A plan well-executed
Erapalli Prasanna - 24 April 2002
A chapter has been extracted from the history of 1971 and re-
written. An inspired Indian team has finally proved to the world
that they have it in them to win Test matches abroad. The Queen's
Park Oval at Port of Spain will always have a special place in
Indian cricket history, more so now since, with this memorable
Test win, India have three victories at this picturesque venue.
I had expected Harbhajan Singh to be more effective on the final day and even run through the West Indies
batting line-up. It was a disappointing show by the young off-
spinner, and, in the final analysis, it was the fast bowlers who
won the Test for India.
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I am forced to conclude that Carl Hooper's decision to bowl first
went a long way towards deciding the final outcome. Ideally, one
would want to bowl the opposition out for a score around 200 runs
if the most is to be made of such a decision. Hooper simply does
not have the kind of fast bowlers who can rip through a batting
line-up. The fact that India was allowed to score 339 in the
first innings really exposed the limitations of the Windies
bowling department.
Even though the West Indian bowlers had some success in removing
the Indian opening batsmen on the first morning, Rahul Dravid
came to the rescue and played yet another important knock. I was
very impressed by the way in which Dravid handled the third- or
fourth-string West Indies attack. Even on a wicket that promised
life and bounce, Dravid played some exquisite cover drives and
the flick through mid-wicket with élan.
A shaky start from Sachin Tendulkar is a very unusual sight, but
the master batsman came into his own after he got the measure of
the track and the insipid attack. One must pay glowing tribute to
the Mumbai maestro for his sheer appetite for runs and the manner
in which he scores them. Tendulkar was the mainstay of India's
first innings, and his 29th Test hundred, which equalled Sir
Donald Bradman's record of Test centuries, helped India put up a
decent first-innings total.
It is also very heartening to see VVS Laxman play with so much
responsibility. The stylish batsman applied himself very well,
and the determination to excel was there for all to see. There
should be no doubts regarding talent, which he has in abundance.
I believe that Laxman has finally sorted out his flings with
complacency to adopt a more professional approach. He is a class
player, and he proved that with a fifty in each innings at Port
of Spain; he really deserved the Man of the Match award.
The Indian pacers Javagal Srinath, Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan
bowled well, proving that they have it in them to win Tests for
India away from home. I must particularly commend Srinath for his
lion-hearted effort in this match. I was also impressed by Zaheer
Khan's bowling; the delivery he produced to get rid of Brian Lara
in the first innings was a beauty. It is a rare sight these days
in Test cricket to see a bowler willing to attack to take a
wicket.
It was Nehra who turned things around in the second innings,
picking up the valuable wickets of Lara and Hooper. The youngster
has a lot of talent, and it augurs well for Indian cricket that a
genuine group of fast bowlers are coming to the fore.
Appropriately enough, the West Indies is the ideal place for such
a pace attack to blossom.
There was not much to cheer about in the West Indian batting
department. The batsmen did not apply themselves enough to
convert starts into big scores; such efforts may have changed the
final result of this Test match. Looking at their bowling, two
bowlers caught my eye – Adam Sanford and Marlon Black. Sanford
has it in him to be a class act if he can concentrate on line and
length; if he can add some discipline to the whippy action, he
can surprise a few leading batsmen. Black is one bowler who looks
like never giving up, and it is a quality that will help him in
the long run.
I had expected Harbhajan Singh to be more effective on the final
day and even run through the West Indies batting line-up. It was
a disappointing show by the young off-spinner, and, in the final
analysis, it was the fast bowlers who won the Test for India. In
talking about the game, though, it must be said that the number
of umpiring mistakes in the match baffled me, and I hope the
International Cricket Council (ICC) will ensure that such blatant
mistakes are not repeated at the highest level of the game.
Finally, I must congratulate Sourav Ganguly for this memorable
Test win. There was an extra edge to his captaincy in this match,
and Port of Spain witnessed some inspiring work in the field from
the Indian skipper; the field placements, especially, were
superb. A lot of thinking went into formulating the strategy for
this Test. Ganguly ensured that the plan was well-executed, and
this memorable Test win should hold Indian cricket in good stead
in future endeavours.
© CricInfo
Teams
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India,
West Indies.
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Players/Umpires
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Harbhajan Singh,
Carl Hooper,
Rahul Dravid,
Sachin Tendulkar,
VVS Laxman,
Javagal Srinath,
Ashish Nehra,
Brian Lara,
Zaheer Khan,
Adam Sanford,
Marlon Black.
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Tours
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India in West Indies
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