India's superior fielding made all the difference
EAS Prasanna - 11 October 2001
The decision to bat first on a track that seemed favourable to fast
bowling was a brave one by the Indian captain. It clearly showed the
determination and character of Sourav Ganguly and the whole Indian team.
Indeed, it was a smart move by the Indian think-tank to let the South
Africans know that they were keen and ready for a battle, denying the
Proteas any psychological advantage of their thumping win at the
Wanderers.
There is something about the South Africans; they are an extremely
confident bunch of players. I thought they approached this game with
some arrogance and did not think too much about their opponents.
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Ganguly and Tendulkar showed a lot of aggression, striking the ball
sweetly and forcing Shaun Pollock to go around the wicket. Ganguly's
dismissal was strange and highly debatable, one more rough decision to
go against him in recent times. There was a real danger of yet another
Indian batting collapse after losing two quick wickets.
I had my apprehensions that the Indian team would make heavy weather of
this game and get bowled out cheaply. The run-rate too slowed down
considerably, adding more pressure to the situation. Dravid, being the
vice-captain, should have brought in all his experience to take control
of the situation. Unfortunately he allowed the South Africans to bowl a
tight line and length, which resulted in the dismissal of Tendulkar,
trying to force the run rate.
Arguably, the turning point of the match was Dravid being dropped twice
in the space of four balls, which gave new life to the Indian innings.
The South African fielding has been not of the highest order in this
tri-series; they have put down a number of catches. The catching made
all the difference by the end of the match; the Indians grabbed whatever
came their way. The South African team management will have to ponder
over their complacency in the field.
The Proteas were on top and, instead of applying more pressure on the
struggling Indians, Pollock surprisingly allowed the Indian pair of
Dravid and Yuvraj Singh to settle down. The introduction of Nicky Boje
was welcomed with glee by Yuvraj Singh, smashing him for a a huge six.
I was particularly impressed by the attitude and approach of Yuvraj
Singh; he showed enough glimpses of potential to suggest that he could
be a force to reckon with in one-day internationals, if persisted with.
Virender Shewag too made a good impression by scoring 33 valuable runs
to help India go past the 200-run mark.
There is something about the South Africans; they are an extremely
confident bunch of players. I thought they approached this game with
some arrogance and did not think too much about their opponents. It was
a sad sight to see such a professional side lacking any determination
and character while chasing a modest total. They were made to pay for
their complacency and their pride took a serious blow, as they lost
wickets at regular intervals.
Even though Lance Klusener and Mark Boucher tried to salvage some lost
pride, it was all a bit too late and the match had already been lost to
a tenacious Indian side. There was a certain purpose about whatever the
Indians did on the field, their catching and out-fielding being
exemplary.
I was very impressed by the efforts of Harbhajan Singh; he bowled
extremely well with immaculate line and length to pick three wickets and
set up the Indian victory. On the contrary, Anil Kumble looked like a
pale shadow of his past and, though he picked up two wickets, his line
and length left much to be desired.
It was simply wonderful to watch the Indian cricket team play like
professionals and as one unit. It was their superior fielding effort and
their purposeful bowling that made all the difference to the final
result. I hope they continue to play in such rich vein throughout the
rest of the tour.
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