The Hindu : An effort sans common sense: Srikkanth

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jan 12, 2003

Sport

Sport - Cricket

An effort sans common sense: Srikkanth

It would have been a great tragedy if the Indians had lost the sixth ODI despite Virender Sehwag's strokeful hundred. Towards the end, it was a disappointing performance by India, who almost gave the match away.

There was absolutely no planning in the Indian approach, especially towards the closing stages and the running between the wickets was atrocious. It was also suicidal. After Sehwag's effort, all that was needed was common sense cricket, but the Indians were found wanting.

It is extremely difficult to understand how a side can bat so poorly in a situation from where it can call the shots. The asking rate was not high, but the Indians almost made a total mess of it. I felt it was a good wicket to bat on, and the total of 199 was extremely gettable. What should have been a comfortable win with a few overs to spare turned out to be a very close affair. The Indians should have never allowed that to happen.

There was no application of the mind, and the manner in which the middle-order and the lower order batsmen handled the pressure was very disappointing. To sum it up in one word, the run outs of Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar were pathetic.

In sharp contrast to the other batsmen was Sehwag's fine century, he is such a lovely timer of the ball. He played some telling strokes and by the time he had reached his hundred, the match was in India's pocket. Until the other batsmen took almost giften the game away.

At a time when Sachin Tendulkar appears to be struggling, Sehwag has made a big difference to the Indian side. He doesn't allow pressure to build up and takes calculated risks, from time to time, to keep the run-rate progressing at a good clip. This is the right approach in one-day cricket and India is much better off due to his presence. Some of his strokes were truly outstanding, and he does put pressure on the opponents.

When the Indians bowled in the afternoon, Javagal Srinath turned in a magnificent display and for any paceman to concede just 13 runs in his ten overs while picking up three wickets is quite sensational. He has been bowling quite brilliantly and will be a key bowler for India in the World Cup.

But the Indians let the Kiwis off the hook and they were allowed to get close to 200, when they could have been dismissed for around 150. Looking back, had the target been, say, 151, the Indians would have hardly faced any problem. There would have been no pressure on the Indians.

Allowing a genuine tailender like Shane Bond to launch into the bowling is simply not acceptable. The Indians conceded at least 40 extra runs.

Even when we have a side on the mat, we give them opportunities to wriggle out of the situation. This could prove costly for India, especially in a tournament like the World Cup.

www.krish-srikkanth.com

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