Indian batsmen must show greater responsibility
© Reuters The third one-dayer at Chennai was special for the visiting captain Nasser Hussain in more ways than one
Woorkheri Raman
27-Jan-2002
The Indians took the field under a new leader in Anil Kumble as
Ganguly was declared unfit. Kumble's captaincy would have been the
focal point and his natural aggression came to the fore as he applied
pressure right through the England innings. The visitors lost the plot
after the first ten overs because of some very poor shot selection.
The fall of Nick Knight and Hussain provided the opening the Indians
were looking for and it was at that stage that Kumble decided to choke
the visitors by attacking. His fellow bowlers did their bit with
Agarkar returning with the best figures. Quite apparently, the bowlers
enjoyed playing under a captain who encouraged them to bowl for
wickets.
This was one rare occasion where England showed a lack of
determination and unfortunately for them it happened when they had the
chance to bat the Indians out of the game. Jeremy Snape saved the
visitors from total embarrassment with a significant knock but the
Indians achieved the target after they almost pressed the selfdestruction button. Sachin Tendulkar walked out to bat with a new
partner yet again and also sans his French beard. He was emphatic
right from the word go and seemed to have decided that a quick start
would give him an opportunity to crack another ton.
The batting order was marginally changed with VVS Laxman coming ahead
of Dinesh Mongia. The middle order committed hara-kiri as three quick
wickets fell with Laxman, Mongia and Sanjay Bangar departing in quick
succession. Laxman perished to a terrible shot and but for a slice of
luck Badani would also have joined him in the dressing room. However,
after that narrow escape, Badani in the company of Ratra ran extremely
well between the wickets and almost got his team to the winning post
before being dismissed. Ratra once again chipped in with a very useful
knock under pressure and in the end it must have been a relief for the
Indians that they managed to scrape through.
The selection committee has brought in Mohammad Kaif for Laxman but as
long as the batsmen individually take on the responsibility, nothing
different will be on display. Winning is the ultimate objective but
the Indians would be better off if they start winning in a more
convincing manner than they have in this game.