Indian innings 5 overs |
14 overs | 26 overs
| 35 overs
| 45 overs
| end of innings
West Indies innings 5 overs |
10 overs | 21 overs |
31 overs | 42 overs |
end of innings
Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin won the toss and elected to bat, apparently telling the TV commentary team that he believed the moisture in the pitch would offer something for the spinners. Either that or Azhar, who is undecipherable on a good day, was mumbling something about Maharashtra, because the very idea seemed a nonsense. Noetheless it meant that the crowd would get a look at their hero straight away as Tendulkar walked in to bat with Ganguly, heading an unchanged batting order.
Reon King, replacing McLean opened the bowling, with two slips, a deep third man and a deep long leg. Opening with a wide, the debutant impressed with a tidy over. He lacks the pace of McLean but has more control, though his tendency to power the ball through from the shoulder may cost him runs when he tires late in the innings. Dillon at the other end started out showing the form that causes some West Indians to speak of him in the same breath as Ambrose. The pressure was starting to get to Tendulkar and taking a single off the second ball of King’s second over he attempted a risky run and was lucky not to be run out. Lewis at mid off made a direct hit with a wristy underhand throw at the bowler’s end which the third umpire deemed too close to call against the batsman.
Dillon continued to bowl a delightful full length and line. Tendulkar got the better of him on the fourth ball of his second over, swinging from the hips and tonking him over square leg. But the next ball was a peach, beat Tendulkar for pace outside off and Hooper took a wonderful catch diving to his right at wide slip.
14 overs: Dillon and the debutant King restrict India with tight bowling
Azhar looked more comfortable at first, but probably because Dillon had lost a little of his pace, which had been topping 140 kph. Dillon troubled him with a lifting ball in his third over, and angled the next in on a fuller length on middle stump. Azhar was caught coming forward lbw as the ball rapped his ankle, and Dillon boxed the air in delight.
Dravid and Ganguly looked a little out of their depth against the onslaught. Ganguly could only offer a repeated defensive push to off as Dillon continued to bang them in. One cut from Ganguly aside, the Indian batsmen made hardly any headway, and after 10 overs were 27 for two. Ganguly’s uncertainty prompted Lara to bring Simmons from first slip to short cover. In response a few balls later an increasingly anxious Ganguly tore into a delivery from King and sent it clear, but without much control, over Simmons’ head.
Lara kept only two men on the leg side for Ganguly, inviting him to play across the line and brought Simmons up at silly mid off. Ganguly is usually too straight and upright a player to be comfortable on the leg side, but against his better nature he picked two short Dillon deliveries in the 12th over, swung round on both and dispatched them through the leg side gap for four.
Now that Dillon was tiring, Lara brought Hooper on in the 14th over. Ganguly was keen to get after him and after a couple of false starts waving the bat cut his last ball fine for four.
King's batteries were in better shape and he bowled out a maiden in the last of the restricted overs. With the rate achieved at only 3 and a half an over India were slipping out of contention.
Ganguly again had a go at Hooper, this time making a lucky four as Rawl Lewis made a miserable attempt to stop the ball on the third man boundary with his foot, only to see the ball bounce over both foot and rope. The West Indian short fielding had been magical all day, but the outfielding was less than impressive. Finally Dravid awoke from his catatonia as King continued from the pavilion end, glancing a legside delivery for an elegant four, but then promptly went back to sleep. Dillon finished a quite excellent spell with 10 overs, two maidens for 26 runs. It was only a shame that the debutant didn't have a wicket to show for his labours.
Hooper continued to bemuse the Indian pairing with variety, and was doing a sufficiently good job that Lara felt confident to call up Simmons rather than Arthurton. By now both batsmen were hoping to magic runs from thin air, trying to run off half shots and near hits. Simmons was bowling a much better length than on Thursday. It was all too much for Dravid who tried to belt him through mid wicket in his second over, missed completely and was stumped smartly by Jacobs. The decision was referred to the third umpire who took a painfully long time to decide to let Dravid stay in. The replay suggested it was the wrong decision and there were probably a few individuals in the Indian dressing room who wouldn't have minded had the decision gone against Dravid, so slowly was he scoring. In the next over he got himself out anyway, trying to sweep Hooper off one knee, looping a dolly drop to Williams at square leg.
Jadeja must have been champing at the proverbial bit in the dressing room, because as soon as he came on he made Simmons look the fairly ordinary one day bowler he currently is, nicking a four through the slips and running two to long leg. India brought up the 100 at the end of the 27th over.
Keen not to let India off the hook, Lara brought on his secret weapon Arthurton, and replaced Hooper with Rawl Lewis. Ganguly looked far more comfortable against the new pairing. After pushing the ball around with a little more direction than before, he skipped down the track to Arthurton and launched two sixes over long on, the second clearing half a stand. But just as Ganguly was shaping up to be India's hero, in the following over he sent Jadeja back from the non-striker's end. Lara scooped up the ball and skittled the stumps before Jadeja could get back in his crease. Another West Indian direct hit, perhaps the fifth or sixth of the day, and Jadeja was gone.
The arrival not of Singh, but of a consignment of free product from Meril, the official soap manufacturer of the Bangladeshi team, caused a brief flutter of excitement in the commentary box. While it is not our policy to endorse products, it is hard to speak too highly of Meril's petroleum jelly, the perfect complement to a day's cricket watching. Robin Singh opened his account a few balls later with a powerful sweep off Lewis for four.
45 overs
But Singh proved as ponderous as Dravid before, looking as if he'd been sent out to test the pitch. Simmons, returned for Arthurton, and Lewis had India under their control. So much so that when Lewis bowled the first ball of the 40th over wide of the off stump, Ganguly tried to hit over it, missed and was stumped comfortably. To add insult to injury, umpire Orchard sent Ganguly back with arms outstretched for the ball was a wide. Ganguly's 83 off 116 balls may serve him well in the statistician's records, but in truth it was a totally inappropriate innings for the conditions, and far too hesitant to boot.
New batsman, keeper Nayan Mongia, was now facing an uphill task. After belting Simmons over long off for four, it wasn't long before he caught a dose of India's stop start running disease. In the 44th over Lara decided to bowl Lewis rather than bring back Dillon to complete his ten, and Singh took advantage, coming out to two short balls and sending the first for a four and the second for a six over square leg. The boundaries signalled the start of the chase as both batsmen began to run hard between the wickets, taking quick runs off the returning Arthurton. Still Lara thought better of bringing back Dillon for Lewis. Instead, Hooper got the nod.
50 overs: Robin Singh's hitting gives India hope
The decision looked a good one when Hooper conceded only four off the over.
Lewis was changed to the other end. This decision looked less intelligent, as Singh proceeded to take 18 off the over. The sequence was no run, two, six, no run, six and four. Both the sixes flew over long on, and the four was swept beautifully behind square when Lewis, bowling round the wicket, fed Singh's best shot with no fielder in range. In the process Singh brought up his 50.
After a relatively tidy over from Dillon, Hooper replaced Lewis and took two further boundaries, one virtually slipping through Laura^Rs feet at long on. For the first time in the game India were on top, and Lara sent fielders to every corner of the field.
Hooper could have held Robin Singh in the last over but mistimed his run in from cover and a skier dropped short. The next ball Dillon ripped out Mongia's off stump. Srinath came in for the dying moments, and guided India to 242 for 6 at the close.
West Indies innings 5 overs: Wallace in good form again
from Rohan Chandran in Dhaka.
The crowd had barely settled into their seats when Philo Wallace arrogantly stepped forward and struck the first delivery of the innings from Srinath over the boundary at long off, to get the West Indians off to a dream start.
Srinath conceded another boundary in his over, but the second one was somewhat fortuitous, neither batsman showing any interest in running as the fielder chased after the ball, which only just reached and touched the boundary rope at mid wicket.
At the other end, Agarkar bowled a terrible first over, showing no concept of line or length, and Williams and Wallace took full advantage, Wallace pulling him brilliantly behind square leg for another boundary.
Srinath came back with a bang in the third over however, Williams flashing outside his off stump, and being caught behind by a somewhat surprised Nayan Mongia. Srinath was working up a lively pace, bowling consistently between 137 and 140 km/h, a good 10 km/h faster than his partner, but it wasn't enough to trouble the batsmen, and after three overs, the West Indies had made a 34 run inroad into the deficit.
Kumble replaced Agarkar at the pavilion end, a move borne as much out of neccessity as out of desperation. He started very well, his second delivery looping off the outside edge of Wallace's bat, and falling just short of Ajay Jadeja in the gully. This brought the left handed Chanderpaul on strike, and receiving a slightly overpitched delivery from the Indian spinner, he went down on bended knee, and played a somewhat agricultural looking square cover drive, earning himself four runs in the process.
Srinath continued from the far end, and a crashing square drive for four apart, he was able to keep Chanderpaul tied down, the West Indies ending the fifth over on 44 for 1.
Wallace, as is his way, continued to take big risks. Almost bowled by Kumble in the 5th over, he swung wildly at a fired up Srinath in the next but twice made contact, belting a four round behind square and another over midwicket. Tendulkar, at midwicket, could only stand and stare. Chanderpaul got in on the act and in the next over hoisted Kumble back over his head for a towering six.
Azhar brought Joshi into the attack, and Philo Wallace was clearly relishing the prospect - he called out the twelfth man so he could dispense with his helmet.
Chanderpaul was first to tuck in when he let rip a beautiful drive back past the stumps for four. When it was Wallace's turn to face Joshi, Azhar brought up a suicidal looking short leg in the form of Dravid, and it was easy to speculate that the placing was a perverse punishment for Dravid's lacklustre innings. Fortunately for Rahul, Joshi chose to bowl to Wallace on the leg stump, offering him easy sweeps to long leg.
The positive batting continued into the next over when Wallace swept Kumble behind square for four. Wallace may be a slogger, but he has a solid technique and he sweeps and clips the ball off his toes with the elegance of a man half his size. His batting is so positive it’s infectious and he and Chanderpaul make a very effective one day partnership, comparable with the best Sri Lanka can offer. What Chanderpual lacks in stature he makes up with deft timing, and when he connects he often sends the ball further than Philo.
Kumble was the only one of the Indian bowlers making any headway, finding the right line to Wallace. But Azhar decided to keep him for the run in and brought back Agarkar. Agarkar did his captain proud in bowling his best over so far, even if he still looks too small to be an effective fast medium pacer. But the West Indian innings was slowing up more as a result of West Indian tiredness than clever Indian bowling. In case anyone thought otherwise Chanderpaul reminded the crowd what was left in reserve when he smashed Agarkar through midwicket for a four that must have left its mark on the ball.
The only trick left in Azhar’s book was to bring on Sachin. And sure enough the little master delivered, catching Wallace off his second ball. Next up to bat was Lara, and the crowd stamped their feet in appreciation. The early indications were not good, as Lara tried to hit out straight away, but his timing was clearly lacking. Taking a single he left the way open for Chanderpaul to bring up his 50 off 50 balls.
However out of sorts Lara looked, his presence was threat enough to force a bowling change as Srinath replaced Agarkar. The fast bowler couldn’t stop Chanderpaul from scoring freely, helped along by some atrociously unambitious fielding from Kumble at third man who assisted one Chanderpaul cut over the ropes. Lara flattered both bowlers, playing out a Tendulkar maiden and flashing at anything Srinath put outside the off stump. The compliment was returned by Ganguly who made a half-hearted attempt to pick up a Lara sweep at long leg and saw it skip over the rope for four.
Chanderpaul was very much the senior partner at this stage. He cracked a quickish Srinath delivery through the covers for four at the start of the 22nd over. The only thing that looked likely to stop him was a bout of cramp, and three balls later Williams was called up to run for him. Chanderpaul was always likely to slow down at this stage and it was Tendulkar who brought him to a halt, bowling him trying a pure slog. New batsman Hooper was in no mood to give Tendulkar fans any further reasons to crow. He cut the first ball late for what should have been two or three, but the comedy partnership of Singh and Jadeja contrived to run into each other and forgot about the ball. The next ball went with less uncertainty straight through point for four.
Hooper seemed to evoke some distant memories of past partnerships in the recesses of Lara’s mind and he started to find his form against Kumble in the next over, the 26th. Hooper unfortunately decided to give us all a reminder of how often he needlessly throws his wicket, skying an easy catch to Agarkar in the covers. The batsmen seemed incapable of doing anything with Tendulkar, even though the Indian master was doing nothing more than pop the ball up. Just his presence near the crease seems enough at the moment to cow even the world’s best batsmen.
Notwithstanding Tendulkar’s bowling new bat Arthurton and Lara looked to be taking the game at a canter, and the reintroduction of Joshi was unlikely to make their job any tougher. Tendulkar finished with 10 overs, 1 maiden, 29 runs for two wickets which, in other circumstances, might have been a match winning performance.
Azhar had clearly lost faith in Agrakar and brought on Dravid, perhaps so he could blame the inevitable loss on one individual. Up to this point Dravid had only bowled 8 overs in ODIs for 35 runs and no wickets and Arthurton immediately helped himself to a delicate late cut for four. He pulled out the same shot in the next over against Joshi only this time Tendulkar, seemingly the only Indian outfielder willing to chase the ball, cut it off inside the rope. The 200 came up off the last ball of the 38th over.
The Windians continued to parry Joshi and Dravid and pick up the odd single as the game looked to be running rapidly out of steam.
Lara skied Dravid through midwicket and out of the despairing reach of Singh to reach his 50 off 79 balls. He’s played many better innings, but this one should set him up for tomorrow, when West Indies will badly need a Lara in half way decent nick. With Joshi bowled through Agarkar returned. With 9 runs needed off 23 Arthurton decided enough was enough and sent Dravid over mid wicket for a one bounce four. three balls later it was all over as Arthurton slashed through the covers and the West Indies turned in the easiest win of the tournament.