A NatWest final reprise at Ahmedabad
© Reuters The game at Ahmedabad's Motera stadium shaped exactly like the one at Rajkot
Erapalli Prasanna
16-Nov-2002
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In my last column, I had mentioned the logical options that are
available to a captain on winning the toss. If the Indian captain
opted to field first, he must have believed either than his
bowlers could restrict the West Indies to a gettable target or
that his batsmen were capable of chasing down even the tallest
scores. At the Motera, Ganguly would have had an additional
factor on his mind - the dew that would undoubtedly make bowling
difficult in the second half of the match.
Chris Gayle, at the moment, is in terrific form. One may look
askance at his footwork, but the clean strikes from his bat can
only be admired. He is yet another batsman in world cricket who
believes in straddling the crease with a wide stance, enabling
him to be flexible enough to pull a short delivery or drive a
full one. This approach is a real problem for the bowlers, as
they hard-pressed to get the length right.
Gayle scored a fabulous 140 on the day, but one must not forget
Ramnaresh Sarwan. The latter yet again got so near yet so far to
his first international hundred, but he played like a champion
nevertheless, consolidating Gayle's frenzied start with a
responsible, mature innings and helping the West Indies post an
imposing target of 325 for India to chase.
India lost Virender Sehwag early, and sensing that the run-rate
needed to be boosted right away, Ganguly played some excellent
shots to up the tempo. Unfortunately he was caught behind trying
to flick one down the legside to the fine leg fence. It was then
up to VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid to play responsible knocks to
steady the Indian innings, which they did very well indeed.
It was that partnership that brought hope back into the Indian
innings. Dravid in particular, playing the anchor to perfection
and holding down the fort at one end, was extraordinary, pacing
his innings to perfection and letting the other batsmen play
around him. Sanjay Bangar also came up with a gem of an innings,
a deep contrast to his usually dour approach in Test cricket.
The West Indians, in my opinion, lost their hold on this series
ever since they allowed Ganguly and Sehwag to smash the ball into
oblivion at Rajkot. Their bowling at Ahmedabad was indisciplined,
to say the least; the numerous wides and no-balls are mute
testimony to that fact.
But nevertheless, the 649 runs scored in the match only
highlights how closely fought the match was, and that there was
little to choose from in the batting departments of the two
teams. With the series at two-all, where the rubber will go from
here is anybody's guess.