The Hindu : Sport : India wraps up first Test without much ado

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Tuesday, Nov 27, 2007
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India wraps up first Test without much ado

S. Dinakar

Kumble named Man-of-the-Match

Tendulkar remained unbeaten on 56
Akthar claimed all four Indian wickets in second innings

— Photo: S. Subramanium

MASTER AT WORK: Sachin Tendulkar rustled up the required runs in quick time taking India to a six-wicket win in the first Test.

New Delhi: Sachin Tendulkar scorched Shoaib Akhtar square of the wicket to bring up the Indian victory.

The crowd roared and Tendulkar raised his arms in delight.

Soon he was hugged by one of the main architects of the victory, non-striker V.V.S. Laxman. Then the Pakistanis congratulated the Indians. Happily, the match was played in good spirit.

With the six-wicket win at Ferozeshah Kotla on Monday, India leads the three-Test series 1-0. The second Test of the IndianOil series begins in Kolkata on November 30.

Only blow

Sourav Ganguly (48, 64b, 8x4) fell early in the day attempting to pull Shoaib Akhtar, but India knocked off the 22 remaining runs pursuing 203 without much fuss.

The host had played the crucial moments of the contest better.

Tendulkar was solid and focussed during his unbeaten 56 (110b, 9x4). As a senior and set batsman he stayed till the end to complete the job. He thumped leg-spinner Danish Kaneria to the cover boundary to reach his fifty.

The maestro made the technical adjustments to adapt to a surface of low bounce in a studied manner. The back-lift was shorter and he was playing straighter for most part.

Later, a pleased Anil Kumble said, “He (Tendulkar) retains his hunger after so many years. It is amazing. He will break all records.”

Laxman made a brief unbeaten appearance but there was time for him to swing paceman Mohammad Sami to the fence.

“He is such a class player. I can’t understand why there is always a sword hanging over his head,” said Kumble

Kumble himself was named the Man-of-the-Match for his seven wickets in the Test and astute captaincy. He rung in the changes, bounded in with the ball ... in his maiden Test as skipper.

In other words, Kumble made things happen.

No support for Akhtar

For Pakistan, Akhtar bowled with speed and heart but lacked support. Pakistan failed to maintain pressure from both ends and the runs leaked — an erratic Mohammad Sami was a case in point.

In contrast, the Indian bowlers worked in pairs like the spin-pace combination of Anil Kumble and Zaheer Khan on the crucial fourth morning. Kumble said, “Zaheer bowled well in both the innings, achieved some reverse swing.”

Kumble had a point when he answered, “The batsmen would always like to think that they self-destructed but we created the pressure, forced the mistakes.”

The Indians were also able to put together partnerships with the bat and the skipper acknowledged the associations between V.V.S. Laxman and M.S. Dhoni (in the first innings), Wasim Jaffer and Rahul Dravid and Tendulkar and Ganguly.

The Kotla is a ground where he recorded the ‘Perfect Ten’ against Pakistan in 1999.

“This ground holds special memories for me. It’s about the feeling you get,” said Kumble.

Malik injured

Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik, under much criticism, accepted that India was a superior side. He refused to admit that the middle-order let the side down.

“Players like Mohammad Yousuf are quality batsmen. There will be occasions when they fail.” Malik was all praise for Akhtar’s bowling.

Later in the day, the Pakistan captain injured his ankle while training. He was taken to the hospital for a precautionary x-ray.

SCOREBOARD

Pakistan — 1st innings: 231.

India — 1st innings: 276.

Pakistan — 2nd innings: 247.

India — 2nd innings: D. Karthik c Akmal b Akhtar 1, W. Jaffer c Butt b Akhtar 53, R. Dravid b Akhtar 34, S. Tendulkar (not out) 56, S. Ganguly c Tanvir b Akhtar 48, V.V.S. Laxman (not out) 6, Extras (b-1, lb-3, nb-1): 5; Total (for four wkts. in 61.1 overs): 203.

Fall of wickets: 1-2 (Karthik), 2-84 (Jaffer), 3-93 (Dravid), 4-181 (Ganguly).

Pakistan bowling: Akhtar 18.1-4-58-4, Tanvir 12-4-26-0, Kaneria 16-2-50-0, Sami 15-1-65-0.

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