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Young guns do it for India

Prem Panicker

I guess there is something, after all, to the old cricketing theory that winning is habit-forming -- when you get into the winning groove, you don't quite know how to lose from there too often.

That more than anything else explains India's win, in the curtain-raiser at Sharjah on Friday, when it pipped New Zealand by 15 runs. And, in the process, stopped a run of losses at the venue that threatened, at one stage, to stretch into the sixth straight game.

Another noticeable aspect about the team, these last few weeks, is that one or the other departments pulls off that little bit extra just when it is needed. In the league phase of the Pepsi Cup at home, it was the batting that powered the side to the kind of scores that gave the bowlers breathing space.

This time round, a less than good batting performance was compensated for by some superb bowling, especially by the younger members of the side, to haul the Indians out of jail.

Given that the game turned out to be a relatively low-scoring affair, the inevitable question relates to the pitch. And the answer is that there is nothing wrong with it -- yet. As the tournament moves along into the latter stages, the wickets will definitely get slower and keep lower, but the one for the inaugural game was a nice, easy track, very Indian in character. The ball didn't quite come on to the bat, but on the other hand, neither did it show any sign of variable bounce.

India won the toss and Azharuddin elected to bat first. A decision that needs no comment, really. True, late evening dew could make things tough for his bowlers, particularly the spinners. On the other hand, the Indian skipper was probably backing his in-form batsmen to put a sizeable score on the board and negate the disadvantage of dew.

And it did look as though India was headed for a huge score, when Tendulkar and Ganguly got stuck in to the New Zealand opening bowling of Simon Doull and Chris Cairns. Tendulkar began with a four, caressed through cover, off the first ball of the match from Doull, and then kept on going, looking in ominous touch. At the other end, Ganguly was his usual fluent self on and outside off, and the Kiwi medium pacers made the left-hander's day by pitching a fullish length, putting it in the slot for Ganguly's trademark driving on off.

India thus pulled smoothly away, 22/0 in 5, 47/0 in 10, and it would have been a lot more but for four brilliant stops in the field that saved four certain fours during this phase. Fielding has always been a Kiwi strength, their outcricket making their bowlers look even better than they are. And the bowlers for their part bowl to the field, and in a very disciplined fashion -- never prolific with wides and no balls.

Just when he was looking good to bat through the day, Tendulkar perished to his apparent desire to make the most of the field restrictions in the first 15 overs. Off the first ball of over number 15, the batsman hit on the up and wide of mid off for four. Off the next ball, he stepped away to leg to try and convert the line of a Harris delivery, on middle stump, and hit through off. The ball was held back just a fraction, and Tendulkar ended up putting it down mid off's throat.

India was 76/1 at the end of 15 overs, and it seemed like the platform was in place for a total in excess of 270. If the eventual total fell short of that by a good 50 runs, a good bit of credit goes to the Kiwi lineup of bits and pieces bowlers. Harris, Nash, and Craig McMillan -- medium pacers, according to their rating -- are essentially dibbly-do bowlers who run in and put the ball there or thereabouts, at the slowest speeds they can manage, and make it next to impossible for batsmen to stroke freely. While Priest, the left arm orthodox spinner, also concentrated more on accuracy than on any great turn or variation of length and line to tie down the batsmen.

The way the Indians batted, it looked like they hadn't spent too much time lately watching videos of the Kiwi bowlers. For, against this type of bowling, they found themselves unable to break loose, instead remaining content to push the singles around. A calculated assault by one or the other batsmen, in the middle overs, was needed -- it never came, however.

India thus inched along -- 94/1 in 20, 117/1 in 25, 145/1 in 30 being the milestones in their progress. What was making the task more difficult was the fact that the Kiwi outfielders are well schooled in the basics, they attack every ball, to the extent that even getting the singles is iffy, never mind looking for two or more.

Azhar -- who had already survived one narrow run out chance -- found out just how good the Kiwi fielders could be when Ganguly dabbed one to midwicket, the captain called and ran, Harris raced in and hit the stumps with a direct throw and India lost its second wicket in the 32nd over.

Sidhu came in next, and looked out of sorts through his brief tenure at the crease. When the ball is coming on, Sidhu is a fluent striker. Again, he is lethal against spinners. But here, neither situation applied -- the medium pacers came on slowly enough to test the patience of a saint, the sole spinner kept the ball flatter than a punctured tyre, and Sidhu succumbed when he tried an extravagant flick across the line, to be caught plumb in front by a McMillan straighter one. I suspect, from the way he batted today, that Sidhu is going to find it even harder as this tournament progresses and the wicket gets slower still.

Jadeja looked fluent from the moment he walked out -- which raises the question, what was Sidhu doing ahead of him in the lineup, given that 31 overs had been bowled before Azhar departed, it would have been logical to promote the in-form player and give him more overs to bat. As it turned out, though, Jadeja too succumbed to the pressure of a slow run rate. A mere 12 runs had been scored between overs 30-35, and in the process India had lost two wickets. And India, in 40, were a mere 173/3.

Something had to crack. The "something" was the vice captain. He got under a good length ball from Nash and attempted to flick over midwicket, but only succeeded in finding the fielder in the deep.

Earlier, a little vignette revealed the importance of studying the opposition. Ganguly and Jadeja were running, Jadeja going to what he thought was the danger end as Ganguly pushed behind point. Fleming, the fielder, picked up swiftly and threw, not to the keeper, but to the bowler's end. And the slower Ganguly, caught unprepared, was almost caught short.

Kanitkar came in and, like Jadeja before him, tried to do too much too soon, given that the overs were running out. The left-hander hit on the up at ball from Nash which was held back, and Simon Doull on the long on boundary was in business.

India were 197/5 in 45. And stuffing up badly in the slog overs, in a fashion reminiscent of the Pepsi Cup final against Australia.

Ajit Agarkar came in ahead of Mongia and Kumble, played a brief cameo of 9 off 8 deliveries, showing in the process that he can bat well if he puts his head to it, but then got ambitious dancing down to Cairns. The bowler spotted the move, kept the length full and disarrayed the furniture with a yorker.

Ganguly, meanwhile, was doing a passable imitation of Lne Hand Luke at the other end, progressing serenly towards his third ODI century. His application was commendable, and he alone hung in there to bat the big innings that is the backbone of any good score. However, when viewed in perspective of the team's requirements, fault could perhaps be found with his batting in the last ten overs. By then he was into his mid-eighties, and seemingly conscious of the approaching three-figure mark. At which point, he gave up on every shot except the pushed single, taking one off every ball but not looking to really go for the big hits. In fact, Ganguly played out a maiden in over number 47 -- and it is perhaps this reluctance to step on it when needed that was the sole blemish of an otherwise superb knock.

Wickets tumbled in a heap, more owing to some undistinguished batting against bowlers who merely concentrated on keeping a tight line and letting the batsmen do their work for them, and India ended up on 220. By any yardstick, a good 50 runs short of what was a good total on this track.

Ajit Agarkar, with 10 wickets in his first six ODIs, has visibly matured with every single outing. Of late, he relies on the outswinger and the leg cutter in his first spell, switching to inswingers and reverse swing when he comes back with the older ball.

His performance in earlier outings was rewarded today when Azharuddin tossed him the ball, giving him the honour of the first over. Another Agarkar forte is striking hard and often, and here he got India off to a flying start when a superb leg cutter, moving very late on pitching, drew Horne forward to take the edge to the keeper. New Zealand, chasing an attainable total, had got off to the worst possible start, one down for nothing.

I personally am no big believer of the pinch hitter theory -- it looks spectacular enough when someone belts a few, but the tactic fails more often than it succeeds, and when it fails, it also means the batting side loses the services of a big hitter in the end overs.

Here, Chris Cairns was sent out to belt the ball around, and he failed signally. Prasad, bowling with a lot more confidence than he showed in the Pepsi Cup outings, produced an off cutter after a couple of straight deliveries. Cairns took a regulation swipe, feet all over the place, and the inward movement of the ball took it through the gate onto leg stump.

Cairns swishing and getting out was perhaps understandable -- but why a class act like Nathan Astle had to try the same tactic, that too with his side in some trouble at 24/2, is inexplicable. He did manage four fours with free swings of the bat through the line, often dancing down to the medium pacers, but the risk factor was high on each of his shots, and the inevitable happened when he drove at a Prasad leg-cutter that left him late, taking the edge through to Mongia and reducing New Zealand to 33/3.

It could very easily have been 49/4, when a Kumble top-spinner took the outer edge of Stephen Fleming's bat only for Azhar, one of the best slip catchers in the game, to react late and miss with the dive to his left. (Later in the Fleming innings, when the Kiwi skipper had reached 42, Harbajan Singh was to drop him at midwicket off Kanitkar, the fielder in this case jumping too soon to hold a ball going overhead. Later Fleming was also to get the benefit, not of the doubt but of technical failure of the replay cameras, when a stumping was turned down because the third umpire couldn't get the side on view and the straight one, while it showed the foot on, as opposed to behind, the line, was deemed inconclusive).

Without ever looking really comfortable, Mathew Horne kept his skipper company till Harbajan Singh, the 17-year-old offie making his ODI debut, produced a dream ball. Harbajan's forte is flight and loop, and this was a perfect example, hanging in the air, then leaving the batsman outside off. Horne was down the track, looking for the regulation off break, the movement away from him beat the bat and the batsman was stranded way down, for Mongia, who has of late been brilliant behind the stumps, to finish off the job with ease.

From that point on, Fleming and Craig McMillan put their heads down and came within a toucher of batting India out of the game. The Kiwi progression read 23/1 in 5, 36/3 in 10. 63/3 in 15, 81/3 in 20, 94/4 in 25, 115/4 in 30 and 141/4 in 35. And with 15 overs to go, the Kiwis needed 80 off 90 with six wickets standing.

Circumspect batting, one would have imagined, would have seen the batting side take it home.

Barring a brilliant second spell by Agarkar, the Kiwis would probably have done just that. Coming on after Harbajan had completed his quota -- 10-0-32-1 being a very impressive showing by the teenager on his debut -- Agarkar struck a series of telling blows with pronounced late movement, both in the air and off the pitch.

Agarkar bowled a well disguised slower ball, Fleming tried to flick it over midwicket and Anil Kumble, timing his jump to perfection (unlike the inexperienced Harbajan earlier) held a beauty with both hands at full stretch overhead.

Craig McMillan is a hard-hitting, free-stroking batsman and on the day, looked good to take charge following the departure of his captain. But Agarkar struck again, this time with a ball on off that deviated just enough to beat the attempted flick and thud into the batsman's pads, trapping him plumb in front.

Adam Parore is a very well organised batsman. Which is why it seemed strange to see Chris Harris coming out ahead of him (as it turned out, Parore, without ever looking troubled, ended up at the non-striker's end watching his side lose the game). Harris, for his part, looked totally at sea against the spinners and Kumble ended his misery when, after beating the bat with a succession of flippers angled across the left hander, he bowled the top spinner closer to the stumps, Harris attempted to jab it down and got the edge to Mongia.

A superb 45th over from Agarkar frustrated Dion Nash, the bowler keeping a very tight line on off and not letting the batsman get the single that would have given Parore the strike. Finally, Nash after five dot balls danced down to the sixth, trying to hit out, Agarkar spotted the charge and zeroed an inswinging yorker into the base of middle stump, and the Kiwi cause was lost, for all practical purposes.

Kumble ensured that Parore wouldn't produce any last minute heroics, by taking out first Priest, who flicked at a leg break for Jadeja, on the line at midwicket, to run in and dive forward to hold, then inducing Simon Doull to drag a flipper onto his stumps as the batsman attempted to force the single through cover, and India had pulled off a 15 run win that, at the start of the slog overs, looked very unlikely.

The adjudicators ignored the Ganguly ton and gave the Man of the Match award to Agarkar. A very good choice, for it was the fast-medium bowler who, with his swift strike at the start of the innings and three more blows at the death, took the game out of the Kiwi grasp. And, in the process, underlined -- if 14 wickets in 7 outings (10-2-35-4, here) needed underlining -- that India could just have discovered yet another exciting young talent.

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