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India run themselves out

Prem Panicker

You gotta be careful what you wish for, they say.

Now I know why! The other day, watching India play Australia, I found myself wishing that the team learnt the knack of running aggressively, in order to compliment its natural ability to play the big strokes.

So what does the side do today, but run so darned aggressively, three of their best players are run out and India is behind the eight ball as far as qualifying for the final of the Coca Cola Cup is concerned.

When India took the field in the second session to defend a modest -- is the right word pathetic? -- total of 181, the other major defect in the side came through. Namely, the lack of adequate bowling strength in the continued absence, through injury, of Ajit Agarkar and the selectors' and team management's reluctance to go in with the third regular spinner in Rahul Sanghvi.

Consider this situation: Harbajan Singh bowls out his quota in the 31st over. Prasad, who finally came into something very close to his best form, bowled out his 10 in over number 34. And at the end of 35, Kumble had just two overs left on his card.

New Zealand had shown before that they were capable of inexplicable collapse under pressure. Thus, the last time these two sides played each other, six Kiwi wickets tumbled for just under 40 runs. Here, with 15 overs to go, New Zealand needed 53 more to win with six wickets in hand -- only, who was going to get those wickets?

Harvinder had, yet again, proved too expensive on the flat tracks of Sharjah -- how ironic, today, to recall Kishen Rungta's explanation that he was being picked because he would be good on these wickets, and how indicative of the lack of real cricketing know-how in the selection committee! That took one bowler out of the game. Two of the three others were done with their overs, the third, Kumble, had only two left, and Kanitkar, more an all rounder than a regular spinner, had 8. Five overs needed to be bowled, and there was no cover, thus necessitating that just when the screws needed to be at their tightest, India was forced to bowl their non-regulars, Saurav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar at the very end.

Having made the mistake of picking Harvinder the day before, and being unable to bowl him through his full card, one wonders just what they were doing playing him again. Would Sanghvi have been better? Yes -- consider that right through overs 20-35, when the spinners bowled, Azharuddin kept a slip and a bat-pad, sometimes two close in on either side of the wicket, in place and attacked. But once Tendulkar and Ganguly came on, the field necessarily had to be spread and suddenly, the singles which had totally dried up in the middle overs began coming again.

New Zealand were let off the hook, simply because there was no bowler good enough to keep them on it.

Another fatal flaw, which keeps recurring whenever the top order fails -- and I don't care how good a top order you have, you have to budget for a failure at least once in every four or five innings -- relates to the inability of the lower order to make optimum use of the final ten overs.

The Indian bowlers rarely, if ever, practise their batting in the nets, and that is stupid policy these days when teams look to their number elevens, even, to hit the odd lusty blow at the death. Thus, at the 40 over mark, New Zealand were 142/4. India, at the same stage, were 145/5.

In course of the next 9.3 overs, India lost 5 wickets for just 36 runs -- and this is when the Kiwis pulled away from the Indian side. A bit more application at the death, 20 more runs on the board, and the pressure would have been on the traditionally panic-prone Kiwis. Only consider that the Kiwis managed to claw their way to the target with just six balls to spare, and you realise how vital just those few extra runs could have been.

India has lost games through careless batting in the death before. They lost this one too in a similar fashion. They didn't learn then, I suspect they won't learn now -- because somehow, learning from mistakes doesn't seem to be in the Indian mindset.

Azharuddin began the day right, winning the toss and opting for first strike.

Sachin Tendulkar, for the first time in the last few months I've been watching him, batted like he was not quite all there. The feet were moving fractionally later, the timing was fractionally less correct, the strokes packed less power, and the batsman, after a couple of near-fatal mishits trying to hit his way out of trouble, visibly settled down to hanging in there and gritting it out.

The nice thing about the Tendulkar-Ganguly opening partnership, which is going at an average of over 45 (with three century partnerships) in the 35 games they have opened together is that it is rare for both of them to be tied down. Thus, as Tendulkar struggled, by his standards, Ganguly cut loose with a flurry of fours, silken drives all of them in the arc between point and the straight field, that saw India cost along nicely to 52/0 in 10.

Just when it looked like Ganguly had hit a zone, the most ordinary delivery got the breakthrough. Chris Cairns bowled a straight ball, a fraction short, on middle stump, Ganguly looked to smash him over midwicket, the ball stopped a shade, as it does on the Sharjah tracks, and Stephen Fleming at midwicket ended Ganguly's innings of 31 off 36.

India still comfortable at 61/1 in 15, with Tendulkar looking increasingly like recovering his lost touch. And this despite two successive maidens, in overs number 14 and 15, by Chris Harris to Azhruddin, and Craig McMillan to Tendulkar.

And then came the first of three spectacularly futile run outs. Azhar dabbed a ball to cover and took off, head down and running like heck, totally oblivious to a frantic yell of NO!!! from Sachin that would have brought the roof down had the CBFS stadium had one. When it finally dawned on Azhar that there was nothing in it but a shortcut back to the pavilion, it was too late for him to return in time to beat McMillan's throw to the keeper.

India 82/2 in 20. Two overs thereafter, Jadeja -- who appeared on the evidence to have been sitting in the pavilion closely observing his captain's technique -- drove firmly straight to the cover fielder, put his head down, and took off. Sachin's roar of NO!! was clearly audible over the stump mikes, but Jadeja appeared temporarily deaf. Finally, in desperation, Sachin took off -- but there never was a run there, and Tendulkar paid the price for a most ridiculous call by his vice captain.

91/3 in 25. And 104/4 in 30, thanks to run out number three. Jadeja again. Driving straight to short mid on, hitting firmly so the ball was travelling very quickly to the fielder. There was a minimal misfield. Again, the batsman put his head down and raced down the track, again Laxman's yelled NO was heard by the entire stadium with the possible exception of Jadeja. Unlike Tendulkar, when Laxman says NO he means NO, and Jadeja tried retracing his steps, only to be caught comfortably out of his ground.

Mongia, sent in ahead of Kanitkar, batted superbly, mixing caution with calculated aggression. Laxman, at sea in the one day format (again, made one wonder if the selectors were watching while their first pick, Sidhu, failed in two and their reserve, Laxman, failed to live up to the demands of the role), hung in there grimly. And India moved to 124/4 in 35.

In the 37th over Mongia, who has now made a habit of clouting a six every game, went. Chris Cairns, who had just been clouted for a six, bowled a loose full toss on off stump, Mongia went for his patent flick to leg, and hit straight to Craig McMillan at midwicket.

Kanitkar and Laxman took it to 145/5 in 40. And it looked like even the basics of batting would take the side through to around 195 at the end of 50.

Not a hope, as the Indians proceeded to throw it away in a display of very ordinary late order batting. Laxman, whose troubles were epitomised by the fact that at over number 40, he was going at 19 off 50 deliveries, tried to hit his way out of the woods, Priest the bowler. O'Connor, racing in from the line at midoff, flung himself forward to hold a sensational catch, so symbolic of the incredibly high standards the Kiwis set in the field.

Kanitkar went next -- a heave to leg to a ball from Priest that was too full in length for the shot, the batsman ended up playing all over it, and the furniture was in some disarray. I know that the likes of Laxman and Kanitkar can claim inexperience -- with some justice, what's more. But even elementary commonsense should have told them they couldn't get runs sitting in the hut -- batting out 50 overs was always going to be better for their team than slogging wildly with enough overs left on the board.

Astle and Cairns then combined to take out Kumble, Harvinder and Prasad in short order. India were left with a measly 181 on the board -- and the Kiwis with their first real sniff at a win against India at this venue.

For the fielding side, while the two quicks were expensive, their dibbly-do bowlers all bowled to a tight length and line, while an outstanding fielding side kept the pressure on to an almost incredible extent. The Kiwis, on an off day, save a good 40 runs in the field -- and today was one of their perfect days.

India needed an equally outstanding performance in the field to pull off an unlikely win. And to give credit where due, they did put together one of the best displays of ground fielding I've seen from them in over two years of constantly covering their games.

That three catches and a clear run-out chance went down, however, spoilt that record -- and contributed significantly to the final result.

On the day, Prasad was at his very best right from the first ball he bowled. A Srinath or an Agarkar at the other end would have been perfect -- but Harvinder, all of 20 years old, has miles to go before getting close to those standards, and looked vulnerable right from the beginning.

The blame, or a portion thereof, applies also to the team coach and captain. Knowing he was vulnerable, they should have been calming him down, telling him they were expecting him only to bowl a good length and line, and weren't looking for miracles. As it turned out, Harvinder kept trying harder and harder -- and ended up pitching either short, or on the batsmen's pads, and getting creamed.

He would have got a wicket against the run of play, though, when in his very first over, Nathan Astle took a healthy swipe at a straight ball on off stump. The ball was not as quick as the batsman thought it was, the result was a good hit straight to midwicket and Jadeja, one of the three most reliable fielders in the side, floored a knee high chance. How costly the error was, was proved an over later when Astle cut loose, blasting Harvinder's short ball over midwicket for six.

Prasad swung it back in India's favour with a ball just outside off leaving Astle off the seam and bouncing high, as Prasad sometimes manages to do. The batsman slashed, the edge was inevitable, and Mongia held with no problem.

In the next over, another wicket fell to an incredible piece of cricket. A straight ball from Harvinder had Horne slashing, the edge flew to the left of Azhar and was dropping in front of the Indian captain, standing at second slip, when Azhar flung himself forward, and to his left, to hold a stunner. It all happened so fast, the umpires called on the third umpire to adjudicate. Azhar gesticulated angrily -- perhaps feeling affronted as he has never claimed a less than fair catch. But the calling in of the third umpire -- to the best of my knowledge, for the first time for a decision of this kind -- was fair enough, it is for precisely such catches that the ICC amended the laws governing the use of the video replay.

All told, though, it was one of those blinders you keep seeing replays of, again and again, without ever figuring out how the fielder pulled it off. A magical cricket moment, that.

Stephen Fleming and Craig McMillan then put their heads down to some very sensible batting. The pressure was on them throughout, with Kumble and Harbajan bowling in tandem and Azharuddin, with unwonted agression, keeping two, sometimes three, close catching fielders right through to the 35th over.

Run-making was so tight that Fleming was forced to take increasing risks. And the cut he aimed at Kumble bowling round the wicket to the left-hander was one too many -- the ball was angling in sharply, and the batsman could only chop onto the stumps.

21/1 in 5; 43/2 in 10; 62/2 in 15; 92/3 in 25 -- this was the Kiwi progression to the halfway mark. And at that stage, they were dead level with the Indians. It could have been advantage India, though, when in the 23rd over, Harbajan Singh bowling with a slip, silly point and short square so flustered eventual man of the match Craig McMillan that he finally chipped at an off break without getting to the pitch. Tendulkar, wide at mid on, raced in slid forward on his knee in perfect position to hold the ball -- and then watched it pop out of his hands.

Craig McMillan went on to all but win the game for his side.

From there on, both Cairns and McMillan settled down to some attritive batting against probing spin bowling from Harbajan and Kumble. And India had to wait till the 33rd over, with Prasad coming back, before getting further success. The off cutter was pitched fractionally short, Cairns -- who perhaps figured that with the spinners off, he could finally have a go -- went for the pull, the inward movement of the ball cramped the batsman on the shot and Laxman, at midwicket, raced back towards the line, his head turned sideways to sight the ball coming at him over his shoulder, to pull off one of the hardest catches you could hold in the outfield.

Parore, easily one of the best batsmen in the Kiwi side, was sent in ahead of Harris and the rest. A good move, and he settled down to sensible cricket in company of the reprieved McMillan. The Kiwis went at 112/3 in 30; 129/4 in 35; 142/4 in 40.

40 runs to make with six in hand shouldn't have stretched the batting side much, with ten overs standing. But Kumble at one end, and first Tendulkar, then Ganguly at the other end, bowled magnificiently and, during that part of the game, the Indian ground fielding reached heights even the Kiwis would have been proud off. And Azhar, in total contrast to his usual style, attacked relentlessly.

Tendulkar at this stage was bowling leg breaks, off breaks, googlies and everything else he could think of. In the 44th over, a leg break found Mcmillan's edge, for Mongia to drop a hard one. A four off a full toss followed. And two balls later, McMillan got a googly which he tried to flick to fine leg, Mongia made ground to leg, covered the angle and brought off a catch of superb anticipation, getting rid of McMillan at long last.

The first 5 overs of the death had produced just 16 runs, and produced a wicket. The pressure, mounting steadily, got to Parore in the 47th -- Kumble's last over. And he holed out to Harvinder Singh, to have the Kiwis at 168/6.

13 more to get in 22 balls. If Mongia had managed to hold on to a stinging throw from backward square to effect a run out... if India had more than Tendulkar and Ganguly, well though the former in particular bowled, to use in the last three overs of the innings... if India had just ten more runs to bowl at...

The side will ponder these and other ifs through the night, I would think. As it happened, the Kiwis won with four wickets, and a full over, to spare with Harris smashing a four off the last ball of the 49th, from Ganguly, to clinch the issue.

While they are about it, they can also ponder their second successive display of rank bad batting. And figure out how to turn it round in the game, day after tomorrow, against Australia. For, to get into the final, their best bet is to win that encounter -- their last, in the league phase.

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