The Hindu : Sport : The series played in good spirit so far

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 04, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Sport

Sport

The series played in good spirit so far

K.C. Vijaya Kumar

There have been a few tense moments but the players have gotten on with the game

— Photo: S. Subramanium

SHOWING CONCERN: In an instance of the good spirit the series has been played in, Ricky Ponting actually went up to Gautam Gambhir to make sure the Indian fielder was alright after one of the Aussie skipper’s shots hit him on the neck.

Mohali: Gripping contests set to a background score of verbal duels and tainted with the odd streak of bad blood, have often lent drama to matches between India and Australia.

Thankfully, this time around, there has been a distinct absence of rancour as the teams criss-cross India in the Hero Honda Cup series while the matches have adhered to the script of tight finishes, with the one-sided clash at Nagpur being an exception.

Diplomacy has reflected in the statements issued by players from both teams. Monday night was a case in point.

Sachin Tendulkar seemed set for a big score when Nathan Hauritz pinged his pads with a ball angling past the leg-stump and the maestro was adjudged out. India was 94 for three in 18.5 overs and eventually slumped to 226 all out in 46.4 overs.

In the post-match press conference, Ricky Ponting was asked about Tendulkar’s dismissal. After the platitudes, the Australian skipper merely said: “I thought Hauritz bowled really well tonight.”

M.S. Dhoni, too, refused to bite the bait. “I haven’t seen the action replays. Sometimes, you get decisions in your favour, sometimes you don’t,” the Indian captain said.

Mutual respect

The two teams have so far displayed a fine sense of mutual respect though there have been a few tense moments in this series. Mitchell Johnson has had his spats with Virender Sehwag though the opener thoughtfully turned a blind eye.

The left-arm seamer was again in the picture when he accidentally tripped Dhoni, who was scampering for a single. Dhoni glared but did not utter a word.

When asked to react, Ponting said: “You cannot make issues out of these things. These are too minor and it all depends on how you look at it.”

The build-up to the series did have its share of repartees, with Brett Lee expressing a desire to defeat India 7-0 and Zaheer Khan, who is coming back from injury, retorted: “Well, that’s the way the Aussies play, isn’t it? I mean they talk about the other teams rather than about themselves.”

Meanwhile, an amused Ponting quickly doused the flames and said: “May be Lee is doing a Glenn McGrath.”

The skipper was referring to McGrath’s famous pre-series statements aimed at putting pressure on the rival captain. Vice-captain Michael Hussey stepped in and said: “What Brett meant was that, as part of the Australian team, we want to win each and every match.”

The present trend of extending the olive branch was visible even on Monday night at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium when Yuvraj Singh and Ponting jointly gestured to the fans behind the sightscreen to stop moving around.

Perhaps, frequent tours and Steve Waugh’s philosophy of embracing the local culture has played a role besides the Indian Premier League’s ability to foster friendships.

This is a welcome change to a rivalry that has witnessed some unsavoury events in the past. Once in Australia, Sunil Gavaskar nearly dragged fellow opener Chetan Chauhan along with him after the former felt he was wrongly given out.

During an Australian tour in the mid-80s, one of the then Indian captain Kapil Dev’s powerful shots killed a bird. A disturbed skipper sought a time-out mid-over for a sip of water but was brusquely turned down by rival counterpart Allan Border. In recent years, we have had the infamous tussle between Andrew Symonds and Harbhajan Singh at Sydney.

Cut to the present, with three matches to go, it remains to be seen whether the players can shrug off minor incidents get on with the game.

The series is on the boil at 2-2 and captains Dhoni and Ponting have an unenviable task of staying calm while competing hard.

Easier said than done.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport