Some Pride Redeemed!!!

By: Venkatachalam. A. Krishnan

This was published in CRICKETNEXT.COM on the 20th of February, 2003 - The day after India's win over Zimbabwe.

http://www.cricketnext.com/yoursay/krishnan/krishnan3.htm

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The defining moment of India's facile win over Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 had come before the first ball was bowled in the contest. After having held on fast to the opening slot like a child clinging on to her favourite stuffed toy, Sourav Ganguly finally decided to give it up. It was probably the best decision he had ever made on or off the field in his stint as the captain of the Indian cricket team.

What followed was a small but definitely positive step towards the turnaround in the team's fortunes. True, the Zimbabweans are nowhere near world-class but this victory would have gone a long way in boosting the sagging morale of the Indians. It showed on the field when Saurav Ganguly and his boys huddled together after the fall of every wicket. The body language was much better and one hopes that this will continue into the future.

Sehwag got his rightful place at the top of the batting line-up and one could see the confidence radiating as he walked into the middle with his idol Sachin Tendulkar. There was a healthy competition between the master and his clone in sending the ball to the far corners of the cricket ground. This was heart-breaking stuff for the Zimbabweans while every Indian rejoiced.

After a near-century partnership at a run-a-ball, the decision to send in Dinesh Mongia ahead of Rahul Dravid at number 3 was baffling. He was all at sea and struggled to score even singles and give strike to the man in full flow at the other end. This clearly upset the rhythm of Tendulkar and the result was the maestro missing what would have been a fine century. Also the momentum of the team was lost and they ended up at least 40 runs short of the initial promise.

Srinath is really enjoying his cricket after his comeback. His length is much fuller and this has reflected in his fantastic performances in New Zealand and now in the World Cup. He is at his best when he is relaxed and the team would do well to ensure that he continues to be relaxed. His strikes early in the Zimbabwean innings ensured that they could never recover.

Ganguly did well to pick up a few wickets and even celebrated every wicket as though the victim was Brian Lara or Mathew Hayden. Earlier he had thrown away his wicket playing an atrocious shot and he should not forget the fact that his job is to score runs for the sake of the team. Unless he does that, he cannot command respect from his teammates or demand performances from them.

This victory was sweet and is definitely a positive happening. But let us not go gaga over this, as it has come against a mediocre team. The Indians have a long way to go. They should keep their feet firmly on the ground and increase their efforts multifold to do it.

The benchmark at the moment should be Australia. This will be a great team the day it starts to win consistently against them!!!


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