The Hindu : Sport : Mills turns it New Zealand's way

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Tuesday, Oct 17, 2006
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Mills turns it New Zealand's way

G. Viswanath

CUTTING LOOSE: Stephen Fleming was in good touch while making 89. — Photo: K.R. Deepak

Mumbai: Kyle Mills captured three priceless wickets to turn things around for New Zealand in the Champions Trophy match at the Brabourne Stadium. Given the new ball in the absence of Shane Bond, Mills filled in brilliantly for his famous colleague in his opening spell.

He removed Boeta Dippenaar, Herchelle Gibbs and Jacques Kallis in a space of 25 balls and kept alight the flame lit by `Man of the Match' Stephen Fleming. Wickets tumbled thereafter and South Africa bit the dust.

Mills generated sufficient pace and used the seam to rip apart the South African top order. Left arm seamer James Franklin played the supporting role exceptionally well bowling his ten overs at 3.3 an over and Jacob Oram and the two slow bowlers Jeetan Patel and Daniel Vettori got down to business.

Mills and Oram piled on the pressure and Smith steeled himself to bear the brunt to the attack and score runs too. Mark Boucher, an aggressive batsman who starred in South Africa's famous 434-run chase against Australia, was unlucky to be adjudged caught at the wicket. This was probably the only decision umpire Aleen Dar got wrong. Boucher seemed to convey he did not touch the ball, but nonetheless he was on his way. Oram struck the body blow when he forced Smith to make an error.

Smith made 42 in one and half hours, Kemp remained unbeaten on 27 and Andrew Hall ended up with an unlucky 13. The rest of the South African batsmen did not go beyond the single digit.

Earlier, Stephen Fleming led the New Zealand assault without much support from the rest in a gripping contest between bat and ball in the Champions Trophy at the Brabourne Stadium here on Monday. It was a lion-hearted display from the Kiwi skipper who played aggressively except for a brief period when wickets fell quickly at the other end.

Fleming, playing for the first time in five months, batted with supreme confidence on an inconsistent surface. Determination was writ large on his face throughout the three-hour 13-minute knock in which he faced 112 balls.

It was sheer bad luck that Fleming's shot off birthday boy Jacques Kallis went straight to Shaun Pollock at fine leg. Fleming made 89 with 11 hits to the fence and his dismissal hastened New Zealand's end. The Kiwis were dismissed for 195 with 26 balls remaining in the innings.

The nature of the wicket is going to be the topic of debate as the competition progresses. The Brabourne pitch had mysteriously changed character from a true, predictable strip to a slow and sluggish one which instils doubts in the minds of the batsmen.

The Sri Lankans had made the most of the playing surface to close out their match against the West Indies in quick time in the qualifying stage. The South African skipper Graeme Smith's decision to invite the Kiwis to take first strike was probably influenced by that outcome.

Bizarre

Under the circumstances, the approach of Lou Vincent, who walked out to bat with his captain, was somewhat bizarre. He chanced his arm once too often, and that too against a seasoned professional like Shaun Pollock. The South African seamer asked the question off the first ball of the match but umpire Mark Benson turned the appeal down.

Pollock was even more annoyed when Boeta Dippenaar misfielded to concede three runs to Vincent.

Vincent perished in his attempt to take the fight to the opposition; so did Nathan Astle, who threw away his wicket cheaply. Hamish Marshall, Peter Fulton and Jacob Oram all fell early. Pollock and Andre Nel showed their skills on a pitch that offered prodigious turn even for part-time off-spinner Smith.

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