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Monday,
March 3, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Bichel,
Bevan seal dramatic victory
Bichel
made the most of the opportunity Future
grim for New Zealand Netherlands,
Namibia thinking of survival SA
confident against Lanka Tendulkar
a rare genius who intimidates bowlers the world over |
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We had
no answer to Tendulkar
Dropped
catch that cost Pak dear
India
looking good to challenge the very best ‘Innings
that touched perfection’ Anwar
dedicates ton to late daughter Tax
exemption for Indian team
Salgaocar
rally to hold JCT
Surinder, Sudesh
fastest
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Bichel, Bevan seal dramatic victory
Port Elizabeth, March 2 Bichel, a replacement for an injured Jason Gillespie, returned the second-best bowling figures in a World Cup, claiming seven wickets for 20 runs to restrict England to 204 for eight. When England made a spirited comeback by reducing Australia to a seemingly hopeless 135 for eight, Bichel came back to haunt the arch-rivals with the bat too, remaining unbeaten on 34 in a crucial ninth wicket stand with top-scorer Michael Bevan which saw the world champions through with two balls to spare. The result kept Pakistan afloat in the tournament as a victory for England would have meant a certain exit for them even if they won their last league match against Zimbabwe on Tuesday. However, the close finish helped England’s net run-rate which would come in handy if Pakistan defeat Zimbabwe to force a three-way tie between them on 12 points. Australia and India have already qualified for the Super Six stage and the third spot from the group would be a toss up between Pakistan, Zimbabwe and England. Bichel earlier stunned England with four quick wickets after openers Marcus Trescothick and Nick Knight gave them a flying start. He removed Knight (30), Michael Vaughan (2), Nasser Hussain (1) and Paul Collingwood (10) before Alec Stewart (46) and Andrew Flintoff shared a cautious sixth-wicket partnership of 90 to partly repair the damage. Bichel returned to claim three more wickets, but after Andy Caddick had dismissed Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist, Damien Martyn and Ricky Ponting Australia were in trouble. Bevan and Darren Lehmann (37) added 63 for the fifth wicket and Bevan carried on with Bichel to seal a famous win. It had all started so positively for England as openers Nick Knight, playing in his 100th one-day international, and Marcus Trescothick set about the Australian opening attack of Brett Lee and McGrath. The pair brushed aside Lee’s pace, as he three times touched 160 kmh, to post England’s first half-century opening stand of the tournament inside eight overs and with the outfield lightning quick a large score looked possible. That prospect changed rapidly when Bichel came on for the 10th over. With his fifth ball he had Knight (30) caught by Damien Martyn in a wide slip position and from the first ball of his next over he had Michael Vaughan (2) caught behind by Adam Gilchrist. Scoreboard
England: Trescothick c Martyn b McGrath 37 Knight c Martyn b Bichel 30 Vaughan c Gilchrist b Bichel 2 Hussain b Bichel 1 Stewart b Bichel 46 Collingwood c Gilchrist b Bichel 10 Flintoff c Gilchrist b Bichel 45 White not out 16 Giles c Bevan b Bichel 2 Caddick not out 5 Extras: (lb-3, w-3, nb-4) 10 Total: (for 8 wkts, 50 overs) 204 Fall of wickets: 1-66, 2-72, 3-74, 4-74, 5-87, 6-177, 7-180, 8-187. Bowling: McGrath 9-2-41-1, Lee 9-0-58-0, Bichel 10-0-20-7, Hogg 10-1-28-0, Lehmann 10-0-34-0, Symonds 2-0-20-0. Australia: Gilchrist c Vaughan b Caddick 22 Hayden c Giles b Caddick 1 Ponting c Giles b Caddick 18 Martyn lbw b Caddick 0 Lehmann c Stewart b White 37 Bevan not out 74 Symonds c and b Giles 0 Hogg c Stewart b Giles 1 Lee run out 6 Bichel not out 34 Extras 15 Total (8 wkts, 49.4 overs) 208 Fall of wickets: 1-15, 2-33, 3-33, 4-48, 5-111, 6-112, 7-114, 8-135 Bowling: Caddick 9-2-35-4, Anderson 9-0-66-0, Flintoff 9.4-1-26-1, White 10-2-21-1, Giles 10-0-42-2, Vaughan 2-0-10-0.
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Bichel made the most of the opportunity Sunday’s group A match between England and Australia at Port Elizabeth had major bearings not only for the two teams involved but also kept Pakistan and Zimbabwe on tenterhooks throughout. With Australia and India already booking their seats in the next grade, the battle for the lone spot was left between England, Pakistan and Zimbabwe. With such significance attached, the match was bound to bring it’s own twists in the plot. Andy Bichel won hearts in his ‘fill-in role’ before thundering his way to record books, England tottering at 87 for five before getting past the 200-run mark and then the privilege of witnessing an unfamiliar Australian batting collapse before winding up for an anticipated win. The moral of game: Never consider any match over till you dismiss
Bevan. The left-hander once again showcased his special abilities which makes him the best one-day player in the world. From a forgettable position to romping home clean, this is nothing less than brilliant. From England’s point of view, I think they wasted a once in a life time opportunity to snap their four-year-old losing streak to the Aussies. By virtue of this win England could have reached the Super Six but after snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, they have given Pakistan a fresh lease of life. The 1992 champions has had a miserable outing here so far and they
desperately needed this sort o luck. Who know’s it might be Pakistan all the way from now. It’s sad that they have to bow out in such a manner. To start the proceedings, England skipper, Nasser Hussian called the coin correctly and their openers came good together for the first time in the
tournament, Nick Knight and Marcus Threscothick making sure England’s fifty come across in quick time. Everything was going fine for England, until Andy Bichel took the ball in his hand. The speedster, who came in as a replacement for the injured Gillespie, made most of the chance given and collected the second best figures in the World Cup, his seven-wicket haul breaking the back of the English team. It required an experienced Alec Stewart and an uncharacteristic Andy Flintoff innings to bring about respectability to the team’s total before Bichel came back in his second spell to wipe out the two. Bichel impressed with his accuracy and good speed and
thoroughly seemed to enjoy his day out. With just 204 runs on board, not many would have sided with England, especially with Gilchrist, Hayden and Ponting slated to start the run chase but some disciplined bowling from Englishmen saw almost a major ‘upset’, nailing Australia down before cricket showed why it’s a game of
uncertainties. Andrew Caddick, came back in style after the hammering he received the other day and set up things with a splendid four-wicket haul while Ashley Giles also gave him good company. However Bichel’s earlier heroics with the ball would have deemed
irrelevant for Australia had he not struck a crucial ninth-wicket partnership with
Bevan. Michael Bevan stood alone among the ruins and his valiant effort in the middle saved the blushes for the defending champions apart from lending Hussain a frustrated look on his face. Meanwhile, there will be another crucial fixture when hosts’ will try their level best to beat the Lankans and scrape past the Kiwis but having seen the form both teams are in, I suggest that Proteas will have to hit top form. From Sri Lanka’s point of view, they would be keen to post a win here and place themselves in a relatively comfortable position going into the Super Six stage, having dropped points against Kenya. Remember, neither Sri Lanka nor South Africa are fully sure of advancing into the next grade. All in all, it will be third straight thriller in as many days.
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Future grim for New Zealand Benoni, March 2 Even as the Kiwis take on the minnows, their attention will be focussed on another key game the same day between Sri Lanka and South Africa under the Kingsmead lights at Durban. New Zealand will want the Sri Lankans to win, otherwise it could be an early flight home for Fleming’s men if the rest of the games don’t go their way. As if the race for the next round from Group B was not close enough, Kenya complicated it further by qualifying for the Super Sixes with a 32-run win over Bangladesh on yesterday. That leaves Sri Lanka, South Africa and New Zealand battling for the other two spots and the final placings are unlikely to be known before the last league match is over on Tuesday. With each team having a game in hand, Sri Lanka lead the table with 16 points, followed by South Africa and New Zealand on 12 each. The Kiwis, who lost their opening game to Sri Lanka, played their best cricket to defeat both South Africa and the West Indies. That should have been enough to see them through to the next round, except the decision to forfeit the game against Kenya at Nairobi on February 21 has returned to haunt them. “All we can do is try and win our last game because we’re just passengers now,” Fleming said. “There are some scenarios, including run-rates, that we can try and improve but, like everyone else, we’ll just have to sit back and watch events unfold.” Fleming warned his team against taking it easy against Canada, who have improved after being shot out for one-day cricket’s lowest total of 36 against Sri Lanka.
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Netherlands, Namibia thinking of survival Bloemfontein, March 2 With five heavy defeats each, both sides are desperate to clinch their first World Cup win and tomorrow’s match at Goodyear Park is their last opportunity to break their ducks. “We have been very competitive against the top sides in terms of fielding and bowling and we have just got to keep the same disciplines,” said Namibia skipper Deon Kotze. “The biggest mistake would be to think that we have done the hard work and relax against the Dutch.” The Namibians must bounce back from the 256-run mauling they received at the hands of the Australians in Potchefstroom last week - a record defeat in the history of the World Cup. But they showed against England that they do have players who can take the game to the opposition - in that game, they were even ahead on run-rate as the skies darkened over Port Elizabeth before they were eventually beaten by 55 runs, easily their best performance in their five matches. For the Dutch took a degree of comfort from passing 200 as they chased 301 against Zimbabwe.
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SA confident against Lanka
Durban, March 2 “I think we’ve got a good chance,” he said of a match which could secure top place in Pool B for the 1996 champions and eliminate the hosts from Super Six contention. With Kenya having already qualified, there are only two places left to fight over with New Zealand heavily tipped to claim one of them as they face the minnows of Canada in their final encounter. Jayasuriya said he believed Sri Lanka had the bowling to make inroads in the South African batting on a pitch which usually favours pace bowling, with left-arm swing bowler Chaminda Vaas looking to continue in the form which has made him the bowler of the tournament. Vaas has taken 16 wickets at 7.81 to top the wicket-takers and the averages while his off-spinning team-mate Muttiah Muralitharan is not far behind, with 11 wickets at 11.27. Asked whether he was concerned that the back-up bowling was a long way short of the standard of his aces, Jayasuriya said the pace of Dilhara Fernando and Pulasthi Gunaratne or Prabath Nissanka and the spin of Aravinda de Silva and himself was enough. “The support bowling has been good. We have been able to get the job done,” he said. “The worrying factor is the batting.” South African captain Shaun Pollock is confident that his struggling team will be able to put together a good performance at
Kingsmead, his home ground and he said he is not worried about criticism that conditions change after dark in day-night games.
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Tendulkar
a rare genius who intimidates bowlers the world over Some bowlers intimidate batsmen but it is a rare genius who intimidates bowlers as Sachin Tendulkar did in the high-voltage match against Pakistan when his competitive juices were flowing. It was heady stuff! And India will now take much more than just the points from their impressive six-wicket win against their traditional rivals through to the business end of this World Cup. India booked its passage through to the Super Six stage and the win on Saturday continued the revival of the team since the demoralising defeat by the Australians at the start of the tournament. In this form Ganguly and his team are capable of beating anyone but they must believe in themselves and be prepared to play with the freedom they have shown in recent matches. Pakistan have yet to win a World Cup match against India and if they are to do so they need to develop some subtlety to go with the sledge-hammer approach. Full frontal assault has not done the trick for them so far. Thankfully, it was a day game because Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat on an excellent batting wicket. Nehra for one found conditions very different from those experienced at Kingsmead the other
evening. Saeed Anwar continued with his love affair of Indian bowling in one-day cricket with an innings that started tentatively but grew into the more assured and elegant version of Anwar that we have come to know and appreciate. When he was finally bowled in the 41st over by a near perfect Nehra
yorker, Anwar had anchored the Pakistan innings and had set the solid foundation for their total of 273 for
seven. Rashid Latif did a fine job in the last 10 overs to ensure a competitive total while Wasim Akram played some lusty shots at the end to complete a frustrating day for
Nehra. The total of 273 would have been excellent had it been a night game but as conditions were not going to change in the afternoon Pakistan will have felt uneasy about the Indian top order, especially
Tendulkar. The other thing that has to be noted is that grounds here in South Africa are generally on the small side and Centurion is one of the smaller grounds of the World Cup rotation. A score of 270 in 50 overs here would only be seen as par. For me, the prospect of the Pakistan pace attack challenging the immense skills of Tendulkar and his look alike Virender Sehwag was an exciting proposition. Early wickets were always going to be important for Pakistan to make the score resemble 300, so Waqar Younis decided to go with his big guns Shoaib Akhtar and Wasim
Akram. For India to win it would probably take someone to make 100 so Tendulkar would have loomed large in the sights of the Pakistani pace trio. The scene was set for a classic confrontation and whoever won the first round was going to take a huge step toward winning the game and getting through to the next stage in good shape. The loser may well be consigned to an early exit. The showdown got away to an explosive start. Neither Akram nor Shoaib had a chance to settle in before Tendulkar struck the first psychological blows by despatching both bowlers to various parts of the
ground. Tendulkar heaved a big six over third man in Shoaib’s first over and the young fast bowler looked unnerved. Everybody’s pace had quickened and the adrenalin was
racing. Wasim brought some sanity to the proceedings in his second over while Waqar replaced Shoaib after just one
over. Sehwag proceeded to unsettle him by hitting his first delivery for an even bigger six over third man. The pace and bounce was suiting the aggression of the two Indian openers. Fire was being used to fight fire. The question was; which side was going to break first? Ten runs per over was just the start India wanted and Pakistan were psychologically on the back
foot. Wasim Akram has been as good with his craft as Tendulkar is with his and the old warhorse turned back the clock as he steamed in to deliver some fine deliveries. But conditions were in favour of the batting side and luck seemed to be running their way. Good players though make their own luck, and Tendulkar pierced the field on both sides of the wicket with precision drives, pulls and
cuts. Waqar responded to being hit behind square on the leg side from middle stump to bowling more to the off side only to see balls race through the covers. Errors of length were hurting the Pakistan pace bowlers as they strived for even more pace. Each time they erred, Tendulkar punished them.
Sehwag finally fell to some clever bowling and good field placing as he chipped Waqar to extra cover. He may have also been sucked into the maelstrom of adrenalin sparked by Tendulkar’s
brilliance. Ganguly strode to the crease. He needed to settle things with a cool head and feed the strike to the rampant
Tendulkar. Ganguly didn’t even have time to think about it as Rudi Coetzer adjudged him LBW to the first ball he faced. The bowling skipper had won the battle of the captains and had reclaimed some ground for the beleaguered Pakistan bowlers. The entertainment level was exceedingly
high. Abdur Razzaq became the villain of the piece for Pakistan as he misjudged a catch from Tendulkar coming from a crude drive off the bowling of Wasim when Tendulkar was on 32. I bet I wasn’t the only one who immediately thought of Herschelle Gibbs’ muffed chance from Steve Waugh in the semi-final of the 1999 World Cup. Was this going to prove as costly a miss for
Pakistan? Kaif was promoted ahead of Mongia in the Indian batting order and he set about doing what his captain would have wanted done. He did not get too many opportunities himself, but he got to be a close spectator in the ongoing ‘Tendulkar master-class’. Pakistan proceeded to shoot themselves in the foot as they bowled no bowls as the tide of the contest began to flow India’s way. Their pace was working against
Pakistan. Tendulkar eased back the throttle as Kaif joined in the merriment with some classy shots of his own. The body language suggested Pakistan was running out of ideas as well as belief. They had thrown their best punches but they were reeling from the body blows India had got in
early. Shoaib soon lost the plot. Pace was certainly not working for him and he seemed devoid of a back-up plan. He began flailing like a drowning man in a raging torrent. Meanwhile, Kaif had dragged himself out of his ringside seat to join in the command performance. He played with a style and aplomb which suggests he is also a player of rare skill. We should see more of him in the future. At the first drinks break India was travelling at nearly nine runs per over and only a disaster would stop them from taking the
honours. Afridi and Razzaq were the first attempts at subtlety and while they succeeded in slowing the march to victory it was as much a decision by Tendulkar that the killer punch had been landed and India only needed to remain standing to win the bout. Once Tendulkar and Kaif departed it was left to Dravid and Yuvraj Singh to see India home in what had been another in the Titanic contests between these two proud nations.
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There is Tendulkar and then the rest of them What a truly astonishing batting display it has been from Sachin Tendulkar against arch-rivals Pakistan. I have always said that there was Sachin and then the rest of them in contemporary cricket, and the little man seems determined to prove that in this World Cup. I must admit that I thought the total of 273 would be a little beyond India’s reach at the Centurion, but the way Sachin and his mirror image Virender Sehwag went about it was completely unbelievable. I can only imagine the joyous scenes across the breadth of India, from Mumbai to Kolkata. I have always felt that Sachin Tendulkar must be the name at the top of the Indian order, because while he has the ability to succeed anywhere in the batting line-up, Sachin himself prefers to open. This particular pair was seen in one of the
one-dayers in Kanpur against England last year, where they absolutely murdered the attack to finish off a match in no time. Since then various combinations and permutations between
Sachin, Sehwag and Saurav Ganguly have been tried, but I think they finally got the batting order right on Saturday. I was also pleased to see that wonderful young batsman Mohammed Kaif come in at No. 4 after languishing for almost a year at seven. His innings was a crucial one, as it brought some sanity back into proceedings after the mayhem of the first six overs that saw 54 runs and two successive wickets. In fact, none of the middle order batsmen tried to emulate Sachin in
strokeplay. Instead, they went about accumulating runs through singles and the occasional boundary. Sachin’s innings had such an impact on the asking rate, that this was all that was required from Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh, and the duo went about it with professional ease. I think Waqar Younis did a couple of things wrong yesterday, after Saeed Anwar had helped his side reach 273 with a well-compiled 100. First, there was no need to have replaced Shoaib after a single over, as it seemed to have left the fast bowler a little short on confidence. It was a panic move, and the Indians must have gained confidence from it. He did hit stride towards the end of his spell, but by that time, India were too far ahead. It was also unfortunate to see Wasim Akram look a pale shadow of the form he had shown early in the tournament. He had been very good against Australia, and had played a good hand against the other teams as well. On Saturday he was off-colour and did not have any answers to Sachin’s offensive. At the end of the day one also wondered whether 300 was needed on a pitch on which the Indians were playing their strokes with such ease. Perhaps the middle order for Pakistan could have put on a better show after the start Anwar provided. Pakistan now await the result of today’s game to see whether they are still in the hunt. If England win today, they are out of the tournament. If Australia once again prove unbeatable, they will have to beat Zimbabwe handsomely to qualify for the Super Six. As I write this, Andrew Flintoff and Alec Stewart are scripting a recovery for England. I their efforts bear fruit, Pakistan will be the first big team to be well and truly out of this World Cup.
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We had no answer to Tendulkar There are some days when a player achieves magical heights, when he is unstoppable and when every other player in the arena looks woefully inadequate. Shots come off the bat with amazing ease, gaps are bisected as though with a compass and runs just don’t stop. Sachin Tendulkar achieved that against us yesterday, and it is our misfortune that we were in the opposition at that magic moment. I still maintain that 273 was defendable. On any other day we would have defended it against India, but on March 1, 2003, we had no answers to
Tendulkar. We came into this game somewhat as underdogs, since India had virtually qualified for the Super Sixes, and we had to win this game if we wanted to keep our hopes alive. It is therefore bitterly disappointing that we were not able to achieve that goal, and now have to depend on the result of the Australia-England game to see if we still have a chance. Pakistan is a proud, attacking team and we did not want to await other results to get through to the Super Six, we wanted to go through on our own merit, but Tendulkar assured that this was not to be. What made bowling to Tendulkar so difficult was the fact that he was reading the line very early, and seemed to have an extra split second to get into a shot, even against the express pace of
Shoaib. He has always had a great eye, but on this pitch, he seemed to have all the time in the world to select the right shot and play it to perfection. In retrospect, we could have tried to attack the other batsman more once Sehwag and Ganguly were out, but in this one innings Tendulkar did not get impatient when he was at the other end. In the past, I have seen him fret when he is off the strike for too long, or when his partner plays out a maiden. Yesterday, he was relaxed right through, and our ploy to keep Kaif on strike for some time did not affect him. Personally speaking, I have been very unhappy about the number of wides and no-balls I have been bowling, and yesterday, these cost us very dearly. Even when Waqar did get two wickets, we were not able to get our line right, and I kept overstepping every now and then. Also, we were guilty of not varying our pace very well in the first 15 overs as that might have prevented Tendulkar from timing the ball well. I thought we were in with a chance when we dismissed him with 100 runs left to get, but Rahul Dravid once again proved his class. In Pakistan, we often feel that batsmen like Dravid have got dwarfed by the brilliance of
Tendulkar. The latter has been the most consistent batsman of his generation, and yesterday he showed that he is capable of unforgettable
strokeplay, which makes him the larger-than-life figure he is. Equally, Dravid was crucial to India’s win, because if he had been dismissed with even 50 to get, we would have gone all out to attack and get the tail out. Both Dravid and Yuvraj calmly knocked off the runs, and on a flat pitch our bowlers had no answers. We need to beat Zimbabwe handsomely if we are to harbour any hopes of proceeding in the tournament. In this respect, the one positive to emerge from yesterday’s match is that our batting is looking good, and we now seem to have the confidence to put up a big total. This will be absolutely necessary to improve our net run rate which is behind both England and Zimbabwe. The loss against India is disheartening, but we must look ahead and try our best till the end, that will be the challenge for Pakistan in the next couple of days.
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FROM THE NON-STRIKER'S END Captain Waqar Younis put him on at the start of the Indian innings to rattle the Indians in the same manner as Brett Lee of Australia had done three weeks ago. After his first over, Shoaib didn’t want to bowl. All the noise before the start of a game of targeting rival batsmen remained a talk. Shoaib tends to put more pressure on himself by thumping his chest before the start of a game. If it was Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden he wanted to get against Australia, it was Tendulkar and company he had in mind against India. If at all, he was even more of a disaster against the Indians. Shoaib has this peculiar habit of calling everyone “darling”. Sunil Gavaskar wasn’t amused when Shoaib addressed him as “darling”a few years ago. He also is a night bird and is known to call journalists at 2 a.m in the morning for interviews. Shoaib and Tendulkar go a long way. They first cast eye at each other when Wasim Akram brought his Pakistan team in 1998-98. While Tendulkar was cracking that magnificent hundred in a losing cause in the Chennai Test, Shoaib was carrying the drinks and trying to be pleasant to everyone around him. Things changed when Shoaib scorched the Indians in Kolkata Test, getting the reverse swing to the extent he cleaned up Rahul Dravid and Tendulkar off successive balls. In the second innings, he threw Tendulkar off balance with physical impact and caused his run-out. For long Tendulkar bore the grudge against
Shoaib. He felt it was intentional even as Shoaib cried hoarse about his innocence. Shoaib became such a hot property after that tour that
WorldTel, the sponsors of Tendulkar, also signed him up as an exclusive property. Put it down to political climate and the sensitivity between the two countries, Shoaib and Tendulkar could never have a joint commercial shot for their sponsors. On Saturday, Shoaib tried his
earnest to bump Tendulkar out of the way. He knew the world was watching but Tendulkar had come planned. The Indian maestro was prepared to cut the short deliveries and flick those which Shoaib tried to york him with. Tendulkar took a stance which exposed all his three stumps but allowed him to swing his bat square of the wicket freely. He also could flick the overpitch deliveries for maximum effect. Tendulkar had done his homework on Shoaib and was prepared to back his plan. Shoaib did bounce him out but by then Tendulkar had executed one of the most memorable one-day innings and India was on its way to beat Pakistan. Shoaib now faces an uncertain future. The repercussions back home will be huge. He would have even his own team-mates speak unfavourably about him. It is common knowledge how upset the rest of the Pakistan cricketers are about the preferential treatment accorded to Shoaib by team management on account of his star status. It will all now change dramatically in coming days. |
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Dropped catch that cost Pak dear
Centurion, March 2 Razzaq saw to his horror a lofted drive from Sachin Tendulkar hit his left palm and spill out to the ground and immediately felt the life drain out of him. “I immediately realised the big mistake,” said Razzaq reflecting on his team’s six-wicket defeat to old foes India in the high-voltage World Cup match yesterday. “I was in a daze for it would have given us a good grip on the game,” a devastated Razzaq said. India, 57 for two at that stage, would have been hit hard by Tendulkar’s loss on 32 for only in the previous over Waqar Younis had hustled out Virender Sehwag and captain Saurav Ganguly off successive balls. Bowler Wasim Akram could not believe his eyes. “Tujhe pata hai tune kiska catch chhoda hai (do you know whose catch you have dropped)?” Akram screamed at Razzaq, who wished the ground would open and he would escape the fury of his former captain. Akram was furious as Razzaq had ignored his command to stand at the edge of the circle at mid-off and had come too far inside the ring. “Tu agar wahan khada hota to aasan catch tha (had you stood there it would have been an easy chance),” thundered Akram at a sheepish Razzaq. Razzaq had his own reasons to come inside the ring. “I knew Sachin is very good at placement and wanted to stop those sharply run singles.” Razzaq was also aware Tendulkar does not lift a ball straight down the ground so early in his innings. Agreed former Indian Test player Sanjay Manjrekar. “It is very uncharacteristic for Sachin to lift a ball straight down the ground so early in his innings,” he said. “But he escaped and India was relieved,” Manjrekar added. Razzaq’s lapse could be compared to Herschelle Gibbs’ folly of dropping Steve Waugh at a critical stage of the 1999 World Cup, which paved the way for Australia’s title triumph and buried South Africa in ignominy. Later, Tendulkar rubbed in the salt further and literally brought blood to the wound when he smacked a backdrive at Razzaq, who split his finger in an attempt to stop the shot. However, he stayed on to bowl a few more overs. Tendulkar, in a matter of one knock, also settled his long-standing accounts against Pakistan cricketers. And Tendulkar did not have to resort to histrionics to have a go against the arch-rivals. His bat did the talking as his fans soaked in the electrical atmosphere. Indeed, emotions had a field day at Centurion Park. The legendary Akram, his outstanding career coming to an end, was often involved in disagreements with his captain Waqar Younis about the field placements granted to him. He had a particularly long argument with his skipper after Virender Sehwag had spanked a square drive to the cover fence as he sought an extra cover in that area. Akram later also took up the cause of Shahid Afridi, who similarly appeared disgusted at Waqar’s stubbornness to set a field which he did not want.
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India looking good to challenge the very best India has always been a lion-hearted nation and, on Saturday, Sachin Tendulkar aptly gave the roar that dented the Pakistan psyche and sparked off rejoicing in a country after its team won the mother of all battles in the World Cup. It was as if God had descended on Planet Earth to bat for around two hours. Flowing like a rampaging river, almost unstoppable, Tendulkar conjured the feisty qualities that we are so accustomed to associating with him. Within an hour of taking guard, he
pummeled the Pakistan bowling into submission. He stripped two of the world’s best fast bowlers off their pride. Occasions will not make men strong or weak, they will show what mettle they are made of. And in what was expected to be a gut-wrenching contest, amid all the hype and hoopla that surrounded it, Tendulkar was in the forefront of his team’s comprehensive victory over Pakistan. Sourav Ganguly is the India captain but Tendulkar is easily the leader of the pack, the helmsman. Indeed, the echoes of Tendulkar’s deafening roar of Saturday has announced India a serious contender for the Cup. Well, what does one say new of a man who is in a league of his own and is, perhaps, at the peak of his prowess as a destructive batsman? The swagger is back as is the arrogance but, above all, it is clear that the joy and flair are restored as he is enjoying his role at the top of the order. As he unleashed his stunning array of
strokeplay, now caressing the ball down the track and now belting it square of the wicket, the alarming rate at which he scored ensured that there would be no pressure on the batsmen who followed him in the order. He fell short of a landmark century but his 98 eclipsed a very good hundred by Saeed Anwar for Pakistan. For a team that approached the game with its mind on the boisterous sea of doubt, Pakistan was helped by a benign pitch that eased Saeed Anwar into middling form and set the platform for a challenging total. Yet, India could have restricted Pakistan to 250 and less had it not conceded far too many wides and no-balls. Zaheer Khan, well as he has been bowling, does seem a lot more comfortable and accurate with the older cricket ball than the new. Ashish
Nehra, who is a natural swinger of the cricket ball, can probe the batsmen when the ball retains its shine. There is indeed some food for thought for the Indian camp that he should take up the new ball. It was also a bit worrisome that while Zaheer bowled superbly in the death,
particularly the penultimate over, he does not seem to have anyone to pair up with him. Nehra was expensive and India will have some work to do in this area over the next few days. To revert to India’s batting, which really won the day, Mohammed Kaif deserves praise for the courage he showed in playing at No. 4 - rotating the strike for Tendulkar during the third-wicket stand - but I still think that the man cut out for this position is Rahul Dravid. He sets the stalls, anchoring the innings and staying back to be able to put his stamp with a pulled boundary that marked a win for India on Saturday. The left-handed Yuvraj Singh deserves praise for evolving as a match-winner, one who can be counted upon to deliver. Adversity has been a great teacher. He has shown remarkable maturity since returning to the side after a spell in the wilderness and has shouldered the responsibility most admirably. He has placed a premium on his wicket and has been the perfect foil for
Dravid. Yet again, he made a half-century in a winning cause. For all that may or may not happen in the Super Six stage - the right train of thought can take you to a better station in life - let us savour memories of a wonderful innings by the master, one which sent India on the highway to a grand victory. The lion has marked his territory and India is looking good to challenge the very best.
TCM |
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‘Innings that touched perfection’
London, March 2 Heaping praise on the maestro for his knock at Centurion in South Africa yesterday, “The Independent” said Tendulkar’s art of batting is beyond boundaries. “It is hard to imagine that the art of batting can ever have reached the pinnacle Sachin Tendulkar took it to in a sumptuous display at Centurion. “If there was any doubt that he is the best batsman in the world, it vanished once and for all as he persuaded Pakistan’s bowlers to all points of the compass with strokes that were as breathtakingly and daringly conceived as they were perfectly executed and placed,” it said today. “Better matches and tighter finishes may lie ahead in the eighth World Cup but there will be no more alluring spectacle. Nor will there be a more scintillating innings than that played by the wondrous Sachin Tendulkar, unless he plays it himself,” said a separate article in the newspaper, with a headline “Sachin sets the world alight”. With a headline screaming “Sweet Sachin steals show”, ‘The Sunday Times’ said: “Tendulkar produced the most astonishing innings seen in 50-over cricket since the matches began. In a special tribute to Tendulkar, it said: “He truly is the most admirable of contemporary cricketers, perhaps the only one now — in Shane Warne’s absence — who lends greatness to the age,” it said. ‘The Observer’ noted that Tendulkar’s 74-ball knock transcended all the squabbles of this World Cup. “For two hours Tendulkar bewitched a capacity crowd and sent his adoring supporters into ecstasy. For the neutrals it was a privilege to witness a sublime innings that touched perfection — one of those ‘I was there’ moments.” “No one on the planet can play like this and I’m not even sure that Tendulkar himself has played so sublimely ,” ‘The Observer’ said. “He did offer one chance; Abdur Razzaq dropped him at mid-off when he was on 32. Otherwise Tendulkar was awesome. “They sometimes quibble that he is a player of great knocks rather than match-winning innings. This innings put that charge to bed: this is the World Cup; the opponents were Pakistan and his team faced a formidable total; they needed someone to assert himself.
PTI |
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Anwar dedicates ton to late daughter
Johannesburg, March 2 “Her death was God’s wish and turning to religion has given me the strength to cope with the tragedy,” Anwar said. His selection for the World Cup was questioned by the Pakistani media, who called it a gamble since Anwar had lost his batting form while devoting his time to preaching. Anwar was also unfairly accused of distracting team-mates by urging them to attend his lectures. “I have tried to balance my life and want to play as long as I am fit to compete in top class cricket,” said Anwar. A wrist injury last year forced him to miss Pakistan’s tour of Bangladesh and the Test series against the West Indies at the neutral venue of Sharjah. Recalled for the three-nation Morocco Cup in Tangiers in August, where he failed to get among the runs, Anwar was ignored for three Tests against Australia in Sri Lanka and Sharjah. Anwar, who holds the world record for the highest one-day innings of 194, against India in 1997, said he wanted to quit cricket after being left out of last year’s SA tour. “I had almost given up on the game but my close friends and relatives told me to play in the World Cup and here I am.”
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Tax exemption for Indian team
New Delhi, March 2 Announcing this here, Mr Jaswant Singh said: “The prize money received by players for matches in the World Cup, individually or as a team, would be exempt from income tax.” Congratulating the Indian team for the wonderful victory over Pakistan in their crucial league match at Centurion yesterday, Mr Jaswant Singh said in his message: “Well done all of you individually and collectively. India is proud of you.” Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani today congratulated the Indian team for its “splendid victory”. “The splendid victory and the entry into the Super Six was a result of an all-round performance by the Indian cricket team... I hope the team will get more laurels in the future,” Mr Advani, who watched the match with his family at his residence, said.
UNI |
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Salgaocar
rally to hold JCT Ludhiana, March 2 After the first barren half, JCT made a substitute with their star
striker IM Vijayan going in place of Hardip Saini. Vijayan made his presence felt in the very first minute, managing to pierce through the Goans defence line. After a rebound from Taranjit Singh, Vijayan latched onto the ball at the goal mouth, sent an angular footer to put his team ahead (1-0). Goans continued with their pressure tactics which paid dividends and they fetched the equaliser. In the 73rd minute, man of the match, Dharamjit Singh lobbed a volley from out side the striking box and Sunday Seah, with a header, scored a superb goal to restore parity.
Bagan win KOLKATA: Champions Mohun Bagan drubbed Churchill Brothers 3-0 to earn full points in their match at Salt Lake Stadium here. After medio Sunil Chhetri put Bagan into the lead in the early first half, striker George Ekeh made it 2-0 in the 15th minute after the breather, while nippy Brazilian striker Jose Barreto completed the tally (3-0) for Bagan eight minutes later.
Mahindras blank HAL BANGALORE: Scoring at will, Mahindra United blanked HAL 5-0 in a match here. The winners, who made their 17th engagement a one horse race, earned three points to take their tally to 20. R C Prakash, Ednei Jose Damasio (2), Mongba Aby Samson and substitute Noushad Pari netted the goals for the Mumbai team.
PTI, UNI |
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Anand loses Linares, March 2 |
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Surinder, Sudesh fastest
Rewari, March 2 In shot put (men), Sandeep Kumar of Hisar hurled the iron ball to 13.75 mt to win the gold medal. Another athlete of Hisar Sandeep Badalia could make the throw to 13.48 mt to finish second, while Kashmir of Karnal got third place with 11.86 mt. In the women’s category of shot put, Aplesh of Hisar threw the iron ball to 10.80 m distance to clinch the gold medal. Indu Bala of Bhiwani and Neelam of Jhajjar finished second and third with 10.60 mt and 10.43 mt distance, respectively. In men’s Volleyball, Kurukshetra outplayed Sonepat by 25-13, 25-12, Panipat defeated Sirsa 24-26, 25-21, 15-05, Mahendergarh prevailed over Bhiwani 22-25, 25-23, 15-13 and Karnal beat Yamunanagar 25-16, 25-22 to reserve their places in the semi-final. Weightlifting in jute bag, the essence of rural games, was won by Hari Kishan of Rewari who lifted 120 Kg, followed by Pawan Kumar of Jhajjar who got the second place. Sukha Singh of Karnal and Neetu Singh of Rohtak had to satisfy with the third position.
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THE NON-STRIKER'S END
CENTURION PARK: Shoaib Akhtar has grown bigger in a physical way since his early days but still has enough pace to give a batsman sleepless nights. The Rawalipindi Express is an eccentric cricketer and not many within his team are happy with his antics.