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Cricket
By G. Viswanath
Sean Ervine acknowledges his century as the other century-maker for Zimbabwe, Stuart Carlisle, looks on. - Photo: V.V. Krishnan
ADELAIDE, JAN. 24. The man with a deadpan expression on his face bowled India to a thrilling three-run win at the Adelaide Oval. Pilloried a fortnight ago for a shocking turnaround in which his in-form captain was the victim, Sanjay Bangar got a chance to play his second match of the tournament by default. Nothing went right for him, falling for a duck off the fourth ball he faced. Thereafter he bowled seven unrewarding overs and it seemed Bangar had reached a dead end. But called upon to perform a huge task in a highly charged atmosphere, Bangar delivered six miserly balls that resulted in India snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. Zimbabwe needed nine runs off the final over, but managed to get only five runs. Well in front at the last bend, the African competitor in this tri-series was beaten at the post. Lagging behind at the start, Zimbabwe found two enterprising men in Stuart Carlisle and Sean Ervine who set a terrific pace and carried the momentum into the last phase. But after an outstanding partnership of 202 runs for the fourth wicket, the man who was supposed to finish the match for Zimbabwe left the scene in an unfortunate mix up. "There were all round good vibes in the dressing room. But we could not even hug each other. In a way it's good the defeat will hurt all of us. The urge to win will increase. We are all disappointed because the margin of defeat was three runs. They are all feeling flat in the change rooms,'' said Zimbabwe's captain Heath Streak. India was indeed lucky. Short on bowling resources, Ganguly looked up to Ajit Agarkar and his reserves, who responded admirably in their first spells, but were helpless when Carlisle and Ervine swung into action and flayed them all over the square and straight boundaries. The Indian captain was not able to turn the tide before Laxman brought off a spectacular catch to send back Andy Blignaut. Earlier Laxman collared a bowling attack that made early inroads. It was another grand and colourful innings from him. Probably every shot he stroked came off the sweet spot of the bat. In a matter of minutes he began to see the cricket ball like a football and stroked his way to a third century in the series. Even a clutter of events happening around did not deter Laxman from putting up a delightful spectacle. His footwork was precise and his hands followed suit. In a team in which many parts have broken down, Laxman has remained like a well-oiled machine to complete a very special innings. India began in a poor way losing its openers for a duck and its captain for one run. It was the worst start for India in 21 years in a one-day International. Carlisle juggled with the edge at first slip, but held on to send back Bangar. Parthiv Patel offered a regulation catch to his counterpart and Ganguly gifted his wicket playing a poor shot that went to safe hands at square-leg. Rahul Dravid was Laxman's first partner in the rescue and recovery phase. After the first hour when the ball thudded into the wicketkeeper's gloves, the world's most awesome pair in Test cricket, made the Zimbabwe seamers look most ordinary. Dravid made a workmanlike 56 before a clever spinner got the better of him. Zimbabwe's slow bowlers, Price and Grant Flower managed to check the flow of runs, but Rohan Gavaskar showed fine temperament and commonsense in only his fourth match and compiled a half century. Going in at No. 3 for the 42nd time in 62 matches, Laxman made a scintillating 131, in which an inside-out six over extra-cover off Flower was a peach of an effort. It was his first big boundary this summer. Laxman was declared `Man of the Match'. "I am batting well now, but there is scope for improvement,'' said Laxman, whose powers of concentration over two months have been amazing. He became the second Indian batsman to score three centuries in a tournament. Ganguly scored three in the last World Cup in South Africa.
SCOREBOARD
Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Bangar), 2-3 (Patel), 3-4 (Ganguly), 4-137 (Dravid), 5-255 (Gavaskar), 6-261 (Badani), 7-271 (Laxman) Zimbabwe bowling: Streak 10-1-53-3, Blignaut 5-0-25-1, Ervine 6-0-48-0, Hondo 10-0-59-2, Price 10-0-43-1, Flower 9-0-48-0.
Fall of wickets: India bowling: Agarkar 10-0-39-3, Pathan 10-0-47-0, Balaji 10-1-52-1, Bangar 8-0-42-1, Kartik 7-0-49-0, Ganguly 5-0-33-0.
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