The Hindu : Sport : Kartik is India’s hero

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Thursday, Oct 18, 2007
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Sport

Kartik is India’s hero

S. Dinakar

Zaheer Khan chips in with the bat

— Photo: AFP

PICTURE OF JOY: Murali Kartik (centre), who picked up six wickets, celebrates the dismissal of Andrew Symonds. Also seen are Robin Uthappa (left) and Dinesh Karthik.

Mumbai: Murali Kartik lived a dream at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday. He sliced through the Aussie line-up with six for 27 and then displayed a cool head in the cauldron as India clinched a humdinger by two wickets.

Australia took the Future Cup series 4-2 but India competed well. An eventful series ended with scenes of jubilation in the Indian camp. In the middle Kartik and Zaheer Khan jumped for joy, their fists clenched.

The unbeaten ninth-wicket duo added 52 runs in 62 balls amidst much pressure. Zaheer (31 not out, 43b, 3x4, 1x6) and Kartik (21 not out, 34b, 3x4), a right-left combination, survived with some luck, pluck and some effective strokeplay.

Plucky stand

After the top and middle order capitulation — India was tottering at 64 for six — Robin Uthappa (47 off 59 balls) showed much character. Harbhajan Singh batted with rare resolve on a bowler-friendly surface. The seventh-wicket pair put on 65 in 13.1 overs to orchestrate an Indian recovery.

Even with the series in the bag, the Aussies displayed great commitment after an uncommon batting failure. This was a night when Man of the Match Kartik had the final say. He had hounded the Aussies at this venue in the final Test of the 2004 series.

Crucially for India, left-arm chinaman bowler Brad Hogg had an ordinary day in the office. He, possibly, was trying too hard on a pitch offering turn.

Action aplenty

The last few minutes of a tense duel were action packed. Brett Lee fumed after having a vociferous caught behind decision against Kartik turned down. Zaheer slammed Lee for a stunning straight six. Kartik edged Nathan Bracken between the first and the second slips as the Aussies anguished. Zaheer flicked Mitchell Johnson past the ropes. Kartik played and missed at Bracken. The winning runs came off leg-byes.

It was a game of several twists. The Indians had just put themselves back in the hunt when Michael Clarke had Uthappa adjudged leg-before with a delivery that straightened even as the batsman pushed forward. Uthappa had driven, flicked and cut well during a pressure situation. Then, Johnson had Harbhajan pouched in the slips. With India 143 for eight, the Aussies held the advantage. Kartik and Zaheer had different ideas.

Relentless aggression

The Aussie aggression and focus were on view when India chased. Lee shone under the lights with his speed and swing. And Johnson’s pace, left-armer’s angle and movement posed searching questions. Bracken provided little respite as the first change.

On a pitch where there was seam movement and good carry for the pacemen, the Indian batsmen were relentlessly probed in the corridor. The mercurial Johnson dismissed Sourav Ganguly and Dinesh Karthik, both batsmen following and nicking away going deliveries.

Lee, who sent down a compelling first spell of 6-1-10-1, bowled a free-stroking Sachin Tendulkar with the one that went straight through. Bracken ended Yuvraj Singh’s tenure with a delivery of pace and bounce that left the left-hander. Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s technical shortcomings on a track of this nature were exploited by Bracken.

When he snaffled up the Indian captain off Bracken, ’keeper Gilchirst had snaffled up his 400th ODI catch. What a cricketer!

Soon James Hopes left Pathan, picked up in the slips. India rose from the ashes.

Dravid rested

The host decided to leave Rahul Dravid out of the eleven was taken in the morning. The former Indian captain was rested for the game but there are clear indications that Dravid would be a part of the squad for the five-match ODI series against Pakistan.

Earlier, Kartik proved deadly. There was assistance from a pitch of brownish hue and Kartik exploited the surface well. The ball gripped for the left-armer and he brought his repertoire into play.

Kartik was spinning the ball across the face of the willow, varying his flight and line, mixing his length. It was intelligent bowling. And Dhoni, rightly, backed his spinner. In a scenario that could have been straight out of a Test match, Kartik had a slip, gully and a silly-point breathing down the batsman’s neck.

Kartik was pro-active. He spun the ball from the middle stump, then switched to an off-stump line, used the quicker delivery effectively. Kartik also sent down a few terrific arm balls.

Hodge’s horror run

The left-armer snared Brad Hodge — his horror tour with the willow continued — with a faster delivery that spun away from the right-hander to catch the outside edge.

The marauding Andrew Symonds was sadly greeted with boos from a section of the crowd. Symonds lasted just one delivery this time, hitting Kartik to Tendulkar at cover point. This game is a great leveller. Brad Haddin, a fine player of spin, was done in by an arm ball.

Perhaps Kartik’s finest moment arrived when he tricked a battling Hopes with cunning use of the crease. The Aussie played back, saw the ball pitching on middle and clipping the off.

The Aussies could not build partnerships after the tight and tidy Zaheer trapped Clarke leg-before with a delivery that swerved in. Only Ricky Ponting threatened.

Ponting (57, 78b, 9x4) was all poise, footwork, balance and timing as he flicked, drove and cut with a fluency that greats possess. Then, Johnson biffed a few runs in the end.

The Indians won in the end...but only just.

SCOREBOARD

Australia: M. Clarke lbw b Zaheer 0, A. Gilchrist c Harbhajan b Pathan 19, R. Ponting c Dhoni b R.P. Singh 57, B. Hodge c Dinesh Karthik b Kartik 16, A. Symonds c Tendulkar b Kartik 0, B. Haddin lbw b Kartik 19, J. Hopes b Kartik 22, B. Hogg c Uthappa b Kartik 0, B. Lee c R.P. Singh b Kartik 0, M. Johnson (not out) 24, N. Bracken c Harbhajan b R.P. Singh 3; Extras (b-4, lb-3, w-26): 33; Total (in 41.3 overs): 193.

Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Clarke), 2-60 (Gilchrist), 3-117 (Hodge), 4-117 (Symonds), 5-129 (Ponting), 6-162 (Haddin), 7-162 (Hogg), 8-162 (Lee), 9-177 (Hopes).

India bowling: Zaheer 9-1-22-1, R.P. Singh 8.3-1-59-2, Pathan 5-0-23-1, Ganguly 2-0-24-0, Harbhajan 7-0-31-0, Kartik 10-3-27-6.

India: S. Ganguly c Gilchrist b Johnson 0, S. Tendulkar b Lee 21, D. Karthik c Gilchrist b Johnson 0, Yuvraj c Gilchrist b Bracken 15, R. Uthappa lbw b Clarke 47, M.S. Dhoni c Gilchrist b Bracken 5, I. Pathan c Clarke b Hopes 0, Harbhajan c Ponting b Johnson 19, Zaheer (not out) 31, M. Kartik (not out) 21; Extras: (b-4, lb-12, w-20) 36; Total (for eight wkts. in 46 overs) 195.

Fall of wickets: 1-3 (Ganguly), 2-8 (Karthik), 3-38 (Tendulkar), 4-49 (Yuvraj), 5-63 (Dhoni), 6-64 (Pathan), 7-129 (Uthappa), 8-143 (Harbhajan).

Australia bowling: Lee 10-1-37-1, Johnson 10-0-46-3, Bracken 10-3-30-2, Hopes 5-0-13-1, Hogg 8-0-40-0, Clarke 3-0-13-1.

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