The Hindu : A runaway victory for the Indians

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Mar 22, 2003

Sport

Sport - World Cup

A runaway victory for the Indians

As expected, it was a cakewalk for India in the semifinal at Durban. Rain stayed away, and Ganguly's men brushed aside the Kenyan challenge.

The skipper himself produced a strokeful hundred, his third in this World Cup, and the manner in which he attacked the spinners stood out yet again. I have always maintained that Sourav Ganguly is among the cleanest strikers of the ball, especially against the slower bowlers, and he did clear the Kingsmead ground with ease.

Leg-spinner Collins Obuya is the only strike bowler in the Kenyan ranks, and Ganguly did not allow him to settle into a rhythm. It was also a well-paced knock from the Bengal cricketer; he did take his time to settle down on a slow pitch and there were several ones and twos in his first fifty.

However, Ganguly opened out in the second half of his innings, and it was a clever, calculated assault. Earlier, he had opted to bat, though there may have been some moisture on the pitch due to the damp conditions in Durban prior to the match.

But then, it was clear that Ganguly wanted to avoid chasing under the lights, just in case Kenyans managed to put together a score beyond 200. It was a game where Ganguly's plans worked like dream.

Sachin Tendulkar's knock was intelligent too. Like Ganguly, he realised that the sluggish pitch was not really conducive to strokeplay, and changed his game plan accordingly. The maestro still produced some memorable shots and had it not been for a spectacular catch on the fence, would have reached his hundred.

Once the Indians crossed the 250-run mark, the Kenyans had little chance really and it was only a question of how close they would get to the Indian total. There was a threat of downpour though and it was smart captaincy from Ganguly that once the pacemen had provided the early breakthroughs, he instructed his spinners to rush through their overs, so that the minimum of 25 (for a result) could be completed.

Once again, Srinath & Co. were quite brilliant and their consistency in this tournament has been exemplary. They have given very little away, struck at regular intervals and done everything their captain must have expected of them. It's quite remarkable how the trio has managed to hit the right length from the very beginning, match after match.

From an Indian perspective, it was good that occasional bowlers such as Tendulkar and Yuvraj received an opportunity to bowl. Tendulkar did pick up a couple of wickets, and if it comes to breaking a threatening partnership in the final, he could well be the man.

www.kris-srikkanth.com

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