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Cricketfundas.com Highlights: India's Successful
Backwater Adventure |
Review by Venkat
Ananth
It was only the fourth instance, where
one-day cricket made its journey to God's Own
Country - Kerala. Cochin or Kochi, played host
to the first Pepsi Cup One Day International
between India and Pakistan and with soaring
expectations, one could not have begun from a
more serene place in the country with the
backwaters at cricket's backdrop.
Cricketfundas.com presents its readers with an
exclusive match report of all that happened at
the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in the first Pepsi
Cup ODI between India and Pakistan.
The Tale of the Coin:
By and large, when one-day cricket is usually
played in India, the toss is considered to be a
first step towards the outcome of the match. The
pitch was one, where the skipper winning the
toss had no hesitation to bat first and it
became imperative for Saurav Ganguly to toss it
right. Saurav did win the toss, after Inzi
called it wrong and chose to bat first on a hot
and humid day in Kochi.
Indian Innings:
The Indians came into the game under some
pressure due to their dismal performance at
Bangalore. But they had to put the past behind
and concentrate on the present as they had a
considerable job on hand. In a way, they failed
to cash in on the opportunity of setting up a
good foundation for the final assault as they
lost Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly early.
It was the case of "Cometh the hour and cometh
the man" when Rahul Dravid strode out to bat
under trying and extreme weather conditions.
Dravid and Sehwag initially focussed their
partnership on staying on the wicket and getting
through with some damage control exercises. But
once they looked settled, Sehwag in particular
opened up along with Dravid providing able
support. The pair literally toyed along with the
Pakistani bowling, even though they struggled to
beat the Kochi heat. Cashing on some hapless
bowling by the Pakistanis, the pair added 201
for the third wicket, which literally took the
game away from Pakistan. Sehwag ended up with a
magnificent and mature ton (108) to his name,
and Dravid as usual, playing the support role
and chugging along to reach his ton (104) too.
After Sehwag's departure, the rest of the Indian
batting did not perform as per expectations. At
one stage they looked all set for over 300, but
some good dogged bowling by the Pakistanis
especially Arshad Khan and Mohammad Hafeez,
restricted them to a competitive score of 281/8.
The Indians lost wickets regularly after Sehwag
and had no momentum especially in the last ten
overs, which could have been important in the
match's context. Having scored the runs on the
board, it was always handy, as the team chasing
in these conditions had to weigh the burdens of
pressure and weather on its shoulders.
Pakistani Chase:
With a target of 282 to achieve for Pakistan in
what looked like a slowing wicket, the start was
to be crucial for them. Openers Salman Butt and
Kamran Akmal started well for the Pakistanis by
putting the opposition under a bit of pressure.
Salman, especially batted very well in his brief
stay in the middle, but Kamran Akmal provided
India with its maiden wicket, being caught by
Virender Sehwag at short point. Salman Butt soon
followed suit, as he nudged one in the air only
to be caught well by Saurav Ganguly. It almost
seemed like a procession, when Shoaib Malik also
departed caught by Yuvraj off Balaji for almost
nothing to his credit and Pakistan reeling at
49/3. It was imperative that senior batsmen like
Yousuf Youhana and Inzamam ul-Haq stay on the
wicket if Pakistan had to recover from these
early strikes. Inzamam released his early nerves
by playing some shots, but Youhanna at the other
end was literally struggling. Youhanna's
uncomfortable stay at the wicket ended, when
Zaheer Khan took a brilliant return catch to
send him back for a nought. Mohammad Hafeez
later joined Inzy and added 40-odd runs, after a
Tendulkar sneaker surprised everyone including
Inzamam, with Pakistani hopes dashing at 112/5.
After getting rid of Inzamam, Tendulkar was on a
wicket-hunt this time around and his spell of
consistent bowling brought the downfall of as
many as 5 Pakistani batsmen. With Pakistan out
of the game at 156/9, it was only a matter of
time before the Indians claimed first blood in
the 6 match series. Rana Naveed and Arshad Khan
were partly successful in delaying the
inevitable, but Zaheer Khan's straight ball
brought an end to both Rana Naveed and
Pakistan's innings at 194, with the home side
winning by 87 runs. Although the margin was
brought closer by the last pair that lasted for
42 runs, the match had already ended once
Pakistan got itself into a tangle, from where
they literally could not have recovered. With
one match done and dusted, the Pakistanis would
have to bounce back at Vizag, if they seriously
want to have a shout at the Pepsi Cup.
It was not exactly a kind of match, as the
build-up suggested. It was a game, where fortune
favoured the brave, especially Sehwag after
being dropped twice. But, to come up with the
kind of innings that he along with Dravid did,
summed up the game. Sachin Tendulkar's
brilliance with the ball also meant, that
Pakistan were exposed against the line he
bowled. For Pakistan, there are lot of lessons
to be learnt from this game, especially when
they traded complacency for a win with the
Indians. Time to get serious for both teams, as
yet another important clash beckons at Vizag,
and its importance cannot be doubted, as it
dictates the momentum of the ODI series.
Hopefully, in Vizag we get to see a more intense
contest between the bat and the ball and as a
fence-sitter would say "May the Best Team Win".
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