CB Series 1st Final - India vs Australia
March 2nd 2008 13:39
Cometh the hour, Cometh the champion - Ravi Shastri's words echo in one's ear. At Sydney, the master, the best batsman in the world game showed everybody exactly why talk about him having failed in this series till now and the rabid doubts of one Mr. Manjrekar have always been unfounded.
A brilliant shot-studded century from Sachin ensured that India won at a canter against the world champion Australian team. Tendulkar started off the innings with Uthappa for company. Uthappa played very well actually. After his unconvincing show in the previous match he has come a long way. He played Lee and Bracken quite convincingly. Even on the shot he got out to, it was a spanking pull but he had not quite bargained on the brilliance of Michael Hussey at the deep square leg. That was a gem of a catch.
Initially Sachin looked to build his innings up - punishing only the loose deliveries. That Mitchell Johnson looked one dimensional helped him and all of India's batsmen right through the game. It did look as if Australia missed the services of the metronomic Stuart Clark. Brad Hogg and James Hopes too did not make too much of an impression. Hogg showcased his variations but did not quite the breakthroughs except for Yuvraj. More on that soon.
At the fall of Uthappa's wicket, in walked Gambhir - twice a centurion in this series and the leading run scorer for India by a long way. But starting from his stay he looked very unsure running between wickets. That was odd to see considering that he had always run very well in this series and earlier. And yes he did get run out in shambolic fashion. Tendulkar guided the ball wide of third man - Johnson and it was a simple two runs. Sachin even shouted two as they passed each other. But inexplicably Gambhir chose to watch the ball not his partner. And when he finally did see in that direction, Sachin was close enough to shake hands. Gambhir charged back to the nonstriker's end only to see Hopes collect a strong throw from Johnson and strike down the stumps.
At that point of time, there definitely was pressure on the Indian middle order. Dhoni this time moved Yuvraj ahead of Rohit Sharma this match. Maybe his thinking was that in crunch situations he wanted Yuvraj to take on more of the pressure than the youngster. Yuvraj - even though he looked adequate against the pace bowlers, did look very suspect against the spinner Hogg. And Hogg it was who consumed him. The previous ball, Yuvraj jumped out to try and break the shackles but Hogg was wise to that and dropped the ball just a little bit shorter and forced Yuvraj to pad up and somehow avoid a stumping dismissal. The next ball Yuvraj was expecting another short ball - maybe he thought Hogg would drop it short once more expecting the batsman to jump out of the crease. That was not so. Hogg bowled a perfectly pitched chinaman. The ball landed on middle stump and hit the space between off and middle. Yuvraj was caught in no-man's land and on the backfoot away from the leg stump. His play against spin need some serious introspection and improvement. At this rate, all the world's spinners would line up to bowl against him.
At this stage, it looked very difficult for India with only Rohit, Dhoni and the all rounders to follow. But Rohit it was who stole the show. I must confess I had doubts over this youngster's ability to handle pressure, to play significantly long innings without rushes of blood. Today he has proven himself beyond doubt. At least to me. He may have scored just 66 runs but these were worth their weight in gold. Time that he spent with Tendulkar when a wicket at that stage would have tilted the game's balance in Australia's favour was invaluable. He has the strokes, he has the temperament, he has the balance and he certainly has that elusive element - class! He is here to serve Indian cricket for a long time by the looks of it. One short arm pull off Hopes stood out for the instinctiveness of the stroke. He is also another batsman who looks very easy even when he strikes the ball powerfully. He does not look ferocious when striking it but the ball fairly flies off the face of his bat - reminds one of Laxman's touch. If there is one thing to complain it would be his penchant to play the backcut more than the square cut. That is one stroke which could get him into some trouble in the long run.
Rohit also had one let off - even though that would be purely technical in nature. A fierce cut shot soared above point but Ponting jumped up and attempted to parry it but he was a couple of inches too short to do that effectively and Rohit went on to compile his classy and invaluable 66.
About strokes that stood out a couple of straight drives off Bracken when he was brought back really brought to mind his hero - Sachin. Those were lovely well timed drives which involved minimum effort but fetched maximum results. Only a batsman sure of himself and his abilities can play the straight drive along the ground confidently.
There was some brilliant running between the wickets despite the awesome fielding display by the Aussies. In reality there were only a couple of moments where the Aussies faltered in the field. One - when Hayden let a ball through his legs at point resuling in a couple and once when an overthrow resulted when Gilchrist got bad bounce on a throw coming in from the deep and Symonds and Bracken failed to back it up. And there were many many moments of brilliance on the field. Ponting (despite him missing a very tough chance at point), Clarke and Symonds simply sizzled on the field. And the rocket arm of Johnson holds one in awe. Symonds and Johnson could be the strongest blokes playing the game of cricket currently. Such is their awesome power while throwing the ball. Symonds in particular gives the impression that he can throw from boundary to boundary - with ease.
Well, to carry on with the Tendulkar masterclass, there was cheekiness too. When Johnson changed his angle to come around the wicket to direct his off cutters from very short of length, Sachin just guided the ball easily over slip - not once but twice. Some of his square driving off Hopes and Johnson was simply magnificent.
When the runs to be scored got below 50 and Sachin had just scored his century, Rohit lost his wicket to Hopes - clean bowled. Just the previous ball, Sachin and Rohit had taken a quick single where Rohit dived to make his ground. That seemed to have scratched his glove and this combined with the Sachin century celebrations seemed to have distracted him and he missed a straight one. He ought to have been playing forward to that one from Hopes but did not and consequently had his stumps rattled.
But then the situation had turned completely in India's favour and Dhoni coming in and scything two fours between mid off and cover ensured that there was no other result possible. Tendulkar then sealed the deal with a tremendous cover drive off the hapless Johnson. Today's game must be a disappointment for Johnson the bowler completely.
Notable moments of this game - there were two which stand out. Maybe they were the moments that you would want to carry through about this series far more than other less tasteful moments:
1) Brett Lee bowling a ferocious, unintended beamer at Sachin's throat which luckily the master managed to blunt with his arm guard, and then immediately and profusely apologizing to the batsman who also happens to be his hero. Sachin was 98 then and took the incident in his stride and shook hands with the most gentlemanly of the Australian players by quite a long way. Great show of spirit from both the sportsmen.
2) A group of Australians holding a banner in the traditional yellow of the Kangaroo country - but it did not focus on Australian cricket or cricketers. It said - Sachin - Thank you for the memories. Now that is something Sydney would love to be remembered for. I know I would carry this in my mind for a long time. Hats off to those Australian supporters and to all the other people who helped make this game worth watching
I must confess that I was among the few doubters about this youth strategy that the Indian selectors and Dhoni espoused. It was a sore point with me that experienced pros like Dravid and Ganguly were ignored and instead yougsters bordering on being called greenhorns were being selected in their place. I was not convinced that the youngsters had it in them to replace the feet which had left the shoes so to speak. But seeing this match I do feel that the feet and the shoes fit almost perfectly. Rohit Sharma is a sparkling find for the Indian middle order. He has to be the fulcrum along with Yuvraj around who the middle order must be built around. Yuvraj still needs to tighten his game up - especially against the spinners. But he deserves his middle order spot. And if he can get rid of the question marks over his fielding that would be fantastic for India.
I do see green as far as the youth strategy is concerned but I would love to see India play one more batsman in the future. While our strength is batting, sometimes we do see a lot of indiscretion creep in and an extra batsman - especially one who can roll his arm over usefully would be very welcome.
Sachin Tendulkar it was who claimed the man of the match award for his fantastic, timely and brilliantly paced 117 not out.
Congratulations India. And Congratulations to Sachin. Welcome Rohit Sharma to the big league with this composed half century in a finals game. And last but definitely not the least, lets not forget Mahendra Singh Dhoni who has been behind his wards and his decisions full time even when many of us were shouting out against them all. He may be many things but he is a strong leader who leads from the front and leads with panache and flair. Brisbane awaits the teams on Tuesday for another high octane match up between these two quality teams.
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