da brdice： Taking an early lead can always stand a team in very good steadand India have done well in going to the top of the table in theNatWest tri-series after the first round of matches
Partab Ramchand02-Jul-2002Taking an early lead can always stand a team in very good steadand India have done well in going to the top of the table in theNatWest tri-series after the first round of matches. There isstill a long way to go – each country plays each other threetimes before the final at Lord’s on July 13 – but it must besaid the performance of this team has been heartwarming. I, forone, cannot see India being the team knocked out before the titleclash.The strengths and weaknesses of the three teams were all palpableon the eve of the competition and none of the sides had a reallysmooth build-up in the warm-up games. But India have been thefirst to shrug off the dubious qualities and play to theirstrengths. This, as well as the fact that the team management hasdone a bit of tactical thinking, has seen them make a dreamstart.True, they still have to maintain the momentum, and to thisextent the path ahead will be that much more difficult as Englandand Sri Lanka try to fathom their frailties and then exploit it.But with the kind of start they have made, India can afford toeven falter a bit and yet make the final. The only fear is thatthey will, as they have done so often, do the early running, peaka little too early and then crumble at the final hurdle.As I said in my preview, this is a contest between three fairlyevenly-matched sides. Despite India having won both their matchesand Sri Lanka losing two out of two, the competition still doesnot have a clear-cut favourite. With two sets of matches – sixmore league games – still to be played, there is still time forSri Lanka to regroup and show that they can win tournamentswithout the services of Muthiah Muralitharan. There were glimpsesof the old Sri Lankan magic in both the games and their bestcould still lie ahead.England with one win and one loss, have a lot going for them.They are a good all-round side and while their victory over SriLanka was convincing, their loss to India was narrow. It was amatch in which they were in a winning position more than once,but full marks to India for their gritty fightback, first withthe ball and then with the bat.
© CricInfoEngland certainly have looked more impressive than Sri Lanka andat the moment the odds must be on them making the final. But itmust be admitted that neither Sri Lanka nor England have caughtthe eye as India have.Their performance has been a revelation. The batting has clicked,the bowling has risen to the occasion and the fielding standardshave improved. What is most heartening, however, is the teammanagement’s readiness to go in for strategic changes. Twospinners against England but only one against Sri Lanka showsthat John Wright, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid are in a moodto ring in the changes if necessary and not go in with a fixedattack of three seamers and one spinner or two seamers and twospinners, come what may.They have also stuck to their gameplan of having Sachin Tendulkarat No 4 with Ganguly and Sehwag available to open. It certainlywas an encouraging sight to see Tendulkar walk in on Sunday withthe Indians tottering at 26 for two. The modest target of 203 hadseemed far away at that stage but Tendulkar’s brilliance sawIndia snatch back the initiative. It was the great man who ledthe fight back before Mohammad Kaif and Yuvraj Singh built uponit to seal the victory.The young one-day specialists Kaif, Yuvraj, Sehwag, Mongia andAgarkar have already proved that they can deliver and have doneso in the NatWest series again with Yuvraj’s success with theball being a bonus.As for Agarkar, whatever his dismal record in Test cricket, whenit comes to picking the limited-overs squad, he should be amongthe early choices. I have never ceased to wonder why and how suchan immensely gifted youth has not really done justice to hisability and potential.
© CricInfoWith the experienced trio of Ganguly, Dravid and Tendulkarquickly into their stride, the batting has bloomed. Ashish Nehradid reasonably well in the one game he played against Sri Lankawhile the bowling of Zaheer Khan and Agarkar against England wasan object lesson in how to bowl at the death. It is also good tosee Ganguly bowl a lot more than usual. In English conditions, hecould have a major role to play.The one question mark hangs over the spin bowling. Anil Kumble in20 overs has conceded 89 runs without taking a wicket or bowlinga maiden. Harbhajan Singh in ten overs against England conceded50 runs without taking a wicket or bowling a maiden. The figuresby themselves are enough to cause major concern. What’s more,they have rarely troubled the batsmen, and the cavalier andobviously pre-meditated manner in which Nasser Hussain treatedHarbhajan does not bode well for the off-spinner. But then he hasalways been a fighter, loves a challenge and one would not besurprised if he bounces back before the tournament is over.