The Hindu : Memorable match for Sehwag

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Apr 18, 2003

Sport

Sport - Cricket

Memorable match for Sehwag

By K. Srikkanth

It was good to see so many fresh faces in the Indian side that overcame Bangladesh on Wednesday and they played under a new stand-in captain too.

I am sure Virender Sehwag will remember this match for a long time. He might have played several blistering knocks for India, but leading the Indian side, in any international match, is something else.

It was a game where Bangladesh put up some kind of a fight, and the side can take a few positives out of the game. Every match is a learning experience for Bangladesh.

Both, against South Africa and India, it lasted nearly fifty overs, and this is a good sign for the side. The team has collapsed much too often, and it is a must for Bangladesh to bat through its full quota of overs.

If it does just that, the side's performances will gradually improve. Mohammed Ashraful and Habibul Bashar scored half-centuries for Bangladesh in the last two games, but the team requires someone to play a longer innings.

Gautam Gambhir finally came good for India. He has plenty of shots and has done extremely well for India `A'. I had a feeling that he was a touch over anxious to perform in the first two games, but in this match, he paced his innings better, playing second fiddle to Sehwag and then took control.

The move to promote Parthiv Patel to the top-order was on right lines, and this lad is an extremely competitive cricketer, who will only blossom if the team-management shows more faith in him.

Off-spinner Sarandeep Singh and leggie Amit Mishra also performed a fair job. Whenever, he has been given an opportunity, Sarandeep has done well, and the young Mishra appears to have got his basics right. He doesn't send down too many loose deliveries and can build on his accuracy.

India should have won more comfortably considering Bangladesh does not have a single bowler with match-winning abilities, but some of the strokes during the chase were forgettable. The home team also displayed some commitment on the field.

www.kris-srikkanth.com

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