Tendulkar's scalp - prize for Aussies (4 June 1999)

4 June 1999

Tendulkar's scalp - prize for Aussies

Tony Cozier in London

Australia knew from the moment Glenn McGrath trimmed Brian Lara's off-stump with his perfectly pitched off-cutter at Old Trafford on Sunday that their final, decisive first round World Cup match was theirs for the taking and they were into the final six.

For the same reasons, Sachin Tendulkar's wicket will mean as much to them in the opening Super Sixes match against India at the Oval here today, even if they won't be quite as confident of eventual victory once they get it as they were with the West Indies.

Lara and Tendulkar as the two wonder batsmen of their time and the Australians have come to respect them above all others through bitter experience.

Lara, the languid left-hander, virtually won two Tests against them on his own in the Caribbean recently with his 218 in Jamaica and his 153 not out in Barbados. He entered on Sunday at seven for two and could have turned the match round. Instead, he departed to his old nemesis, McGrath, at 20 for three.

With little else to offer, the West Indies limped to 110 all out and Australia could win the match and advance to the Super Sixes - even after deliberately decelerating their scoring to fix the run-rates so as to keep the West Indies in and New Zealand out, unsuccessfully as it turned out.

The last time the Australians confronted Tendulkar, in India and in Sharjah just over a year ago, the solidly built right-hander was in the same uncompromising mood as Lara was in March. He reeled off two big hundreds in the three Tests and three more in the last three One-Day Internationals.

The difference between Lara and Tendulkar is in the batsmen around them.

Lara, short of practice because of a painful right wrist, seldom looked here like the player he was in the Tests back home and his highest score was a mere 36. Only Ridley Jacobs, the underestimated left-handed wicket-keeper, consistently took up the slack.

Tendulkar's Cup was disrupted by the death of his father in Mumbai and he missed the defeat against Zimbabwe. When he returned, he plundered poor Kenya with an unbeaten 140 off 101 balls but was out cheaply against South Africa, Sri Lanka and England.

Unlike the West Indies, India had Saurav Ganguly, the elegant left-hander, and Rahul Dravid, the classically correct right-hander, to compensate.

They were the only two to aggregate over 300 in the first round with hundred by Dravid against Kenya and Sri Lanka, Ganguly 97 against South Africa and 183 against Sri Lanka.

The upshot is that, while everyone else has struggled against the white ball on fresh pitches India's totals have been imposing - 253 for five against South Africa, 249 against Zimbabwe, 329 for two against Kenya, 373 for six against Sri Lanka and 232 for eight against England.

How well India bat today is likely to determine the outcome of what, for both, is a virtual sudden death - and how well they bat could depend, as so many matches have, on the toss.

London was drenched by thunderstorms in the early hours Wednesday and by more rain again early yesterday. The sun broke through in the afternoon but the forecast is for more rain today.

The square at the Oval has been covered more than the groundstaff would have wanted so that the team going in first is likely to find batting tricky early on. That has been the case at most venues, a disadvantage that several captains have already complained about.

India's coach, the former Test batsman Anshuman Gaekwad, said that whether Tendulkar would be reinstated as opening batsman would depend on the weather, the look of the pitch and the toss. Fearful of the effect of his early loss should be open, they have dropped him down to No.4 since his return from India but he would obviously be more effective with all 50 overs at his disposal.

Neither Australia or India have carried forward any points from the first round (Pakistan and Zimbabwe have four, New Zealand and South Africa two each) so today's loser would almost certainly have no chance to going through to the last four.

As they did in the one-day series in the West Indies, Australia looked flat in losing to New Zealand in their opening match and then gave away too many runs in their defeat by Pakistan. They had to beat the West Indies to qualify - and they did.

"We've improved with every match and are gradually reaching our peak," captain Steve Waugh said. "There's still room for improvement but against the West Indies we showed what we can do once the chips are down. The chips are down now because we have got to basically win our next five matches to win the Cup and we can do it."

So what about Tendulkar?

"We won't focus on him too much before the game," Waugh said. "He's capable of nicking the ball like anyone else."

Australia (from): Steve Waugh (captain), Mark Waugh, Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting, Darren Lehmann, Michael Bevan, Tom Moody, Bendon Julian, Paul Reiffel, Shane Warne, Damien Fleming and Glenn McGrath.

India (from): Mohammad Azharuddin (captain), Saurav Ganguly, Sandigopan Ramesh, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Ajay Jadeja, Robin Singh, Nayan Mongia, Javagal Srinath, Anil Kumble, Venkatesh Prasad, Dabesesh Mohanty.

Umpires: Steve Bucknor (West Indies), Peter Willey (England).

TV umpire: Ian Robinson (Zimbabwe).

Match referee: Rajan Madugalle (Sri Lanka).

Weather forecast: Unsettled with a mixture of sunshine and showers. Maximum temperature 18 degrees celsius.

Source :: The Barbados Nation (https://www.nationnews.com/)