The Wisden Verdict on India
by Dileep Premachandran
Wednesday, December 19, 2001

When Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers sang, "The waiting is the hardest part", they certainly didn't have Test-match cricket in mind. But if today's play at the Chinnaswamy Stadium could have had a theme tune, it would have been that. The crowd waited with bated breath, Anil Kumble bounded in like an enthusiastic newcomer but the Promised Land – in the shape of wicket No. 300 – never materialised. Expectation can be a wearisome burden to carry around at the best of times and Kumble, a local hero, found himself inhibited, and almost crushed, by it. The man they call "Jumbo" was for the most part as threatening as a baby elephant.

Instead, it was left to India's spin novice to undo the good work done by Michael Vaughan and Mark Ramprakash after lunch. Before the start of the match, Sourav Ganguly referred to Harbhajan Singh and Kumble as the "two best spinners in the world". But it was left to the veteran of one Test to catch the eye. England were chugging along with nary a false note in the exhaust at 206 for 3 when Michael Vaughan decided that he needed to play an even bigger hand. Sarandeep Singh gets no credit for the handled-the-ball dismissal but it was the day's pivotal moment. Nowhere near as dramatic – and unlikely to be as crucial – as Steve Waugh's dismissal at Chennai in March but a turning point nonetheless. Once Vaughan was out of the way, exposing the softer underbelly, Sarandeep wasted no time in landing a couple of decisive blows.

Flintoff misjudged one in the flight though his tonk to midwicket spoke volumes for his ineptitude against the spinners. Ramprakash's dismissal was altogether more fortuitous. Sarandeep had him driving at one pitched outside the off stump and Deep Dasgupta fluffed the outside edge, yet again. Luckily for India, Dravid's palms closed around the ball at slip. It was a wicket that owed more to the volleyball court than anything else, but after going through the fielding horrors in Ahmedabad, India will settle for that.

Sarandeep took his time to find his rhythm. In the early overs he pushed the ball through rather than look for flight, and it was only after tea that he found the confidence to toss it up and tease.

It was an up-and-down sort of day for India. Ganguly, who shared the new ball with Srinath, came out bouncing like a Mexican jumping bean. One appeal for leg-before against Mark Butcher was so enthusiastic that he resembled a kid on a trampoline. But after lunch, he was back to under-the-table-and-dreaming mode. There was little attempt to pressure the batsmen and the bowling changes were mechanical rather than inspired. Lucky for him then that fate stepped in to lend a helping hand.

Dileep Premachandran is assistant editor, Wisden.com, India.

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