NEWS
MATCH REPORTS
DIARY
OTHER SPORTS
SLIDE SHOW
PEOPLE
ARCHIVES

India defeat Zimbabwe by 115 runs

115 runs is a pretty comprehensive margin of victory -- more so when we are talking of a game reduced to just 30 overs a side, thanks to sharp rain in the morning that left the outfield soggy.

But first up, let's discount the hype. This is no grudge match -- the World Cup is a different stage, a different setting, and a defeat there cannot be compensated for by a win in yet another of the biff-bang triangulars India plays in with such regularity.

Nor is it the long awaited star in the east, heralding the birth of a new age -- the Indian team is justly famed for its inconsistency, and after a brilliant win today, is just as capable of turning in a very ordinary performance tomorrow.

Having said all of that, it is still a win -- and breaks a sequence of losses that, lest we forget, began in the Super Six stage of the World Cup, and continued through a dismal tour of Sri Lanka. And sometimes -- the Indian cricket fan will be hoping this is one of those times -- it gives a team a second wind, merely being able to arrest a losing streak, and put a mark on the black side of the ledger.

It is in this respect that today's win needs to be seen. Devoid of hype, it is, merely, an occasion for the side to go back into the dressing room, look at itself in the mirror and say, awright, we didn't do too many things wrong today.

That can help. Just how much it has helped will, of course, be on view tomorrow, when India go up against the West Indies.

The conditions weren't, on the day, exactly conducive. The Kallang Ground received a sharp spell of rain, leaving the outfield soggy especially along the rope (which meant that fielders running around the line to stop the big hits were at some risk) and a lot of sub-surface moisture which, coupled with overcast conditions, meant lots of help for seamers.

Not a good toss to lose -- and Tendulkar went out and lost it, letting Alistair Campbell make the opening move by inviting the Indians to bat first. One problem Zimbabwe was going to have with the ploy, though, was that the side didn't exactly pack them in, in the seam department. No Heath Streak, no Eddo Brandes, no Henry Olonga (who, for all his faults, does get the ball to move around, so his omission could count as a tactical error here) -- Zimbabwe needed Neil Johnson and Mpumelelo Mbwangwa to fire early on.

In the very first over, Sachin Tendulkar leaned back and smashed a Johnson delivery, from just outside off, through the covers for four, then repeated the shot off Mbwangwa in the next over, then pulled Johnson fiercely in the third, and then went after Mbwangwa to the tune of 14 runs, including a rocketing pull to one just fractionally short of length -- and the initial advantage had been wrested from Zimbabwe right there. Early on, Sachin played as though he wanted to hit every ball out of the park and this threw both bowlers off their stride -- Johnson in particular going repeatedly wide as he tried to keep the ball out of reach of the opener, and failed inthe process to control the swing.

It was a battle of nerves early on, and it was the Zimbabwean nerve that cracked in the face of the carnage. Ganguly, meanwhile, contented himself with taking singles to let Tendulkar do all the work, contributing in a first wicket partnership of 38 that came off just 27 deliveries. And then predetermination did for him. Sometimes, you tell yourself at a phase of the game that this is what I am going to do -- and then set out to do it, regardless. The good coaches tell you that a better bet is to have an overall idea of what you are going to do, but against that backdrop, to play each ball on its merit.

Maybe the Indian batsmen don't have that kind of coach. Ganguly, having decided that he was going to take a single regardless, got one from Johnson that was short, and on middle, and in a nice slot to pull off either foot. However, even before the ball was released, he had squared up for the push off the hips to the on side -- and was in a hopeless position, bat in front of body, when the ball landed short and climbed on him. Result, a nice little dolly back down the track to the bowler.

In came Dravid, and began with a flourish -- an on drive, a spanking pull, and a flowing drive through extra cover seemingly indicating that he had left Lanka, and its nightmares, behind him. In fact, the conditions were made for Dravid -- this was the kind of pitch on which the good back foot player would prosper, and Dravid is one of the best there is off his hind legs. But like with Ganguly, premeditation did for Dravid -- again, the batsman decided ahead of release to work one to a spot on the on and squared up, got one short and could only fend it to square leg for a rather needless, tame, dismissal.

This is one area where the batsmen from Australia and South Africa in particular do it so much better. There, too, you find instances when one batsman decides to rotate strike and let his partner do the big hitting -- but when the guy who's looking for the singles gets a long hop or a short one, he promptly latches on to it. That is probably because they've been taught the right mantra by their coaches: if the ball is in the slot, dismiss it; if you can't get the big hit, then look at the least for the single.

Meanwhile, at the other end, Tendulkar changed gears like a guy caught in traffic. He was off the blocks in the heck of a hurry, racing to 31 in just 16 balls. Then Ganguly went, and he throttled back a bit to see how Dravid would go -- and when Dravid went, back to the pavilion as it happened, he tucked away the big hits and settled down to pushing the ball around into gaps and racing between wickets (for which, as it turned out, he had the ideal ally in Ajay Jadeja, never a slouch when it comes to squeezing two out of a single). Thus, at the halfway mark, India were 97/2 after 15 overs -- and Tendulkar had gone to 48 off 47, the slowing down of his pace, and the settling in to play the long innings, being noticeable in those statistics.

The 15th over, and drinks, also signalled some on field treatment for Tendulkar's back. When he pulled and lifted over long off, two shots that put a strain on the back, he didn't seem in noticeable pain. But apparently, the stiffness persists, because over the past few games, you'll notice he takes advantage of every break in play to have the doctor out there, cooling his back down, helping him stretch it.

At this point, captain and vice captain apparently changed strategic horses in mid stream. From then on, it was Tendulkar who actively looked for the singles, while Jadeja crashed through the gears and floored the pedal in a spectacular display of big hitting. Having got his eye in with a few pushes into the outfield for singles, Jadeja teed off -- and the sixes flowed, over midwicket, in the V, and once flat over cover.

At the other end, Tendulkar kept chipping the singles and whenever he got a half chance, smashed the ball around in his own turn. The impact was evident in the Indian rate of progression -- the first 50 had come off 38 balls, the second one, when Jadeja was getting his eye in and Tendulkar was throttling back, came off 57 balls, the third 50 took a mere 33 and the fourth 50 (India were 140/2 in 20 and into the slog overs from there) came off just 19 balls. Together, the two added 143 runs off just 96 deliveries before Tendulkar left, taking Whittall on the full from line of off to try and clear midwicket, but failing to get the elevation and picking out the fielder right on the line in that position. By then, the game was into the 25th over and enough damage had been done by the third wicket pairing to ensure that the match could only end one way.

Ajay Jadeja had, throughout his innings, gone for broke. There were few instances when he hit along the ground -- apparently fancing the slightly short boundaries, he took to bending lower at the knee, getting under the ball and lifting up and over. And today's display was flawless, every one of the big shots perfectly conceived and executed. Tragically for him, just when he seemed to be readying to try and outdo even his own breakneck speed, he turned for a quick two and did damage to his calf muscle. Ganguly came out as a runner (a rather strange choice, that), but two balls later, Jadeja was in enough pain to necessitate being helped off the field, at a time when the hundred looked just two more hits away.

In between, Amay Khurasiya, looking to hit everything he got out of the ground, had gone, chasing a wide one into the hands of the keeper. A mini collapse followed, and the Indians, who in a ten over span between over 14-23 had put on 100 runs, even, managed just 40 off the last five. And even that thanks to clinical finishing by Sunil Joshi, who ended the innings with two huge hits, in the V, for sixes off the last two balls of the innings.

The Zimbabwe bowling card is best left unmentioned. That early assault on Johnson and Mbwangwa appeared to have impacted on all the bowlers, and once Jadeja too joined the party, there was in the bowling an air of helplessness. It was almost as if Campbell tossed the ball to whoever came into his field of vision, and that unfortunate went through the motions, counting himself lucky if the ball landed anywhere inside the ropes.

The carnage would have been much worse had it not been for the Zimbabwean fielding. I don't know what coaching methods they use there -- but whatever it is, is bloody effective. On the day, the Zimbabwean fielders (and remember, a lot of the shots were going into the deep and the outfield there was slushy) saved a good 30, 35 runs, giving their bowlers some slight breathing space with spectacular sliding stops in the straight field and on the line at cover and deep midwicket. Plus, the catch Andy Whittall took to get rid of Robin Singh has got to be a gem -- the batsman was shaping to swing over midwicket, managed only to get the leading edge, the ball swirled in the air and out behind the keeper on the off side and Whittall, from point, made enormous ground to hold, diving headlong, where short third man should have been.

246 off 29 overs (the Zimbabweans were docked one over for slow over rate, though I thought that a touch harsh when you consider the number of times the ball had to be fetched back from the next postal district) was never do-able, given a remotely competent bowling performance. As it turned out, the Indians turned in a stunner to reduce Zimbabwe to 19/4 in the 6th over and effectively close out the match.

And the man who made it possible was Debashish Mohanty. Prasad, leading the attack in the absence of Srinath (rested at his own request for this tour and the one to Toronto that follows) used the conditions to optimum, focussing on a length just a touch short of the full, and letting the seam movement do his work for him. This kept the batsmen quiet (and got him a wicket as well, when he made one leave Johnson late as the batsman shaped to drive, inducing the snick through to slip). But it was Mohanty who turned the clock back to Toronto, using the kind of conditions he revels in to optimum.

The first ball he bowled was whacked over long on by Neil Johnson for six, and it was noteworthy that his nerve didn't crack then. Instead, he got one to leave Grant Flower, later in the same over, as the batsman tried to give him the charge, the movement feathering the edge of the bat en route to the keeper. Seeing the prodigious movement both ways off the seam, Tendulkar promptly took one fielder away from the onside and put him in at second slip. Craig Wishart figured the untenanted on side was the region to go for, and launched into a swing across the line. The shot would have worked had the ball been straight -- instead, it swung in from outside off, pitched off on a fullish length and seamed in further to disarray the furniture.

The ball that got Goodwin, though, was the best of his spell. The line was perfect -- just outside off, curving in through the air, landing just that fraction short of driving length and then seaming back away off the track. Goodwin shaped to drive, covering the inswing -- and when the ball seamed back away, it made all the difference between the middle of the bat and the thick outer edge, the hit going in a nice little arc to mid off for a simple catch.

From that point on, Zimbabwe played merely for pride -- the ask rate had already climbed close to 10 (being 8.48 at the start of the innings), the cream of the batting was back in the hut, and there was no way to mount a viable chase from there.

With the Zimbabwean batsmen on the run, the Indians attacked. Nikhil Chopra and Sunil Joshi bowled very well -- there was not much turn to be had, but there was bounce, and both the offie and the left arm spinner used flight and loop, coupled with that bounce, to good effect.

Kumble remained a worry (and given that India go up against the far more unforgiving West Indies batsmen tomorrow, it really is a big worry). When on song, you never find him topping the 'expensive' list on the Indian bowling card -- but that was where he found himself today, thanks to a tendency to keep drifting down to leg and pitching way too short for comfort. This could be one area where India will be hurting, tomorrow, when they go up against the free-stroking West Indies -- pitching short to one of those guys is as good as giving them an engraved invitation to come and party.

Andy Flower alone played a fine innings, though a few mishit sweeps (he tends to get into predetermined mode on the reverse sweep in particular) luckily landed out of reach.

At the end of the day, the one facet more than any other that you feel worthy of emphasis was the Indian fielding. In Sri Lanka, they stood in their places till the ball came to them, then threw back like mourners tossing flowers onto a casket. Here, they were all over the place, racing around, ripping back throws on the run and, more importantly, yelling instructions to each other -- several times, as the throw came in from one part of the field, you heard one or the other voice calling out 'Back up, back up, bowler's end' and such.

One would assume, from that display, that the lesson of Lanka had been well and truly learnt. However, this is the Indian team we are talking about, so 'wait and watch' might be the saner option.

Next up, the West Indies. And India has a problem -- Ajay Jadeja can't play. The best option is to induct Ramesh back into the side, send him out with Sachin at the top of the order, and drop Ganguly down to four -- which has the twin advantages of not exposing him to the seaming ball early on, and having your cleanest hitter come in when the shine is off and the acceleration phase is on.

But given the situation, there is another move that could be interesting. And that is to bring in Laxmi Ratan Shukla. If Ramesh at the top and Ganguly at four is preferred, then the youngster could come in for Khurasiya. If not, then it is a straight swap, Shukla for Jadeja.

Of the two, I prefer the former -- a line up of Ramesh, Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly, Robin Singh, Shukla...

Both in Lanka and here (substituting in this game for Jadeja) the lad has impressed with his spirit, and his electric fielding especially in the outfield. We've been carrying him around as the all-rounder in the making for long enough. Given that the conditions will be relatively seam friendly, isn't it time to give the lad a whirl at the highest level and see what he is made of? He is from what I've seen a nippy, skiddy, attacking medium pacer and with the bat, can give the ball a fair thump without looking ugly -- trying him out, in a game that is not too high pressure (with the win today, India would seem certain to make the final anyway) would give a fair indication of just what kind of stuffing there is in him.

Yes? Then again, given that the Indian team management in recent times has redefined 'conservative', I would be one surprised bloke if he really gets to play tomorrow -- a pleasantly surprised one, that is.

Scoreboard