S P O R T S

Lightning strikes twice
Nagpur, October 30
The biggest surprise is that no one was surprised by India’s second 350-plus run chase in the series. The miracle has turned into a banality. The spectators got what they came to see — 79 fours and 13 sixers were struck. Four centuries were made.

Virat Kohli (115 not out) raced to his century in just 61 balls to power India to yet another incredible victory against Australia. The series is levelled 2-2. — PTI

A gentleman and a leader Nagpur, October 30 George Bailey is the most anonymous of the recent Australian cricket captains. His posters adorn the streets of Ranchi and Cuttack and Pune, but no one knows him. He doesn’t move around — unlike several Australian captains — with an air of menace. You wonder who made this nice man the captain of his team. Australian captains of the recent vintage were a rather enraged species; if an opportunity arose to either smile or snarl, they invariably chose to do the latter. George Bailey blasted 156 off only 114 balls to get his first century of the series on Wednesday. He’s made 474 runs in the series so far, at 118.50. — PTI

The Master Blaster goes out on a high Lahli (Rohtak), October 30 Bit by bit the realization that Sachin will no longer be there is setting in. With smiles all around Sachin Tendulkar ended his domestic career, reminding his fans one final time that two Tests are all they have with him now. Sachin had walked onto the field with a guard of honour from the rivals; he came off it on his teammates’ shoulders. On the pitch, he remained the last stumbling block that Haryana could not get past for victory. — Manoj Dhaka

Sachin guides players in Haryana dressing room
Lahli (Rohtak), October 30
Haryana may have lost the Ranji opener to defending champions but skipper Ajay Jadeja did not lose an opportunity to invite the retiring legend to their dressing room for an interactive session with the rookies.

We are looking to improve past record in India, says Sammy
Kolkata, October 30
The last time they came here, India thrashed the West Indies 2-0 but visiting skipper Darren Sammy today said the Caribbean side is a lot more mature now and would be quite a handful for the hosts in the upcoming Test series starting November 6.

Punjab whip up an innings win Mohali, October 30 Punjab kicked off their campaign on a perfect note, beating Odisha by an innings and 48 runs in Mohali on Wednesday. Resuming from an overnight total of 110/2, Odisha folded up for 307, handing the hosts a thumping win. Punjab team’s Harbhajan Singh celebrates with teammates after an Odisha dismissal on the final day of their Ranji Trophy match in Mohali on Wednesday. — Vicky Gharu

Lightning strikes twice
DEJA VU: Just like in Jaipur, India chase down 350 plus target; Virat, Shikhar and Rohit star in incredible win
Rohit Mahajan/TNS

Nagpur, October 30
The biggest surprise is that no one was surprised by India’s second 350-plus run chase in the series. The miracle has turned into a banality. The spectators got what they came to see — 79 fours and 13 sixers were struck. Four centuries were made.

A thrilling chase, culminating in a series-equaling, six-wicket, last-over win for India. Some extraordinarily wristy shots, on both sides of the wicket, by the amazing Virat Kohli, who raced to his century off just 61 balls.

Kohli had got it in 51 balls in Jaipur in the second ODI a few days ago, when India chased down Australia’s 359. Tonight India overhauled Australia’s 350 with lesser ease. But super-350 run-chases have become a reality on Indian wickets.

The match ended with a jumping Kohli and an ice-cool MS Dhoni celebrating in the middle.

It was almost like Jaipur, but there was a difference — the ground here is bigger, six-hitting more difficult. The required run rate for India went above eight after 19 overs and remained there until the end. Yet, they got it.

The Indian openers put up another big total, but India were always straining at the leash. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan added 178 in 29.3 overs, at a fair clip, averaging 6.10 an over. This should count as a very quick partnership. Yet, India still needed a massive 174 runs from 20.3 overs, at over 8.28 an over.

When Dhawan fell just after completing his century, bowled by James Faulkner, Kohli walked in and proceeded to make a mockery of the chase.

Kohli demonstrated why the new rules make it an unequal battle — nay, don’t call it a battle, it’s akin to warring with children.

Kohli has a whiplash of a cover drive — the ball disappears beyond the boundary in the flash of the eye. He cuts the ball with similar bat-speed. He drives the ball straight. He has a very useful late cut. He plays all these shots on the ground and over the fielders. Thus, if you’re bowling to him with an off-side field, he still can toy with you. Then there’s the small matter of his rubber wrists, enabling him to whip the ball from outside off to even behind square on the leg or, more commonly, to midwicket or wide long-on.

Don’t even try to bowl him on his legs, not on these wickets, not with these new rules that are intended to turn One-day matches into just long slogathons — an extended, three-hour version of T20.

Kohli charged to 50 off 31 balls and 100 of 61, even as Dhawan, Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh fell at the other end. The only reason for concern for India was the dismissals of Raina and Yuvraj, both bounced at, pushed to the back foot, before being taken out again by Mitchell Johnson.

The Indian bowlers had got a hiding, too.

Actually, they’d started off very well. The pitch was on the slower side, affecting the batsmen’s timing. The fall of two wickets impeded Australia. Phil Hughes struck Bhuvneshwar Kumar to the diving Kohli at square leg. Aaron Finch played the first delivery from Ravichandran Aswhin — bowling around the stumps — down the wrong line and was castled.

Amit Mishra, Ravindra Jadeja and Aswhin were bothering the batsmen; Jadeja had a first spell of 4-0-16-0, Aswhin had figures of 4-0-17-1, and Mishra bowled three overs for eight runs, confusing the batsmen with his googlies.

Jadeja even got Watson out off a no-ball, with his heel over the line, off the ground; Watson, then on 25 then, started off for the pavilion, reaching the boundary, before he was summoned to the middle. Australia escaped being 69/3. But they were in trouble — 45/2 in 11.1 overs, then 89/2 in 22. Hardly the launchpad for a 350-run total.

Then, as if by a secret signal, Bailey and Watson changed gears in the 23rd over, bowled by Aswhin; Bailey hit the second ball over mid-off for four, the third straighter and longer, right at the sight screen. Thirteen runs from the over. A six was struck in each of the next three overs as Watson took the cue. Australia were flying.

The Indian bowlers lost the plot; Mishra had started by nicely flighting the ball — now he began to drop the ball short, allowing the batsmen the width to strike him on both sides.

The outfield, mostly brown, barely green in parts, was fast and bumpy, causing misfields, and the quick Australians put pressure on the fielders.

There was no respite. The assault ended only in the 35th over, when after striking Mohammed Shami for three fours, Watson missed an incoming ball and was bowled. Australia were 213/3 now; the two had added 168 off 142 balls — 17 fours and five sixers had been struck.

Bailey, 74 off 66 at that stage, didn’t flag; he was spurred on to an even more ferocious attack. The captain struck six sixers today, taking his series total to 15. The last 28 overs produced 261 runs. The Indians wilted, bowling too short, feeding Bailey for his murderous pull. The Indian pacers bowled 16 overs, the spinners 34. The pacers conceded runs at 6.75 an over, the spinners at 7.11. If you want to be a bowler, choose your poison.

Then again, why would anyone want to be a bowler?

A gentleman and a leader
Rohit Mahajan/TNS

Nagpur, October 30
George Bailey is the most anonymous of the recent Australian cricket captains. His posters adorn the streets of Ranchi and Cuttack and Pune, but no one knows him. He doesn’t move around — unlike several Australian captains — with an air of menace.

You wonder who made this nice man the captain of his team.

Australian captains of the recent vintage were a rather enraged species; if an opportunity arose to either smile or snarl, they invariably chose to do the latter. Allan Border was the most extreme example of this kind — if biting people on the cricket field was not strictly forbidden by convention and law, Border would have bitten several hundred people by now. Many English cricketers, especially, would have been carrying Border jaw-sized marks on them. He, quite deservedly, earned the epitaph ‘Captain Grumpy’.

Border raised Australia from the ashes of the 1980s — he had to be extremely tough to be able to do that. He bequeathed a strong team to Mark Taylor who, it must be said, was tough but a rather nice fellow — certainly not a biter.

The next leader was Steve Waugh, another tough man. He was so reluctant to smile and display his teeth in public that he spoke from the side of his mouth. His successor, Ricky Ponting, was a very combative man, too. He was frequently seen smiling, but most often it was on the misfortunes of the victims of his extraordinary batting and bowling attack. His recent smiles have been witnessed during his pension-earning days with Mumbai Indians.

Ponting’s win-at-all-costs philosophy possibly made the team a bit too nasty — that’s what the late Peter Roebuck wrote in the aftermath of the ugly 2008 Sydney Test against India. The Australians and Ponting mellowed a bit after that.

The current regular captain, Michael Clarke, smiles and smiles — but he possibly overdoes it. Within the team environment, he’s said to be something of a control freak.

Border, Waugh, Taylor and Clarke either came from the big cities or played with the bigger teams; Ponting is a Tassie, a Tasmanian. Ponting and Bailey were both born in Launceston, Tasmania. Ponting is not the most representative of the Tassie character. Bailey is.

Tassies are said to be the coolest people in Australia. Bailey is cool.

After the Ranchi ODI was washed out, Bailey addressed the press. Then, seeing an Australian videographer trudge off with his very heavy equipment, Bailey carried some of it to the other end of the ground. It’s difficult to imagine an Indian captain doing the same — except the current Indian captain, who anyway is the coolest man in cricket.

“I guess I am quite happy most of the times,” Bailey says. “Sometimes you get pushed a little bit. But I am enjoying this tour, there has been good cricket.”

“The boys are playing well, so it’s always a bit of fun, doing something you actually love,” he says.

And does being a Tassie help? “Absolutely! That’s a very good point, I didn’t think of that. I think all Tasmanians are very happy.”

Bailey today inflated his personal happiness index by finally scoring a century on this tour.

Bailey, who captained Australia in his first match for the national team, had made 85, 92*, 43 and 98 in his four previous ODI innings. Today he blasted 156 off only 114 balls to power Australia, with 13 fours and six sixers. He’s made 474 runs in the series so far, at 118.50. A little short of six feet, he’s a sinewy bloke and hits the ball very hard. He’s hit 15 sixers in the series, three fewer than the Indians have done, combined. That must make Indian fans a bit unhappy, but it’s a fine introduction to a very nice Australian captain.

The Master Blaster goes out on a high
Gaurav Kanthwal/TNS

Lahli (Rohtak), October 30
Bit by bit the realization that Sachin will no longer be there is setting in. With smiles all around Sachin Tendulkar ended his domestic career, reminding his fans one final time that two Tests are all they have with him now.

Sachin had walked onto the field with a guard of honour from the rivals; he came off it on his teammates’ shoulders. On the pitch, he remained the last stumbling block, rather a boulder, that Haryana could not get past for victory. The home team lost to Mumbai by four wickets but stretching the Master till the last day made Haryana feel no less than victorious. Sachin’s last domestic performance goaded youngsters, from both sides, to approach the new season with an enhanced confidence and self-belief.

Indications of which were evident on Day 4 of the Haryana-Mumbai Ranji opener itself. In the first innings, Haryana had scalped five for 36 runs; they now needed four with a leeway of 39 runs on the final day. The youngsters pumped in all the might, the old hands tried all their tricks to get wickets, but Sachin (79; 175b, 6x4) along with Dhawal Kulkarni (16; 72b) did not give them even one.

It was supposed to be a practice match for Sachin ahead of his last series but at the end of the day, his raised hands in victory tellingly conveyed how intensely he wanted to finish on a winning note. Mumbai, Tendulkar’s blip on Day 1 had made this fight a lot spicier and for last four days Sachin was determined to end on a high. “240 was a big total to chase. The outfield was also on the slower side. 240 looked like 280 to chase on this wicket. This is just the kind of outing I was looking for,” he said. “The wicket was challenging — it had a lot for the bowlers — but it was fun to bat on.”

Former players say it is the desire of every player to end on a high, but greater the player, more the desire, sometimes making them overstay the welcome. Sachin, some say the greatest, too wants to end on a high that’s why he had come for preparation all the way to Lahli.

The unbeaten 79 runs he eked out off snaking seamers, short deliveries during his prolonged stay in trying circumstances has primed him for the big test. If he could show such will in a domestic game, his determination will be worth seeing in the Tests ahead. Sachin gave more than a hint of it. “It will be a good series. They (West Indies) are a good side, something that I'll be looking forward to... my last couple of Test matches. I hope it produces good cricket and lives up to the expectations of all my well wishers.”

Sachin, being a teen prodigy, did not get to play many Ranji Trophy matches as he was drafted into the national side at the age of 16 years. Yet, he played for Mumbai whenever and wherever he could. Sometimes Mumbai needed him and on rarer occasions Sachin needed to play Ranji Trophy to regain form and assess his fitness. In all he played 38 matches, scoring 4281 runs at an average of 87.36.

Brief Scores: Mumbai 136 (Rahane 51; Joginder 5-16) and 240/6 (Tendulkar 79*) bt Haryana 134 (Mohit 49; Nayar 4-38) and 241 (S Singh 63; Zaheer 4-62, Dabholkar 4-54) by 4 wkts

Sachin guides players in Haryana dressing room
Gaurav Kanthwal/TNS

Lahli (Rohtak), October 30
Haryana may have lost the Ranji opener to defending champions but skipper Ajay Jadeja did not lose an opportunity to invite the retiring legend to their dressing room for an interactive session with the rookies.

Sachin Tendulkar along with Jadeja sat in front of the Haryana squad and addressed their doubts and queries ahead of the Ranji season. Sachin not only answered to their queries but suggested how a individual player could have done better during the match. Sachin also gave examples from his own experiences and how he got over the difficulties.

Upcoming pacer Harshal Patel, who bowled a relentless spell on Day 3 and 4, asked Sachin ‘Sir’ how he could have bowled to restrict Sachin from playing towards the backward point. He was given two options. Sachin had a word of praise for Harshal, seeing his accurate line and length. The 22 year old pacer was advised to strengthen his basics and work in nets more.

Offie Jayant Yadav said, “Sachin sir sought to know our difficulties and gave us solutions. It was an encouraging interactive session. He told his own experiences.”

For more than half an hour it was just Sachin and the Haryana players’ voices alternating in question and answer mode even as other players absorbed the advices of the Little Master.

We are looking to improve past record in India, says Sammy

Kolkata, October 30
The last time they came here, India thrashed the West Indies 2-0 but visiting skipper Darren Sammy today said the Caribbean side is a lot more mature now and would be quite a handful for the hosts in the upcoming Test series starting November 6.

"We have come here winning six consecutive Tests. So we are a lot more matured this time," the skipper said about two wins each against New Zealand, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

"The last time we played a Test, it was a thrilling draw. It`s just that we have not won here for a long time. We are looking to improve our performance from the last series," Sammy said, elaborating on their `mission` to win a series here.

Like India, the West Indies are also awaiting a milestone in their team as Shivnarine Chanderpaul, with 148 Test caps, is all set to become the first Caribbean player to play 150 Tests. "In Chanderpaul, we have the most experienced player who would be playing his 150th Test, the most by any West Indian," said Sammy.

He further said they have a good mix of youth and experience compared to the side which lost 2-0 in the three-match 2011 series.

"We had a lot of youngsters in our team in the last Test we played here in India. Chanderpaul is our only experienced batsman. We have young guys like Kirk Edwards, Darren Bravo then we have Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels who have been doing well. The team this time is much more mature," said Sammy. — PTI

Punjab whip up an innings win
Tribune News Service

Mohali, October 30
Punjab kicked off their campaign on a perfect note, beating Odisha by an innings and 48 runs in Mohali on Wednesday. Resuming from an overnight total of 110/2, Odisha folded up for 307, handing the hosts a thumping win.

Punjab would be pleased with the outright victory for it came on a rather placid track. The wicket didn't offer much help to the bowlers but the Punjab attack, spearheaded by skipper Harbhajan Singh, who finished with a credible nine-wicket haul in the game, bowled out the visitors twice.

While Harbhajan dominated the first innings with his six-wicket haul, the pacers came to the party in the second innings, with Sandeep Sharma picking three wickets and Manpret Gony and Siddharth Kaul chipping in with two wickets apiece.

For Orissa, after overnight batsmen Niranjan Behra and Gobind Poddar were dismissed, Abhilash Malik (73) and Basant Mohanty (41) put up some resistance but couldn't deny Punjab for too long.

Brief Scores: Odisha 205 and 307 in 91.4 ov (Malik 73, Poddar 70, Behera 56; Sandeep 3/64, Harbhajan 3/83)

Himachal can't force a win

Dharamsala: The match between Himachal and Goa ended in a draw with Goa finishing the last day at 282/2.

Brief scores: HP 558; Goa 243 and 282/2 (Desai 126, Asnodkar 109).