Australians get their act together to keep series alive
The Australians got their act together at the right time in Vizag to keep the one-day series alive with a solid batting performance
Woorkheri Raman
04-Apr-2001
The Australians got their act together at the right time
in Vizag to keep the one-day series alive with a solid
batting performance. Matthew Hayden is having a run that
batsmen mostly dream about and he notched up another century
in a methodical fashion. Hayden was made to stay back for
the one-dayers after a superb display in the Test series and
the move has paid off handsomely. He was reputed to be a
hungry player with a penchant for big scores but what he has
done in India is phenomenal. He has hardly failed on this
tour and has led the charge for the visitors in both
versions of the game. Hayden came to India a few seasons ago
to gain some experience to play on turning tracks against
spinners and that has definitely helped him immensely. He
has not only countered the spinners well with his stoic
defence but has used his feet well to play attacking shots.
Hayden once again gave the visitors the start they were
looking for but this time around he kept the out of form
Ponting going during their huge partnership. Ponting who is
dubbed as the `poor man's Tendulkar' has had a horrid time
in India and the century must have provided great relief to
the talented batsman. Steve Waugh showed enormous faith in
Ponting by playing him in the side and Ponting justified his
skipper's faith by playing a major role for his team.
Ponting and Hayden were aggressive in their approach and
with the flat pitch hardly providing any encouragement for
the bowlers, the Indians were left chasing the leather
hopelessly. The right-left combination made the bowlers'
task that extra difficult and none of the Indian bowlers
were spared. Harbhajan Singh was comparatively economical
among the regulars and the Aussies once again gave Zaheer Khan
some rough treatment. The launching pad provided by
Hayden and Ponting allowed the Aussies to attack right
through the innings and they eventually set an
insurmountable target.
The Indian batting line up did have the potency to make a
match out of it but the way the batsmen went about the
chase suggested a distinct lack of planning. Ganguly's
lean run with the bat continued and it is disappointing
to see an elegant batsman struggling. It has to be said
in Ganguly's defence that any batsman goes through a
lean trot and one can only hope that he gets into his
groove sooner rather than later. Ganguly would do well
to realise that there is nothing wrong with his basic
technique as such but of late he has probably got distracted
in trying to match his opponents in sledging and aggression.
Tendulkar's mauling of McGrath continued and he provided the
impetus the Indians required considering the huge target
they were chasing. There is always an element of risk
involved when someone keeps attacking as Tendulkar did
yesterday. In the end he perished in trying to keep up the
tempo he built up. The lack of meaningful contributions from
the middle order and the fall of wickets at regular
intervals put paid to whatever hopes the Indians may have
entertained. Laxman failed for the first time since he got
going in Kolkata as he became a victim to Warne's guile.
Warne appeared to be more of his old self and his spell at
Vizag must have infused some confidence into him. The
flexibility of the Australian team was evident as Steve
Waugh decided to fill in for Shane Lee and picked up three
wickets. Robin Singh looked a shadow of himself and the fact
that his head is on the chopping block made matters worse.
The young duo of Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan enjoyed
themselves with some lusty blows even though the result was
a foregone conclusion.
In the end analysis, the Australians turned the heat on at just
about the right time and the convincing victory has tied the series.
Both the sides have played enthralling cricket in the entire series
and it is only fitting that the last one-dayer at Goa will decide
the winner of the one-day contest. The public can't ask for anything
more but of course an Indian victory would be the icing on the cake.