Saturday, Apr 12, 2003
Saturday, Apr 12, 2003 |
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Cricket
By S. Dinakar
Debutant Avishkar Salvi of India exults after nailing Mehrab Hussain.
He clenched his fists, punched the air, willow in hand, and pointed the bat towards cheering team-mates in the pavilion. Yuvraj Singh had finally got the monkey off his back and the joy showed. Three long, eventual years, and still no ODI hundred — for no fault of his since he surfaced in the middle-order and limited overs cricket is often the top-order's game — Yuvraj was desperately keen to reach his maiden hundred and he got the Man of the Match Award for his stupendous effort. Yuvraj's 85-ball unbeaten 102, piloting India from 172 for six to 276 was clearly the highlight of India's thumping 199-run win over Bangladesh in the opening encounter of the TVS Cup at the Bangabandhu Stadium, here, on Friday. Bangladesh was blown away really in 27.3 overs for 77. Another positive for India from the duel against a minnow was the performance of debutant paceman Avishkar Salvi, who ran in well, moved the ball away from the right-hander, and probed in the corridor. Salvi struck in his first over and there was an umistakable buzz about his bowling; by tossing at him the new ball, Ganguly ensured that the youngster would be charged. Salvi got Mehrab Hussain on the shuffle in the opening over and then the impressive Zaheer Khan (four for 19), knocked over Tushar Imram, who unwisely shouldered arms and heard the deathly sound of the ball rattling the timber. It was a rapid slide downhill for Bangladesh subsequently, no batsman revealing either the technique or the tenacity. There were wickets too for Ajit Agarkar, who settled into a nice rhythm, and Harbhajan Singh. There might have been a jarring moment when Sehwag, at gully, suffering a momentary lapse in concentration, put down a looping ball when Akram Khan gloved a lifter from Salvi. Back to Yuvraj's effort. He paced his knock wonderfully well, exploding in the latter stages, his second fifty consuming just 25 balls. And there was some stunning blows, the pick being the six over long-off off left-arm spinner Mohammed Rafique, a demanding stroke since he was hitting against the turn. Yuvraj then freed his arms against Mahmud, the expansive cover-drive scorching the turf before the ball smashed the boards; not a fielder moved. Yuvraj (102, 85b, 9x4, 4x6), who appears to possess so much time as he wades into the bowling, may have whipped up the innings of the contest, however, mention must be made of Agarkar (20), who rotated the strike as the seventh wicket pair raised 92 in 9.3 overs. Just the support Yuvraj required. The Bangladesh bowlers were always going to be hard pressed to check the Indians once Sourav Ganguly called right, even if the slowness of the surface did not make strokeplay exactly easy. The match represented a big moment for debutant Gautam Gambhir, but the pressure and demands of the occasion got to him, and the southpaw did appear a touch over-anxious, tending to push and drive away from the body. Gambhir had made eleven unconvincing runs when his tentative jab at Tapash Baishya, the quicker of the two ball bowlers, only resulted in an offering to former captain Khaled Mashud. Virender Sehwag struggled to find his bearings in the beginning but quickly settled down to dish out some pleasing flicks and square and straight drives, and did launch a blistering attack on Baishya, flicking, cutting, and dismissing him over the mid-wicket to complete a rollicking half century off only 44 deliveries. While Baishya at least got the batsmen to hurry their strokes, Manjural Islam's obvious lack of pace made his extremely vulnerable. With his frontline pacemen going for runs, skipper Khaled Mahmud was forced to bring himself and left-arm spinner Mohammed Rafique on, inside the first 15 overs. Rafique got one to hold its line, winning a leg-before decision against Sehwag (63, 51b, 11x4, 1x6), and suddenly there was a spring in the steps of the Bangladeshis. Captain Sourav Ganguly, who was greeted by a roar from the goodly holiday crowd, had a stroke of luck on 11, when he was put down at point by Alok Kapali off the little Mahmud, a skiddy customer with the ball. Ganguly, who has this habit of clearing the ground effortlessly, then struck Rafique for sixes over mid-wicket, dancing down the track. The Bengal batsman appeared in ominous mood for Bangladesh before being taken in the deep, off leg-spinner Alok Kapali. This was the phase when Bangladesh spinners Kapali and off-spinner Sanwar Hussain, both contained and picked wickets. Mohammed Kaif, who struggled to find his timing, top-edged a sweep off Sanwar, and 'keeper Mashud, after juggling with the catch, managed to hold it. Dinesh Mongia, in need of a sizable effort, attempted to sweep Kapali, and perished to a debatable leg-before decision, and Parthiv Patel knocked one back to Sanwar. With the score 172 for six, there was definitely some concern in the Indian camp. Yuvraj changed all that. This young man's a star. SCOREBOARD
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