Nagpur Test, Day 3, Close
Saturday, February 23, 2002

At the end of the third day's play, the Indians could be asked an awkward question: are they just playing to beat Zimbabwe or to set high standards for themselves in international cricket? If the sole objective is to win this Test, then they're well on the way. But the coach might have a few things to say about the manner in which they have batted so far.

Indians have dominated Zimbabwe on all three days, but their approach to the game has been strangely subdued. Zimbabwe have a much weaker batting line-up and the Indian bowlers were on top of them throughout the innings, yet they scored at a higher rate than the Indians, who boast such formidable batsmen. They should have done better than a run rate of 2.53 an over against one of the weakest bowling attacks we have seen on Indian soil.

Tendulkar's batting after reaching his hundred defied logic. The oldest principle in Test cricket is to use the last session to make the most runs. The bowlers are tired and the fielders are weary, and if a batsman is accustomed to the bounce and the pace of the wicket, there is no reason why he shouldn't make the most of it. It is obvious that Tendulkar has his eyes set on a big one and didn't want to take too many chances today.

That's fine in the context of this game, because India are well poised for victory. They have plenty of time and another 100 runs by tomorrow afternoon should still leave them with enough time to bowl Zimbabwe out. But with teams like Australia setting such high standards in Test cricket, India should be looking to raise their level.

I feel a batsman like Virender Sehwag was missed in a situation like this. India have three batsmen who are tentative for different reasons. Rahul Dravid is coming back from an injury, VVS Laxman is under pressure to deliver a big innings, and Sourav Ganguly is battling to justify his Test place. Sehwag is naturally aggressive and he always looks to dominate. A quick fifty from him would have boosted the Indian total considerably.

I also think that India have got their batting order wrong. Laxman is wasted at No. 6. In India, he should be batting at No. 3, when the ball is harder and the field attacking.

For Zimbabwe, Ray Price has had an outstanding match. He has managed to contain the Indian batsmen without resorting to the negative line that Ashley Giles adopted. He has also learnt that on Indian pitches, you don't need to flight the ball too much and try to beat the batsmen in the air. A lot of slow left-armers in domestic cricket pick up a lot of wickets by just pushing the ball and letting the pitch do the trick.

I felt sorry for Travis Friend, who had to be taken out of the attack for bowling three beamers. It was clear that all three of them were unintentional and had slipped out of his hand, which can happen when your palms are sweaty. He had been warned before, and so he had to go. But I don't agree with this rule. Umpires must make the distinction between a deliberate attempt to cause bodily harm and an innocent mistake.

Sanjay Manjrekar, stalwart of the Indian batting in the early 1990s, was talking to Sambit Bal

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