Sport   

Kallis guides South Africa home

Ted Corbett

Sachin Tendulkar misses a well-deserved century by a whisker

BELFAST: Sachin Tendulkar was run out for 99 a stride and a half from his 42nd one-day international century, only 50 runs from passing the fabulous 15,000 mark after an innings of 143 balls which showed that he may have slowed, that the old power is, aged 34, steam driven not nuclear, but that he is the equal of any batsman still playing.

The imperturbable Jacques Kallis did not match Tendulkar but he won the game with an undefeated 91. So he is one-paced, unable to change gear, unwilling to risk everything in a dash for the line but he is mighty effective.

By the time South Africa needed 51 off the last ten overs it had lost six wickets, mainly to the enticing spin of Piyush Chawla whose ten overs brought three for 43. Kallis, with his 63rd one-day fifty, saw his side home by four wickets with three balls to spare.

Tendulkar’s batting, particularly during his third-wicket stand of 158 in 32 overs with Rahul Dravid on the Civil Service ground not far from Stormont Castle, where so much Irish history has been enacted had glimpses of the pugnacity of his greatest days.

There were times when we had to marvel again at the power his small body generates and when he decided to go for a second run to complete his hundred he was galloping hard.

Some will see indications that he will soon have to think out his retirement carefully. It is possible to understand this desire to write finis to his career.

He began slowly, he even accelerated slowly but with every carefully chosen stroke there was still all the evidence any could need that here was a giant even if he was playing some shots from memory and relying heavily on a trusted technique to defend. Clearly it was not a quick innings but it had class to spare.

As for his farewell he has no reason to hurry. It may come at the end of this summer, after his last tour of England, a moment many supreme cricketers have chosen for their last hurrah from Don Bradman to Viv Richards to Richard Hadlee.

There were also moments when Tendulkar lost out to Dravid 73 from 94 balls in the elegance stakes.

India had been asked to bat when Kallis won the toss which may have been a good reason for the initial caution particularly since Sourav Ganguly was caught behind for 13 and Gautam Gambhir at slip for nought, both off Andre Nel.

Only 36 had came in the first 12 overs and although India were able to field a strong team since their sick had regained good health they must have wondered if their warm-up side trip to Ireland was to begin disastrously.

Tendulkar and Dravid soon killed that fear. They played judiciously, waiting for the bad ball on a pitch that had pace and carry but no sideways movement under a sky filled with fleecy clouds. They were also held up by the steady medium pace of Vernon Philander, making his debut and looking as if he might be the new Pollock.

India: S. Ganguly c Boucher b Nel 13, S. Tendulkar (run out) 99, G. Gambhir c Kallis b Nel 0, R. Dravid b Nel 74, Yuvraj c Kallis b Hall 13, D. Karthik b Hall 19, R. Sharma b Kallis 8, P. Chawla (not out) 2, R. Powar c de Villiers b Ka llis 1; Extras (b-4, lb-2, w-5, nb-2) 13. Total (for eight wkts., in 50 overs) 242.

Stories in this Section



Kallis guides South Africa home
Henman beats Moya in a marathon
India drubs Belgium
Rain is a test of skill


Cricket

Lankan batsmen make merry
Different captains, different styles
Moody back at helm in WA
Srivishnu scalps five
Watson, Johnson to train at MRF


Tennis

Ten years on, Hingis still smiling
Dad lets out the secret


Hockey

Ramachandran elected President


Football

Eriksson all set to take charge at Man City


Athletics

Spotlight on Indians


Billiards & Snooker

Karthik advances


Chess

Aswin Jayaram stuns Mamedov
Shirov tames Sasikiran


Golf

Gagan in the van


Racing : Horse

Charlie Brown pleases


Sports : General

Engagements


Volleyball

India wins title on better set-average

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu