THERE were very few spectators at the Queen's Sports Club when Zaheer Khan struck two blows in his first over to have Zimbabwe on the defensive. It was just the second over of the match and it was a situation Zimbabwe had come to recognise so well.
Andy Flower was missing from the ranks. So was Heath Streak, who reported unfit on the morning of the match, troubled by a muscle strain in the abdomen. The team had its third captain in three matches. Grant Flower led in the first when Streak stepped down; Streak then returned to lead in the second; and now it was Guy Whittall who walked out for the toss. And he did a good job with the bat as Zimbabwe recovered to post a decent total.
It was decent because it was a difficult pitch to bat on. The ball stopped and playing drives was tough. Rahul Dravid was a glorious exception though as he produced a gem of an innings on such a difficult track.
So, when Zimbabwe showed the character in its batting, the possibility of an Indian failure did rise. And it almost came true as the Indian middle order came apart through a series of poor strokes.
Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly, who finally hit form, and it was quite timely too in this match, described the collapse as being due to "wrong" shots and not "poor" shots. He defended the shot he played stating that it was a routine stroke against a left-arm spinner.
But coach John Wright disagreed. He termed them "poor" shots and he did not hesitate to add that he was "disappointed" with the performance, and not the result. "It was a good win," admitted Wright but he confessed that there were many grey areas which the team had to sort out.
"The fielding was a concern. We gave away too many easy runs. The bowlng was a concern. We conceded too many extras. Zimbabwe was playing without two key players and yet we allowed them to dictate," said Wright. In his opinion, there were many lessons to be learnt from the match.
Ganguly agreed."I know we did falter in all departments but it was nice to win. We bowled badly no doubt," he said. The Indians conceded 96 runs in the last 11 overs and that, noted Ganguly, was not a good sign.
"I must say Ashish (Nehra) bowled very well. He's improving with every match and looks very competitive. Zaheer (Khan) may have given away a few extra runs in his second spell but he gave us a great start. They are young and I'm sure will learn as the season progresses," said the Indian skipper.
Zimbabwe did very well to recover from a shaky start. Good contributions came from Dion Ebrahim, Craig Wishart, Grant Flower and Whittall, the last named playing a lively innings. Ebrahim was laborious; Wishart disciplined; Flower determined and Whittall quite innovative. It was a superb knock by Whittall and one which contributed towards making the match so competitive.
Ajit Agarkar went for a few runs in his second spell as he strove to get the batsmen out. Harbhajan Singh maintained control except in his last over. These were a few worries for an attack which otherwise looked competent.
When India batted, the task was tough because the pitch had become slower. In trying to ensure there were no alarms, Sachin Tendulkar, needlessly defensive, spooned a catch as he was deceived by the change of pace. It was a blow no doubt but Punjab left-hander Dinesh Mongia grabbed the chance to come up with an innings which should help his career a lot.
Mongia did not produce a match-winning innings but gave enough indication that he had the potential to develop into a reliable batsman. His dismissal brought Dravid to the middle and the vice-captain struck a splendid partnership with Ganguly. The pair almost carried the team to the target.
Ganguly performed the role of a captain to near-perfection. His dismissal resulted from a poor shot even though he did not agree that it was a poor shot. Hemang Badani fell to a good ball, but Virender Sehwag and Sameer Dighe showed poor cricketing sense by playing fancy shots when they ought to have supported Dravid.
India owed it to Ganguly and Dravid and it was a very timely return to form for the skipper. A hair-cut on the eve of the match may have brought Ganguly good luck as he played an outstanding innings. "It wasn't one of my best innings but I'm happy I got some runs. There had been too many edges in the preceding matches," said Ganguly, looking so relieved after the four-wicket victory.
The win put India in the final of the triangular series, this being its second victory in as many matches.
The scores:Zimbabwe: D. Ebrahim lbw b Zaheer 42; A. Campbell c Ganguly b Zaheer 2; S. Carlisle lbw b Zaheer 0; C. Wishart c Agarkar b Ganguly 46; G. Flower c Sehwag b Zaheer 45; G. Whittall (not out) 58; A. Blignaut c Harbhajan b Agarkar 11; T. Taibu (not out) 2; Extras (lb-7, nb-12, w-9) 28; Total (for six wkts. in 50 overs) 234.
Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-7, 3-94, 4-122, 5-184, 6-215.
India bowling: Nehra 10-0-31-0, Zaheer 10-0-42-4, Agarkar 10-0-55-1, Harbhajan 9-0-42-0, Ganguly 7-0-38-1, Sehwag 4-0-19-0.
India: S. Ganguly c Campbell b G. Flower 85; S. Tendulkar c G. Flower b B. Strang 9; D. Mongia c Whittall b Mutendera 37; R. Dravid (not out) 72; H. Badani b G. Flower 0; V. Sehwag c Ebrahim b G. Flower 2; S. Dighe c and b G. Flower 9; A. Agarkar (not out) 13; Extras (lb-1, nb-2, w-7) 10. Total (for six wkts. in 49.2 overs) 237.
Fall of wickets: 1-22, 2-91, 3-184, 4-187, 5-193, 6-210.
Zimbabwe bowling: Blignaut 10-0-41-0, Bryan Strang 10-2-26-1, Mutendera 8.2-0-52-1, Friend 9-0-45-0, Guy Whittall 4-0-28-0, Grant Flower 8-0-44-4.
A gem of a knock"I hadn't played a matchwinning innings for a long time," said Rahul Dravid, the man of the match.
This was an innings in keeping with his stature. On a difficult pitch, Dravid produced an entertaining knock which put India in the final of the triangular series.
Where would he place the innings? "Among my best, if not the best. I enjoyed batting and what I liked was that it was an innings which helped the team win," said Dravid.
He walked in when the situation demanded discipline from the batsmen. He had skipper Sourav Ganguly for company and the task was to keep one end intact, a job he had come to perform with distinction for quite some time now.
For long Dravid had been labelled a batsman with a defensive attitude. "I've nothing to say on that subject," said Dravid, who proved a point to his critics.
Some of the strokes that Dravid played belonged to a class higher than this grade. He did not waste time trying to gauge the situation and was quick to realise the fact that he had to stay in the middle.
"I'd decided not to give my wicket away in trying to force the pace. It was difficult no doubt," said Dravid, who struck shots to all corners. It was one of his best innings no doubt.
But for Dravid's innings, India would have been in an embarrassing situation. The dismissal of Sachin Tendulkar put pressure on Dravid and Ganguly to guide the chase and the two came together to ensure there was no messing in the middle-order.
"I told myself I've to hang around till the job is finished," said Dravid, who paced his innings brilliantly. It was an effort aimed at winning the match and he did a wonderful job by playing as the situation demanded.
The knock did give an insight into Dravid's ability to play aggressively. He had set his sights on finishing the match and it was indeed fitting that he made the winning hit. "It's always a nice feeling when you get runs for the team. For me, what matters is the team winning and not individual honours," said Dravid, who did not remember when he had last won the "Man of the Match' award. Not even at the World Cup where he was the top-scorer of the competition.
A strokeful innings from Dravid was what the team too had been looking forward to. He had shown the best form on the tour and as he observed, "it was an innings for the team at the right time."
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