A scratchy but significant century
A few minutes before tea, Sourav Ganguly deposited Daniel Vettori intothe gallery behind long-on and allowed himself a smile
The Wisden Verdict by Sambit Bal
09-Oct-2003
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The trademark Ganguly waltz down the wicket in action © AFP |
A few minutes before tea, Sourav Ganguly deposited Daniel Vettori into
the gallery behind long-on and allowed himself a smile. There was no
smugness to it, just a quiet indulgence; it was a smile meant more for
himself than the world. It was his first six and in the context of the
match, it had taken a long time coming. He had scratched out 66 almost
unnoticeable runs, while Rahul Dravid had been a picture of classical
beauty and rectitude at the other end. It was a smile to signify the
banishment of pedestrian struggle.
Ganguly is sharply touchy about his record. Ask him about poor form and
he will be quick to point to a Test average of over 40. Ask him about
his frailty against pace and he'll point to runs scored in South Africa
and Australia, never mind if these were scored in one-day matches where
fast bowlers have neither the licence to test him with the short ball
nor the luxury of a close-in cordon. Sift through the numbers - series
averages of 29.5 against Australia in 1999-00, 11.75 against South Africa
the same season, 17.66 against Australia in 2000-01, 30 against South
Africa in 2001-02, 12.25 against West Indies in 2002-03 and 7.25 against
New Zealand in India's last Test Series - and you will see that without
captaincy Ganguly might struggle to hold his place in the Test team.
Which in itself is no shame because India play better as a team under
Ganguly than they did under anyone else in the last two decades.
Ganguly's hundred today then should be seen in the right perspective. It
wasn't pretty and it wasn't savage enough for India's good. In fact,
till Zaheer Khan hustled three wickets, it had seemed India had batted
into Stephen Fleming's hands by not showing enough urgency. Ganguly's 19
runs before lunch came from 70 balls and he took 100 more to get to his
next 47, when that six came. Out of the five full sessions India batted,
three yielded about 70, and almost from the first hour of the match, New
Zealand had been overtly playing for a draw. The longer they could keep
the Indian batsmen out in the middle the better it served their cause.
But still Ganguly's hundred was an important one, both for him and his
team. He has shown himself to be resilient in the past and has rarely
let his poor form with the bat affect his ability to lead. But since the
captain is often the symbol of a team's strength, it is good for India
that Ganguly has started the season with a century. It will keep the
doubters quiet for a while.
Few doubt Fleming's ability to maximise his limited resources and his
field placements were inspired once again today. But you can't help
feeling that his decision to under-utilise Paul Wiseman worked to
India's advantage. Wiseman had done the job adequately in Sri Lanka
earlier this year where he was New Zealand's highest wicket-taker. Yet
he was trusted with only five overs yesterday, just one more than Craig
McMillan, whose surprise weapon, the bouncer, is decidedly less macho
than his new moustache, and 12 less than Scott Styris, who is in the
team for his batting. Daniel Vettori was the bowler of the innings for
New Zealand, but for a team that puts such a premium on planning, it was
inconceivable that New Zealand would have been unaware of Ganguly's
fondness for left-arm spinners. Yet Wiseman was brought in only after
Ganguly had got a feel of pitch, and even then he was constantly
troubled by balls turning across him.
But cricket has an uncanny tendency to mock the best-laid plans, and
Zaheer Khan, in the space of six inspired overs, had reduced New
Zealand's arduous preparations against spinners to naught. Zaheer had
looked sluggish in India's season opener, the Challenger trophy and
bowled well only with the old ball in the Irani Trophy. But this
evening, on a pitch that had little for his kind of bowling, he was
outstanding, bowling with pace and hitting the seam at the right length.
New Zealand surely hadn't bargained for this. Two of New Zealand's best
players of spin bowling are gone, the ball is beginning to grip and the
spinners haven't fully come in to play yet. This game will now take some
drawing.
Sambit Bal is Editor of Wisden Asia Cricket and Wisden Cricinfo in India.