The Hindu : India should have batted first

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 25, 2003

Sport

Sport - World Cup

India should have batted first

It was a glorious opportunity lost by India, and I am not sure if we would get a similar chance again. The one-sided nature of the final left me deeply disappointed.

The toss was a crucial factor and India should have batted first. By inserting Australia, we certainly erred. Even if the Australians had lost three quick wickets, they had enough depth to come up with a challenging score, especially since they were not chasing, which can throw up its own challenges.

What I am trying to say is that the Australians, by batting first, were not under any strain and could play their strokes freely. There is so much difference between setting a target, and going after it, that too in a Cup final.

If the mighty West Indians succumbed to India in the summit clash at Lord's in '83, it was because they were in pursuit of a score, though the target was not really a threatening one.

The Indian batsmen should have backed their own ability — we had the world's best player in Sachin Tendulkar and the rest too were in form. Even if India had managed to piece together a score of around 250, it would have been a different game.

The meek capitulation at the hands of the Aussie quicks in the earlier clash at the Centurion seemed to be at the back of the Indian batsmen's minds. They were shot out for 125, but that was a phase when the Indians were low on confidence.

The Indian side that met the Aussies again in the final was a different outfit, a team bubbling with self-belief. Even before the all-important duel, I had maintained that the Indians should set a target rather than pursue one. Instead, India found itself in a situation where Tendulkar had to virtually throw his wicket away since the target was a mammoth one.

The Indian cause was not helped by the fact that the pacemen bowled so poorly, the weight of expectations finally getting to them. Zaheer Khan could not get his line right, and Javagal Srinath tended to pitch short. You can hardly afford to do that against Adam Gilchrist and Mathew Hayden.

The Australians entered the match with a clear game-plan. Gilchrist would attack the bowling and seize the initiative, and the rest would consolidate. The Aussies were helped by the fact that the Indians sent down 23 no-balls and wides. Apart from the extra runs, they got to face almost four extra overs.

After Gilchrist unsettled the Indian bowlers, skipper Ricky Ponting produced an astonishing century. However, Damien Martyn's effort was equally crucial from an Australian perspective; early on during their record-breaking partnership, when Ponting was struggling to find his touch, it was Martyn who kept the momentum going, never allowing the Aussie grip to ease.

Though Virender Sehwag's was a brave effort, the Indians did not really have a chance once the Aussies rattled up 359. It was a wonderful team performance from the Aussies and they deserve to be the champions of the world.

By K. Srikkanth

www.kris-srikkanth.com

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