Raju, Kanwaljit give Hyderabad a faint hope

Hyderabad well and truly copped it on the third day of this Ranji Trophy mismatch against Mumbai as they conceded 409 runs at more than 4.5 runs an over in the face of a blitzkrieg from Sachin Tendulkar. But with Mumbai having given the visitors all of two days to score the 591 runs they need, Hyderabad will not have thrown in the towel just yet. The fervent Hyderabadi fan would be nurturing the fond but not entirely rational hope that VVS Laxman gets stuck in for another of his marathons that he has been dishing out with monotonous frequency this season. Those with a nose for cricketing history in the Hyderabad team will be heartened by the knowledge that Maharashtra once scored 604 in the fourth innings of a Ranji Trophy semi final against Mumbai some 51 years ago. That they still lost to Bombay by a whopping 354 runs is another matter.

Tendulkar seems to be playing a different ball game from everyone else and like Ilie Nastase said about Bjorn Borg, perhaps the time has come to send him to another planet, or at the very least send him out of the domestic game because it's unfair to the bowlers really. Fiaz Ahmed, who'd bowled remarkably well with his left arm awayswingers in the semis and in the first innings here, was hit out of the attack with four boundaries being collected by Tendulkar in one over. Mohd. Azharuddin, rendered hors de combat with a strained thigh muscle, watched his lieutenants remove the ball out of the pickets time and again. Without his reassuring presence, Hyderabad were looking lost on the field, not having anyone to look up to in their moment of crisis. Azhar has this knack of appearing unfazed even by the most daunting of circumstances and his teammates could have done with some of that spirit rubbed on to them.

Venkatapathy Raju and Kanwaljit Singh were Hyderabad's trump cards and they shouldered two-thirds of the bowling to take nine wickets between them. Sure, both of them went for plenty but they stuck to the task without relapsing into a defensive mode and mopped up the wickets as the batsmen got carried away with their own aggression. Raju helped himself to a match haul of nine wickets and troubled all including Tendulkar as he balanced the twin responsibilities of acting captain and strike bowler. Tendulkar was flummoxed on one occasion when he tried to swipe him in the direction of mid wicket and got a top edge which went over the keeper's head. At just 30 years of age, Raju surely must be entertaining hopes of returning to the Test arena again, which he last graced when the Aussies toured here two seasons ago. Kanwaljit certainly gave a better account of his trade in this innings as he took his season's tally to 62 wickets. You can see his age etched in the lines on his face but his fingers are still just as supple as many a younger man and he imparts a real tweak to the ball. The delivery that snared Dighe turned a long way and struck him plumb in front on the rear leg as he shouldered arms.

There was heartbreak for NP Singh when Vinod Kambli, driving on the up, sliced the ball into the slip cordon and Raju and Laxman watched it pass them with rapt attention and gaped foolishly at each other afterwards. Normally you'd expect slip fielders to attack the ball, not wait for it to come to them and this surely was a tell tale sign that the Hyderabad side had resigned themselves to their lot. This is where Azhar' presence would have been invaluable, those safe hands of his missing nothing at slip. NP Singh finally had his piece of cake when he induced Tendulkar to drive too early and pat a return catch back to him. It was little more than token relief for Hyderabad as the lead had already ballooned out of all proportion to 525 when the master took his bow. Twenty overs later it was all over as the spin twins had run through the lower order. Mumbai had been bowled out in less than a full day's play, and although the runs column in their analysis was not exactly what the doctor ordered, bowling is all about strike rate. With Raju taking a wicket every 34.2 balls and Kanwaljit every 48 balls, they had created an opening, however faint, that would not have existed if Mumbai had batted, say until lunch on day four.