Masterful Trescothick kindled memories of Gooch
The Kolkata police were made to toil hard to keep the enthusiastic crowd under control during the days leading up to the first one-dayer at Eden Gardens
Woorkheri Raman
21-Jan-2002
The Kolkata police were made to toil hard to keep the enthusiastic crowd
under control during the days leading up to the first one-dayer at Eden
Gardens. The crowd scrambled desperately in a bid to buy the tickets but
it was an impossible situation with more than half the population keen
to witness the match. This is what makes Kolkata unique and special and
eventually the crowd was entertained by a superb display from both
teams. The hosts were made to work hard for their victory but
unfortunately the incompetence of one umpire meant that they could not
fully relish it.
© CricInfo |
Trescothick was lucky early on and with Laxman spilling a catch off
Agarkar, he made it count in a telling fashion. After he got a measure
of the pace and bounce, he unleashed some powerful shots off the back
foot against the medium pacers. Ganguly was forced to bring on the
spinners well within the first fifteen overs but the tall left-hander
not to be perturbed. He used his feet very well and tonked both Anil
Kumble and Harbhajan Singh for a six apiece. Once the fielding
restrictions were removed, he played very cleverly using Kumble's pace
to his advantage and sweeping Harbhajan at will. At one stage, Harbhajan
was at his wits' end when bowling to the man of the match. As far as the
hosts were concerned it was a matter of getting Trescothick's wicket as
the others failed to provide him the required support. There were useful
partnerships but Trescothick did the bulk of scoring in those
partnerships.
© CricInfo |
Moving on, it now remains to be seen if Sanjay Bangar, the only allrounder in the Indian squad will be pressed into service at Cuttack.
There is no point in looking for all-rounders when the deemed one is not
utilised. Anyway, if the first one-dayer is any indication, this one-day
series will be enthralling.