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Two
days ago India pulled themselves together to topple a
stiff Kiwi target of 278 runs. While the genuine swing
their bowlers were able to extract had been the talk of
the town, this time the Kiwi batsmen came out with a game
plan to counter it, and aided by the flat deck, clattered
a healthy total against the Indian bowlers. That kind of
score, given the dismal run-chase the Men in Blue have
managed of late (none above 250 runs till the first ODI
against Pakistan – 294 runs – over a year ago), easily
placed the Kiwis in favorable position to pull ahead 2-0
against the Indians in this Videocon Series. But
crucially, New Zealand had rested Shane Bond and Daniel
Vettori. As a result, India cashed in and ended up winning
the match almost comfortably – by 6 wickets with 20
balls to spare. Chiefly, a score of such magnitude would
have given the Indian batsmen plenty of time to play
themselves in and spend time out in the middle. And
Mohammad Kaif did just that, scoring a magnificent 102 in
121 balls.
Dravid contributed with a valuable 39 in a 100-run stand
between the two, and it was especially pleasing as they
can be viewed perhaps as master and apprentice. It is my
view that Kaif is the new Dravid of the Indian cricket
team, and his promotion to #3 is ideal for a batsman of
his ability. He has continued to perform strongly through
the recent two series, scoring half centuries in the
Indian Oil Cup in Sri Lanka last month, and now picking up
the pieces after his more experienced seniors have failed
continuously. Speaking of Rahul Dravid, it is completely
mind-boggling to see a batsman, nicknamed “The Wall”
for his solid defences, getting bowled in each of his
matches in this series. And in his last 9 innings, Dravid,
who averages over 40 runs in ODI, has made just one
half-century to average 27 runs. His contemporaries
Ganguly and Sehwag are perhaps equally dismal in their
form. Sehwag, despite belting 45 runs in 34 balls and
getting India off to the start they needed, has looked
clumsy and inconsistent this season. Sourav Ganguly has
been completely out of sorts for some time now, and
although he made a start (19 off 21), he holed out pulling
awkwardly once again to a short, rising delivery.
Fortunately for India, with Kaif dropping anchor and
playing at the top of his form, MS Dhoni bludgeoned 3
fours and 2 sixes at the end to take India home. This
batting display would have replaced some faith in the
Indians’ minds that their much-touted batting lineup is
not over-hyped after all. But such comfort should only be
that, comfort – not security, for the bottomline is that
India’s top order and senior players have been
under-performing for some time now. How many times will
the younger guard bail them out? Or is it time for the
younger, new face of Indian cricket anyway, with Ganguly,
Laxman, Dravid, and Tendulkar now at the twilight of their
careers?
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India
once again pulled off a good run chase to give their side
much needed confidence ahead of Tuesday’s final. At the
start of the series, there were doubts as to their batsmen
being able to plunder runs, as is expected of them. Now,
their batsmen look more likely to get the job done than do
their bowlers. Resting Irfan Pathan and Ashish Nehra, the Indians
let minnows Zimbabwe get away with a very competitive
total of 250 runs, although losing 6 wickets for just 22
runs at the death meant that Zimbabwe could easily have
made 270+ otherwise. Agarkar took over the mantle of
senior bowler nicely, claiming 3 scalps for just 34 runs
off 10 overs. But the spinners, Harbhajan, Karthik, and
Yadav looked at sea and were unable to stem a fantastic
middle order 100-run partnership between skipper Taibu and
Coventry who took Zimbabwe from 50/3 (14 ov.) to 166/4 (36
ov.). Both batsmen made valuable half-centuries on a d eck
well-suited for batting. It can safely be said that the
poor performances by Zimbabwe in the previous few games
have been more a matter of their playing below their
potential than the norm. This was a better performance by
the team, and they will take heart from having made
competitive scores in the last couple of games against
both the Kiwis and now India. But if innings are the
topic, then Yuvraj Singh scripted an absolute gem, saving
India the blushes, but also importantly enabling him to
affirm his place, alongside Mohammad Kaif, as the new face
of Indian batting. This is Yuvraj’s second century
in the space of six innings, with a half-century in
between, and such consistency augurs well for the future
given the dismal form of his seniors. Sehwag, for the
second time this series, dragged a ball onto his stumps.
So did Dravid to be bowled for fourth consecutive time.
Ganguly substantiated his embarrassment with just 2 runs,
although credit must be given to Sibanda who took a
blinder at point. And Kaif, the hero of the last match,
perished to an in-dipper that pitched outside off but
swung in late to trap in front. Chasing 250, India were at
sea with 36/4 in 9 overs. But, if not Kaif then Yuvraj,  the
two played together for the Under-19 side, and then India
A, and so were seasoned travelers even before being
drafted into the national side. The Natwest series final
is of especial memory, where both partnered together to
steer India to a victory from the improbable. Today,
Yuvraj along with MS Dhoni compiled a staggering 150-run
partnership in 23 overs to wrest the initiative back in
India’s favor. Yuvraj ended softly, just two runs shy of
victory, but after having made a monumental 120 runs in
124 balls only. Dhoni stayed not out for the second time
in a row with a brilliant 67 off 63 balls, 3 massive sixes
included. In fact, one of those sixes was the final
winning runs, even though just 2 were needed.
For
all the criticism that India has received for constant
batting collapses, they have, at least for two matches
back-to-back, shown that the new generation is not willing
to lie down and be submissive. While the seniors continue
to frustrate, Kaif, Yuvraj, Dhoni, and even Irfan Pathan
with both bat and ball, have given the Indian fans a new
reason for hope. It is at the top that I worry the most,
and Sunil Gavaskar rightly said that while India are
unnecessarily harsh on the bowlers, dropping and axing
bowlers like Agarkar, Nehra, Balaji, Zaheer Khan, on the
basis of just 1-2 matches, they refuse to axe any of the
batsmen nearly as often. He calls them the
“untouchables,” and it is this air of invincibility
that may be resulting in complacency from them. It can be
safely said that Ganguly’s place in the ODI side will be
very tenuous lest he performs better in the final,
especially given the imminent return of Sachin Tendulkar.
I would take this further, and urge Greg Chappel to drop
Sehwag in place of the young Suresh Raina. Sehwag simply
cannot continue to play in headless fashion, belting 40
runs in 20 balls every five or six innings at a time, with
nothing in between. Rahul Dravid would become the natural
choice of captain then, and even though he is struggling
in form, he can be persisted with. I feel it is more a
case of ‘cricket burn-out’ than lack of form or
application on his part. With Kaif settling in nicely at
#3, and Yuvraj and Dhoni showing signs of increased
consistency, the middle order, including Pathan, looks
set. I would also urge the selectors to now seriously
consider including Kaif and Yuvraj into the test side.
Both are increasingly showing signs of maturity, and it is
time to nurture them in the longer, more traditional form
of the game, especially early in time to take over the
mantle when the glorified Tendulkar, Laxman, Ganguly and
Dravid retire all at once.
Next
up India take on New Zealand in the final, Sept. 6. The
Kiwis are sure to return Shane Bond and Daniel Vettori in
the side, and India Nehra and Pathan. So far India have
successfully chased down big scores, but if Ganguly were
to win the toss, would he choose to bat first? If so, will
Sehwag and co. continue to play recklessly or build a
steady foundation? Much remains to be seen.
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