The Hindu : India outplays Zimbabwe

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 20, 2003

Sport

Sport - World Cup

India outplays Zimbabwe

By Vijay Lokapally

The master in action, India's Sachin Tendulkar cuts Guy Whittal.

HARARE FEB. 19. Sachin Tendulkar looked in excellent nick, and that was as much a gain as the four points from the win against Zimbabwe. The threat of rain hung over the Harare Sports Club but his batting spread sunshine and brought cheer back to the Indian dressing room. Even if not a convincing triumph, the effort was worth a pat on the back for a team demoralised by inimical forces working tirelessly to destroy the confidence of the players.

It was a much-needed relief for a team battered by brickbats from countless corners. To say it was a result on expected lines would not be out of place even conceding the fickle form of the Indian team in recent times. There was a huge difference between Australia and Zimbabwe and the Indians were quick to bury the past and look ahead with plenty of verve.

It should also be said that the team should not be reading much into the win, considering the calibre of the opponents. "A win is a win'' we know but then the team, not to forget the demanding fans, would also do well to accept the fact that this was just one small step in pursuit of an imposing task. The high-fives and the acts put on for the galleries better remain tempered. There is no cause for celebration yet even if the victory keeps India in the hunt for a place in the super six stage.

Zimbabwe has been a bogey team for India. The defeat in the last World Cup in England may not have had a bearing on this match but it sure motivated the team to plug all loopholes. With an eye on the clouds lurking in the distance, the Indians showed the right approach, combining urgency with purpose, to wrap up the contest in an authoritative fashion.

Having secured a decent target, the Indians went for the `kill' in a professional manner. Javagal Srinath, true to expectations, did not disappoint and broke the Zimbabwean ambitions with an inspired spell, in keeping with his status in the team. He went flat out and one has not seen bowl with such accuracy and conviction for long. The Karnataka speedster deserved all the credit for playing the role assigned to him in a befitting manner. He bowled from his heart and shared the glory with Tendulkar.

Srinath's fantastic spell left the Zimbabweans shaken and there was no resistance worth merit. The callous manner in which Andy Flower batted, thrice surviving easy run out hits, showed the lack of spirit in the home team. The batting lacked the vision and application against an attack, which rediscovered its quality to be incisive when it matters. Srinath and Tendulkar, and of course Ganguly with his bowling success, were the architects of the the Indian revival, if one may term it so.

Tendulkar met the lofty standards that he set for himself and in his exalted company the rest prospered to regain much of the pride that was lost in a heap following the debacle at Centurion. Character returned to the Indian batting once the team realised it was a situation that demanded total commitment. Some healthy changes in the batting order meant the onus was on Sachin Tendulkar and he did not let his millions of fans down. His knock should be the turning point of the tournament for India and it played a major role in setting up the victory.

The win must be seen in the right perspective. That it came against a weak opponent should not miss scrutiny of those who expect the Indians to maintain the high standards they set for themselves in the past season. There was a welcome urgency for runs at the start and a much saner approach in the middle even though gifting away wickets remained an ugly spot as far as Sourav Ganguly and Dinesh Mongia were concerned.

The Indian innings was essentially an emphatic reassurance of Tendulkar's resolve. Having let his mates down at the Supersport Park against Australia, he was in the best frame of mind when he took guard this morning. He remembered every word of his appeal to the Indian masses that the team had regained its composure, dismissed the last match as a bad dream, and was ready for action.

When Zimbabwe asked India to bat, it was an interesting gamble actually. Heath Streak obviously expected to exploit the early juice in the pitch but the home attack was put to the sword by Tendulkar and an imperious Virender Sehwag. It was a rollicking start after a long, long period and pushed Zimbabwe on the defensive. The pitch did support the bowlers but there was lot of grit in the manner in which the Indian openers fared against the moving and the rising ball.

There were clear signals of coach John Wright having used the whip. The demotion of Ganguly to the middle order was the coach's way of giving positive signals. The discipline in the ranks was evident at every stage and the fear of losing also propelled the team into playing to its potential. The incidents back home have not only instilled a sense of responsibility in the Indian ranks but also made the seniors aware of the fact that complacency would be an invitation to disaster.

The wayward Zimbabwean attack helped the Indians to earn an early grip on the match. Once Sehwag connected his strokes and Tendulkar took a close look at the attack the Indian innings was breezing along the desired course. The bowlers refused to learn and fed the openers with some juicy offerings and the Indians did well to make the most of the mediocre Zimbabwean attack.

The brilliant start by Tendulkar and Sehwag was a calculated charge. The aim was to capitalise on the field restriction because of the two-paced nature of the pitch. They maintained a pacy tempo and the rest followed suit with Rahul Dravid batting most sensibly and Mohammad Kaif doing something with the bat.

With the bowlers and fielders joining the act later, it was a good day in the office for the Indians, especially Ganguly, who could afford a big smile as he trooped out. As a captain, he had done his bit well on Wednesday.

SCOREBOARD

INDIA

V. Sehwag c Taibu
b Whittal
36

(38b, 3x4)

S. Tendulkar b G. Flower 81

(91b, 9x4)

D. Mongia c Hondo
b G. Flower
12

(37b)

S. Ganguly c Streak
b Blignaut
24

(36b, 1x6)

R. Dravid (not out) 43

(55b, 2x4)

Y. Singh c Taibu
b Murphy
1

(5b)

M. Kaif lbw b Hondo 25

(24b, 1x4, 1x6)

H. Singh c Murphy
b Streak
3

(5b)

Z. Khan (not out) 13

(8b, 1x4)

Extras (b-4, lb- 4, w-9) 17

— —

Total (for seven wickets
in 50 overs)
255

— —

Fall of wickets: 1-99 (Sehwag), 2-142 (Mongia), 3-142 (Tendulkar), 4-182 (Ganguly), 5-184 (Yuvraj), 6-227 (Kaif), 7-234 (Harbhajan).

ZIMBABWE BOWLING

O M R W

Streak 9 0 46 1

Blignaut 10 0 54 1

Hondo 9 1 56 1

Whittal 6 0 37 1

G. Flower 6 0 14 2

Murphy 10 0 40 1

ZIMBABWE

C. Wishart b Srinath 12

(19b, 2x4)

M. Vermuelen c Dravid
b Srinath
0

(5b)

A. Flower b Harbhajan 22

(54b, 1x4)

G. Flower c Harbhajan
b Ganguly
23

(39b, 1x4)

D. Ebrahim c Agarkar (sub)
b Ganguly
19

(27b, 1x4)

A. Blignaut c Mongia
b Ganguly
2

(5b)

T. Taibu (not out) 29

(44b)

G. Whittal c Zaheer
b Sehwag
28

(26b, 3x4)

H. Streak c Kaif
b Harbhajan
20

(32b, 1x4)

B. Murphy b Zaheer 2

(9b)

D. Hondo b Zaheer 2

(9b)

Extras (b-4, 1b-2, w-5, nb-2) 13

— —

Total (in 44.4 overs) 172

— —

Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Vermuelen), 2-23 (Wishart), 3-48 (A. Flower), 4-83 (G. Flower), 5-83 (Ebrahim), 6-87 (Blignaut), 7-124 (Whittal), 8-160 (Streak), 9-165 (Murphy).

INDIA BOWLING

O M R W

Srinath 8 1 14 2

Zaheer 7.4 0 23 2

Nehra 7 0 35 0

Harbhajan 10 0 42 2

Ganguly 5 1 22 3

Sehwag 3 0 14 1

Mongia 4 0 16 0