportunity

The Indians may not get an opportunity to win, like they received in Napier. But they seem to be adept at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

This time they cannot blame the pitch. I feel the wicket played good, and actually encouraged strokeplay. But if the batsmen fail to apply themselves then what is the use?

On this pitch, a target of 255, in my book, was easily achievable. The ball was coming on to the bat and the boundaries on the sides were extremely short. Actually, without Shane Bond, the Kiwis should have been hard-pressed to defend the target. Instead, India gave the match away on a platter.

This was extremely disappointing. What a pity that Virender Sehwag's fine hundred did not mean much to the side, in terms of the eventual outcome.

This was a responsible knock by Sehwag, and he understood the need of someone to stay at the crease and play a long innings. The opener paced his innings extremely well, and he could have well guided India to victory.

I don't know what in the world prompted Harbhajan Singh and Sehwag to go for a single off Darryl Tuffey's last ball. There was absolutely no need for the run, and the needless risk taken ultimately cost India the match.

The run-out of Rahul Dravid too was totally unwarranted, but Sehwag and Kaif brought the match under India's control. All that India needed from that stage was common-sense cricket. But they could not even do that.

The less said about the standard of the Indian fielding the better. I was shocked by the pathetic performance put up by the fielders and I shudder to think what our fate in the World Cup would be, if we continue to field in this manner.

In contrast, the Kiwis were outstanding on the field, and the sensational catch taken by Craig McMillan was one the best catches I have seen in a long time. The Kiwis are jelling well as a unit and the confidence level in the side is high now.

The Indian team management should ensure that the side completes its quota of overs in the required time. Things like these make a lot of difference to the result. Especially when it comes to the run-a-ball equation in the end overs.

Had India got the full 50 overs to face — it has only itself to blame for the fact that it didn't — the batsmen would have been less tense, there would have been less need for risks. For instance, Mohammed Kaif and Sanjay Bangar could have played in a more relaxed frame of mind.

On Indian bowling, I thought Javagal Srinath was once again very impressive. In fact, he should have been around for the Test series. The paceman's bowling in the first two one-dayers has been of high quality. Zaheer Khan also bowled well, and India, ironically, has less worries about its pace attack at the moment.

In the New Zealand innings, Nathan Astle and Mathew Sinclair were among the runs, and the former can be extremely effective, especially in this form of the game. My guess is that in the coming matches, things are only going to get tougher for India, unless the side mends its ways.

www.kris-srikkanth.com

By K. Srikkanth

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