|
The need to score
quickly and Piyush the star! |
A Feature by Syed Ahsan Ali
on June 28, 2007
 India
was clearly short of 25 to 30 runs to
win the first One Day International
against South Africans at Belfast on a
track that played better as the match
went on. But when the top four batsmen
in the line-up make runs with strike
rates less than 80.00 in the rapid fire
shorter version, sides are bound to lose
the venom. Sachin made 99 runs which
looked more of a struggle than a smooth
sailing. His essay of 99 off 141
deliveries made it tough for him and
others as well to up the ante in final
overs. But then such was the situation
for the Indians with the ball seaming
around and two early wickets falling
down for nothing. Late order flourish
came from Yuvraj and Karthik but that
was shorter in duration and affectivity.
Sachin has to think
smartly and quickly how to get about his
stay in the business. The first outing
against Ireland left him dumbfounded
against a full and straight delivery
whereas yesterday he looked all at sea
against Ntini’s bouncier stuff. The
English tour will ask stiffer questions
from the great man about his reflexes
and aggression. One drop catch that went
straight to him also was not Sachin’s
forte. His age and time in cricket are
taking toll on him. Time to decide is
not very far away.
 Yuvraj
also has to look at himself. He is good
in short bursts which can be fine for
lower order batsmen but certainly not
for middle order specialists. Getting
in, hitting a few boundaries and then
throwing it away are not doing any good
to his and the selectors’ confidence.
His last 10 matches have yielded 266
runs with only one fifty with an average
of 33.25 which is less than his career
average of 35.17. This is below par as
well, considering the class Yuvraj
possesses.
But clearly
the star of the show was young Piyush Chawla. It
was pleasant watching this young leg-spinner
getting wickets through sheer deception and
guile. Dravid must be a very happy man having an
attacking option in his bowling unit. Piyush
Chawla likes to take wickets rather than merely
keeping the lid on the run making. He first wove
a web around Morne van Wyk with a beautifully
flighted legbreak on the leg stump, and then
caught Gibbs napping with his shrewd skidder.
Those two wickets clearly got India back in the
game but the modest Indian total curtailed their
march in the end especially when you have an
executioner of Kallis’s class at one end who is
probably the most difficult batsman to dislodge
while chasing totals in vicinity of 250. Piyush
Chawla can definitely be a star in the making
factually as he does not have any bigger
challenge at the other end in the shape of
Ramesh Powar. He can spearhead this bowling
attack more so on turning tracks which will be
available in the sub continent. His exuberance
and fearless attitude can help him in filling in
nicely in the attack that has remained
historically short of a few match-winners in
bowling department.
India need to make plethora of runs in the
coming matches to keep the other team under the
pump especially when one of their top four go on
to make score somewhere near 100. Making runs
expressively than passively is the keynote for
Indian batsmen to reignite any chances of
lifting this trophy.
More of Syed Ahsan Ali :
Top of the Page |
Related Links