Tendulkar Ton Keeps Match Open

Sat, Nov 2, '02

by VENKY MALY

At the end of the fourth day's play, all the elements that go into the making of a great finish were in place at the Eden Gardens. The West Indies have reason to think that a test victory is in their sights if they take a few early wickets tomorrow, while all of India will be looking to Tendulkar to keep Indian hopes alive. If that was not enough to make the result of this game difficult to predict, the pitch has behaved alarmingly at times, which would make any fourth innings target competitive.

The day began with Chanderpaul and Samuels resuming after their huge partnership of the previous day, with Samuels on the verge of a first test ton. The Indian skipper made the unusual decision of opening proceedings with Sehwag, an occasional off spinner. The move paid immediate dividends when Chanderpaul mishit a long hop straight to point after driving Sehwag's first delivery for four. With that wicket, West Indian hopes of gaining a mammoth lead were significantly diminished.

Samuels went on to play in his calm, organised manner of the previous day. He cover drove Kumble for a boundary, and reached his maiden test century with a single. A tremendous century, made in brilliant style, under the most trying conditions. The youngster is all poise, all timing and all balance. His innings, along with the post-innings statement that he was "dying to get a chance to bat against the Indian spinners" reflect the mindset of a man who should grace the West Indian middle order for many years to come. Should he continue to bat in this vein, the Calcutta test of 2002 will be remembered as the one that marked the emergence of Marlon Samuels.

Soon after he reached his century, Samuels edged a delivery onto his pads, and was taken at bat-pad. At the time he was dismissed, West Indies were 469/7. Ridley Jacobs, along with the tail, ensured that the lead was stretched by almost another 30 runs. Although none of the tailenders got many runs, from a West Indian viewpoint, it was heartening to see them at least try and support Ridley, though none of them showed good technique against spin.

Umpire Ashoka De Silva began what would be a controversial day for him by awarding questionable leg-before decisions against Powell and Lawson, but the real concern for the West Indies would be in the way Harbhajan dismissed the last man, Cuffy. A quicker delivery, pitching only slightly short, climbed over waist high to the tall paceman before taking the glove.

The West Indies innings ended at 497, a lead of 139. Unless things change dramatically, this lead promises to be a decisive one in the context of the match.

The Indian second innings started in curious fashion, with Dillon asking for the ball to be changed, since it apparently was not the one he picked before the innings. There was apparently something right with the ball he was then given, because Dillon struck with the very first delivery of the innings. A perfectly pitched delivery took the shoulder of Bangar's bat, for Chanderpaul at third slip to take an excellent catch diving to his left.

The other opener Sehwag, started off in characteristic style. A good length delivery was cover driven to the boundary with the usual minimum footwork, while another short delivery aimed at the ribs went to the fine-leg boundary off a hasty glance. In a brilliant piece of cricketing strategy, Chanderpaul was moved to leg-slip and Dillon repeated the delivery. Sehwag fended the delivery off his chest again, and the ball went straight to the man positioned for the shot. Strangely for such an attacking batsman, Sehwag does not play the pull or the hook and does not look comfortable at all against the short delivery. In these conditions however, he was the one batsman who was capable of erasing the West Indian lead quickly, so full marks however, to Hooper and Dillon for exploiting the weakness in such a telling manner.

Strangely given the new ball, Cuffy was taken off after just two overs after repeatedly drifting down the legside. The uniqueness of Cuffy's strategy of bowling medium pace with the new ball on Indian pitches is matched only by Hooper's logic in giving him the new ball when two other genuinely quick bowlers, Lawson and Powell are in the team. For whatever reason, Cuffy seems very reluctant to bowl flat out, even in this the last test innings of the series. If his role is going to be that of a bowler who denies the batsmen runs and waits for a mistake, then the opening slot is clearly not the right one for him.

Dravid joined Tendulkar, who himself was having something of a torrid time. Like most other attacking batsmen, Tendulkar does not quite look himself if he tries to play an overly defensive game. It was Dravid, however, who was the first to be dismissed. In what must make for a remarkable case of coincidence, he was given out leg before yet again after he got an inside edge to a delivery from Powell that came in slightly after pitching.

The model of gentlemanly behaviour that he is, Dravid barely showed a reaction as he walked back. In any event, the crowd at Eden Gardens barely noticed, for his dismissal brought Ganguly, looking for a maiden ton on his home turf, to the crease.

At the other end, Tendulkar gained in confidence after being beaten several times during Dillon's first spell. He eventually took to Dillon, cutting and driving him for boundaries. The other West Indian bowlers, Lawson and Powell did generate some pace, but not enough to really worry the batsmen on this pitch. Considering that Powell reached 149 kph against New Zealand earlier this year, and Lawson bowled his quickest delivery at virtually the same speed in Chennai, both of them did not
approach their top pace here. Their lack of experience meant that they bowled at least a couple of deliveries each over which could be scored off, and that is more than enough for a batsman of Tendulkar's class to build an innings.

Ganguly scored 16 runs and looked reasonably comfortable at the crease before he got another bad decision. In a replay of what happened earlier in the series, Cuffy bowled one that pitched just outside leg and swung in towards the stumps. De Silva upheld the appeal, much to Ganguly's chagrin. There was no doubt that the ball would have hit the stumps, but Ganguly would have had to be a right-hander for that to be out!

That dismissal meant that India were still 50 runs behind, with four of their top order batsmen dismissed. Tendulkar, by now looking in ominous form, was joined by Laxman who went on to give him good support. With a series of superb shots from Tendulkar, the pair went on bring up their 50 partnership in as many deliveries.

Tendulkar went on to set Eden Gardens alight with some superlative batsmanship. On his way to test century number 31, he essayed every cricket shot as only a master batsman can. The century was his first at the Eden Gardens, whose slowish pitch has not been conducive to his style of strokeplay. It was also his first ton of this series, which has been somewhat disappointing for him so far.

The West Indies tried everything they could, but Tendulkar and Laxman held on till the end. The only criticism one could make of Hooper was that he did not have a third slip in place during this partnership, possibly because the batsmen were scoring at every available opportunity. However, two edges, one from Laxman and the other from Tendulkar, clearly went through where third slip would have been, and the West Indies would have profited immensely if they had attacked with a third slip.

The day's play ended due to bad light with 18 overs still to be bowled. At close, India were on 195/4, with Tendulkar on 114* and Laxman on 30*. The final day's play promises to be interesting. For one thing, play is likely to start a little earlier to accomodate the mandatory overs. The overs lost today are also likely to be made up, perhaps partially, by bowling a few more overs in each session. Both of these factors are likely to help the bowling team, the earlier start making it possible to get some swing at the Eden Gardens, and the longer sessions making it difficult for batsmen to concentrate.

Thus the match remains very intriguingly poised. The odds must be on a West Indian win or a draw. With the Indian lead currently on just 56, should the West Indies break this partnership early tomorrow and chase a total below 120, at least in theory, they should have few problems winning. However, the Indians are very experienced at putting pressure on teams batting last on a wearing pitch, so any run chase is unlikely to be easy. One delivery that Hooper bowled late in the day which jumped and took Tendulkar on the glove before sailing over the close-in cordon should be enough to convince anyone that batting is not likely to be easy on the last day. On the other hand, if India does not lose wickets before lunch and the runs mount, there may not be enough time for either team to force a result.