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Test
Match Report
Match Report
India
win series by four games to one (4:1)
India vs. Zimbabwe, 5th ODI,
14th December 2000
Rajkot, December 14th:
India won the series by four games to one as they beat Zimbabwe in the 5th
and last ODI by 39 runs at the RMCCG ground in Rajkot. Agarkar who added
three wickets to his kitty and made a ruthless 67 off 25 balls was the
undisputed Man of the Match.
In reply to India’s massive score
of 301, the Zimbabweans made a spirited response to their target. At the
end of 25 overs Zimbabweans had lost 3 wickets on 146. Although the run
rate had fallen after Andy Flower's departure, Madondo and Grant Flower
added 49 runs in 11.3 overs.
Madondo made 71 in 70 balls. Grant Flower was
trapped leg before by Shewag. Zimbabwe was 156/5 at the end of the 28th
over. Guy Whittall came in next and disappointed again, holing out to deep
midwicket off Shewag for 10 and the asking rate went out of control as
each new batsman strove to get his eye in. Marillier had a decent innings
as he made 42 odd 38 balls. After that no player could rescue the innings
as Zimbabwe were all out for 262.
Lower
order does the job
Agarkar,
Sodhi and Badani take total control
India vs. Zimbabwe, 5th ODI,
14th December 2000
With Sourav
Ganguly suspended for the 5th ODI match, Sridharan Sriram got
an opportunity to open the innings. However, he blew it as he slashed at a
Heath Streak delivery to be caught behind for 2.
Rahul Dravid was the next to go as he played a foolish ondrive off Bryan
Strang. India were 24/2 at that point. Much was expected from Dravid as he
was leading the side for the day.
Sachin Tendulkar
played a couple of cover drives but fell to Streak for 27. Yuvraj Singh
started in blistering fashion with all eyes on him, producing a square
drive and a more delicately played forcing shot off the backfoot for
successive boundaries off his first two balls. He however, went out at 29
off 23 balls. Badani came in next and made a magnificent 77 in 99 balls.
Sodhi gave a
great support to Badani when India was tottering at 114/5 at one stage
with an important 102 run stand for the fifth wicket. Reetinder Singh
Sodhi remained unbeaten on 53 off 69 balls, striking four fours and a six.
Badani fell in
the 44th over and then came Agarkar who surprised all the
cricket lovers around the globe with his record of quickest 50 in 21
deliveries. He then proceeded to smash two consecutive sixes off the last
two balls of the match. He was not on 67 off 25 balls. Agarkar’s blitz
contained seven fours and four sixes.
It was the tail-enders, who
revived the Indian spirits. Agarkar's ruthless attack following Hemang
Badani and Reetinder Singh Sodhi's contribution powered India to 301. The
last over yielded 21 runs for India as India went past the 300 mark.
It was the lower order who took total control adding more than a
150 runs in the last 20 overs.
The Prince of
Bengal gets into the act
India Vs Zimbabwe,
4th One-Day International
After the
last defeat, the Indian team must have thought hard about the mistakes
they made and decided not to repeat them. And they sure stuck to their
plan by dismissing the Zimbabweans for 165 and then reaching the target
easily, losing just one wicket in the process. Skipper Sourav Ganguly over
shadowed the whole match in more ways than one. He started off by taking
the wicket of the danger man Andy Flower and went on to take 5 wickets in
the match. It was a great bowling performance by the captain, who has had
problems with his back and had not been bowling much off late. He swung
the ball late and troubled all the batsmen. No wonder he ended up taking 5
wickets.
But that
was not it. His performance was stretched beyond a point, as he took the
art of appealing to a totally different level. He was shouting, jumping,
screaming, and showing his displeasure every time his appeals were turned
down. Ganguly has been warned for excessive appealing before, as every
time, he appeals, he charges down the stumps towards the umpire. What
happened today was totally uncalled for and being the captain of the team,
this was totally unjustified. Everybody knows, that temperatures are high
in the middle but one must stick to the basics and not overdo everything.
Nevertheless, his bowling was worth a praise as he and Agarkar took the
game out of Zimbabwe’s reach. Agarkar bowled exceptionally well, getting
the ball to reverse swing sharply. Except for Zimbabwean openers Campbell
and Madondo, who made 32 a piece, none of the other batsmen could get
going as wickets kept falling at regular intervals.
165 was
not a score, which would scare the opposition and as expected the Indian
openers got their team to a blazing start. Tendulkar was in top form after
that century as he started playing his shots from the word go. He drove
the ball very nicely and was severe on anything short. He was lucky at
times, as he edged one or two, which did not go to the fielder but
otherwise he played a good innings and made 62 before falling to friend.
The ball kept low and Tendulkar was already into his shot. Ganguly matched
Tendulkar shot by shot, as he reached yet another fifty. He hit Olonga for
a huge six over covers. It was a great shot, one, which reinstates the
talent, this man has. He has been in very good form and he continued that
with an unbeaten 71. It was a great all round performance by him and
helped his team take away the series from Zimbabwe.
With 2-1
up in the series, the last match now remains a mere formality and Zimbabwe
should now be playing for the lost pride, if nothing else.
Flower
brothers blossom as Nkala takes the air out of India
India Vs Zimbabwe,
3rd One-Day International
"Cricket is all about
pressure and those, who are made of strong hearts always succeed".
With a total of 283 on the
board and three Zimbabwean wickets out for 52 runs, India would have
thought that the match was in their pocket but a brilliant 149 runs
partnership between the Flower brothers got the match to an exciting
situation. Both of them ran brilliantly between the wickets and played
some exquisite shots. Andy Flower has been totally in control all
throughout this series and Indians have found it hard to beat his bat. He
got out to a beauty from Tendulkar and with him, two more wickets fell. At
that point they still needed 69 runs. Skipper Streak and Nakala then played
some good shots and jolted the Indian bowlers, who at that point thought
that the match was already over. One over from Zaheer Khan gave three
boundaries and took the pressure off the batsmen. Streak fell to an
injudicious shot and as it had been happening, the match again inched
towards India's favor. It was a test of nerves for the batsmen and the
one, which Nakala passed with flying colors. He hit Joshi for a six, which
would put even the top order batsmen to shame. This young man showed that
he was made of something special and got Zimbabwe at the victory
doorsteps.
With 3 runs needed of the last
over, Zimbabwe got two in two. But tragedy struck and they lost 2 wickets
in two balls and worse, one was off Nakala. Olonga walked in as his team
needed 1 run off 2 balls. He has had a disastrous tour of India and this
was his best chance to redeem himself. And he did not miss out as he hit
the ball over the fielders and won the match for his team.
Ganguly would be very
disappointed with the result, especially after his batsmen put up such a
big total. It was a matter of bowling the ball in the right spot, which
the bowlers failed to do so. But nothing can be taken away from Tendulkar,
who hit a cracking 144 runs in 153 balls and also completed his 27th
century. He was in great touch, as he hit some lusty blows all over the
park. His timing was exquisite and he showed the full face of the bat
everytime, he dispatched the ball to the boundary. Even the late order
chipped in as Zaheer took 27 runs off the last over of the innings, hitting
4 consecutive sixes. But the result has brought the series alive and with
this performance, Zimbabwe would be a different team
altogether.
Brilliant
batting, bad planning
India Vs Zimbabwe,
2nd One-Day International
The crowd of over 50, 000 at
the Sardar Patel Stadium, in Ahmedabad was in for a treat, as the Indian
skipper decided to give Zimbabwe bowlers some good hammering. Though India
lost its star opener Tendulkar very soon but that had no effect on
Ganguly, who was in a biliegerent mood. He started off slowly but gained
momentum as the innings progressed. He along with Dravid ran well between
the wickets and hit boundaries at every given occassion. After reaching
his fifty, he started to cut loose and with the Zimbabwean spinners unable
to get anything out of the wicket, he made them pay heavily. He hit 6
sixes and reached his 16th century in One day internationals. It was a
classy knock from the left hander and the one, which the Zimbabwe team
won't be able to forget soon. Side by side Dravid was going along slowly
but steadily and played the sheet anchor role for his captain. After
Ganguly departed, the Indian late order did not lose momentum and some
lapses in the field by the opposition also helped them a bit. A target of
306 in 50 overs was always going to be tough to chase but not
impossible.
When any team is chasing such
a huge total, the first thing they need to do is to think and plan out
their innings. Going out and playing shots from the word go is not a very
intelligent thought and certainly not the one, which yields great results.
Zimbabwe opener Marillier promised a lot, when he came on to the scene but
he has disappointed everybody during this tour. He looked totally at sea
against Zaheer Khan and succumbed to Prasad for just 2. Carlisle, who has
been in excellent touch was totally out of it, as he struggled to get his
bat to the ball. He ate up 25 balls for just 1 run and his fall must have
given a sigh of relief to his captain Streak. The man in form, Andy Flower
was the only savior for his team if they were to get to this total. But he
lost partners at regular intervals and gave away his wicket as well. Guy
Whittall was aggressive from the word go but it did not work for long.
Even though Streak made a half century in the end but the match was
already lost. On the bowling front, the spinners did the job on a pitch,
which behaved differently in the second innings. It jumped and spun and
gave every oppurtunity to the bowlers to take wickets.
Zimbabwe lost the match due to
two reasons. First was the brilliant innings by Ganguly. It was a sight to
watch as he hit the spinners with so much ease and command. He gave the
bowlers no respite as he mustered up 144 runs in just 152 balls. The
second reason was some poor planning by the Zimbabwe team. Their idea to
bowl spinners against Ganguly, when he
was in full flight was not a very wise idea and they paid heavily for
that. They dropped catches at crucial junctures. The way they approached
their batting was ordinary and purpose less. None of the batsmen showed
any inclination to stay on the wicket and make some runs. There was a need
of a big innings from any of their main batsmen but it did not happen and
the end result was an easy win for India.
India leads the series 2-0 and
Zimababwe would have to rework their strategy in order to make a match of
it.
When
youth makes a difference
India Vs Zimbabwe, 1st One-Day International
By Goutam Das
The
influx of youth has done wonders for Indian cricket. Yuvraj Singh and
Zaheer Khan first collaborated to win some important matches for India.
Then, it was the chance for Hemang Badani to show his class. And he did.
Playing under immense pressure, he produced a match winning innings, while
showing the seniors how a target is to be chased.
The cool
left-hander’s day was not without hitches, though. He looked lazy, he
misfielded, dropped a catch and was involved in two run outs. One got a
feeling that perhaps the pressure of performing well was getting into him.
One knows how tough it is to break into the top league and once you are
there, it is even tougher to hold on to your position. With so many
players in the fray, the selectors can chip and chop at will. One bad day
can play havoc with your future. That Badani withstood all these and won
the match for India, bodes well for him and the Indian cricket.
Poor
planning is something, India needs to do away with. Whether at all they
have a strategy for the opposition is something that is shrouded in
mystery. Reflect at the batting order in today’s match. India opened
with Tendulkar and Ganguly, followed by Dravid. Once the respected trio
were back in the pavilion, all that was left in the Indian lineup were a
handful of inexperienced youngsters – Yuvraj, Badani, Sodhi, Dahiya and
Agarkar. Over dependence on youngsters can back fire. And no one knows
this better than Sourav Ganguly. Look
at what happened in Nairobi. Chris Cairns blasted the half volleys of
Zaheer Khan in the last over to snatch a New Zealand victory. It is always
preferable to have a right mix of experience and young blood in any form
of the game.
It
was also amazing to see how quickly India can sink in to the quagmire of
trouble. India began aggressively but lost their openers to some rash
strokes. One LBW and two run outs were enough to nail them. Thank heavens.
The Zimbabweans lost their hammer. With Dahiya and Agarkar coming good at
the right time, the match was into India’s pocket.
Zimbabwe
played well but needed more runs. The partnership of 115 runs between
Carlisle and Campbell had led the foundation for an onslaught. In the
process of trying to improvise too much, they dug their own pit. But the
way they ran between the wickets, and took on the fielders within the ring
was commendable.
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