India holds its nerve

Cricket held the centre stage as it largely does when a dominant Australia and a doughty India face off on the greens. The match ended in a draw though its twists and turns lived up to its gladiatorial air, writes K. C. Vijaya Kumar.

The build-up primarily revolved around ‘transition’, ‘controversies’ and ‘security concerns’, but when Sourav Ganguly spoke about his last walk in the series, the word ‘swan song’ also entered the cricketing discourse.

Thankfully, when the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series commenced at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on October 9, cricket held the centre stage as it largely does when a dominant Australia and a doughty India face off on the greens. The match ended in a draw though its twists and turns lived up to its gladiatorial air.

After four days of attrition and with Australia marginally ahead, India was set a target of 299 in 83 overs on the final day.

The quest for a draw seemed to be unravelling when Sehwag fell early. Dravid succumbed quickly too, an uppish on-drive off Brett Lee forcing Ricky Ponting to sprout wings at short mid-wicket. Gambhir was castled and a meltdown seemed possible before Sachin Tendulkar (49) and V. V. S. Laxman (42 n.o.) calmed nerves with a 61-run fourth-wicket partnership that crucially lasted 25.4 overs.

Tendulkar fell while needing another 15 runs to go past Brian Lara’s 11953 Test runs, but importantly his vigil denied Australia further inroads. And in between, two stoppages of play lasting 61 minutes due to bad light also helped India’s cause. And when the skies darkened again to usher in a draw, India had scored 177 for four in 73 overs, with Laxman and Ganguly (26 n.o.) sharing a critical unbeaten 39-run fifth-wicket partnership spread over 20.4 overs.

On the opening day, Zaheer Khan induced a waft from Matthew Hayden in the match’s third delivery after Ricky Ponting opted to bat. There was a hint of a tussle between bat and ball but Zaheer had his man. At zero for one, Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting walked in, weighed down by a poor record in India and the sight of a waiting Harbhajan Singh and Ishant Sharma.

Ishant put Ponting through the wringer as the Australian skipper got some on the pad and played and missed a few but he hung in. Against Harbhajan too, Ponting offered dogged resistance and did not hesitate to dance down and whip through the on-side. There was no denying Ponting his 36th Test century, perhaps the most coveted among all his tons as it came in India. “Had to prove a point to a few,” Ponting said after scoring 123 (243b, 13x4).

Ponting found an adhesive in Simon Katich’s 66, a knock that was made of brick and mortar. Ponting and Katich shared a 166-run second-wicket partnership. Later Michael Hussey’s 146 (276b, 15x4, 1x6), his ninth Test century, lent the Aussie innings its second wind after Harbhajan got Ponting for the ninth time.

Hussey hustled the runs, jabbing into the gaps, plonking his front foot to negate the spin on a track that remained slow and had its annoying share of uneven bounce. Harbhajan and Kumble wheeled away but strangely it was the seamers — Zaheer and Ishant — who struck in tandem. The tail was dismantled as Zaheer (five for 91) scattered stumps. Australia finished with 430.

The Indian reply was well hinged initially as Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir were all synergy and shots. However, on the third morning after Lee ruffled Gambhir’s pads, left-arm seamer Mitchell Johnson made his mark (four for 70). Sehwag fenced, Sachin Tendulkar fell to a slower ball and Laxman could not resist a fatal prod.

At 106 for four, Rahul Dravid (51) and Sourav Ganguly (47), two men with a shared history starting from their debut Test in 1996, dropped anchor for a while. Dravid, fluent and correct, was not destined to register his maiden Test century at his home ground as Watson swung one in and rapped the pad. ‘Farewell man’ Ganguly meanwhile gritted past bouncers and played close to his body. Pinged once on the helmet, Ganguly eventually succumbed to Johnson.

The stage was set for the Zak and Bhajji show and at 232 for seven, Harbhajan (54) and Zaheer (57) obliged with the tail-enders’ mix of irreverence and brave shots. Zaheer’s spat with Brad Haddin added to the drama and the 80-run eighth-wicket partnership helped India score 360.

A lead of 70 and the need to set a target was the backdrop as the Australians commenced their second innings on the fourth day. The start was muffled as Zaheer trapped Hayden on the shuffle.

The top-order failed as Ishant got an edgy Ponting and Michael Clarke holed out within the inner circle while Harbhajan scalped Katich and then castled Hussey who shouldered arms.

However, Shane Watson (41) and Brad Haddin (35 n.o.) rode their luck against an attack that had the minimal services of Kumble, who was nursing a sore shoulder. The duo’s 75-run sixth-wicket partnership helped Australia declare at 228 for six in 73 overs and left India with the task of survival on a pitch that cracked into sinister whispers. India held its nerve.

Zaheer Khan was named the Man of the Match.THE SCORES

Border-Gavaskar Trophy — 1st Test: India v Australia, M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, October 9-13, 2008.

Result: Match drawn

Australia — 1st innings: M. Hayden c Dhoni b Zaheer 0, S. Katich c Dhoni b Ishant 66, R. Ponting lbw Harbhajan 123, M. Hussey b Zaheer 146, M. Clarke lbw Zaheer 11, S. Watson b Ishant 2, B. Haddin c Laxman b Ishant 33, C. White c Harbhajan b Ishant 6, B. Lee b Zaheer 27, M. Johnson b Zaheer 1, S. Clark (not out) 0, Extras (lb-11, w-1, nb-3) 15. Total: 430.

Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-166, 3-226, 4-254, 5-259, 6-350, 7-362, 8-421, 9-429.

India bowling: Zaheer Khan 29.5-4-91-5, Ishant Sharma 30-7-77-4, Harbhajan Singh 41-8-103-1, Kumble 43-6-129-0, Sehwag 6-0-19-0.

India — 1st innings: G. Gambhir lbw b Lee 21, V. Sehwag c Hayden b Johnson 45, R. Dravid lbw b Watson 51, S. Tendulkar c White b Johnson 13, V. V. S. Laxman c Haddin b Johnson 0, S. Ganguly lbw b Johnson 47, M. S. Dhoni b Clarke 9, Harbhajan Singh c Haddin b Watson 54, Zaheer Khan (not out) 57, A. Kumble lbw b Watson 5, Ishant Sharma b Clarke 6, Extras (b-23, lb-23, nb-6) 52. Total: 360.

Fall of wickets: 1-70, 2-76, 3-94, 4-106, 5-155, 6-195, 7-232, 8-312, 9-343.

Australia bowling: Brett Lee 26-6-64-1, Stuart Clark 17-3-58-0, Mitchell Johnson 27-4-70-4, Shane Watson 19-4-45-3, Cameron White 13-2-39-0, Michael Clarke 17-3-38-2.

Australia — 2nd innings: M. Hayden lbw b Zaheer 13, S. Katich c Laxman b Harbhajan 34, R. Ponting c Laxman b Ishant 17, M. Hussey b Harbhajan 31, M. Clarke c Sehwag b Ishant 6, S. Watson b Ishant 41, B. Haddin (not out) 35, C. White (not out) 18, Extras (b-13, lb-10, w-6, nb-4) 33. Total: (for six wickets decl.) 228.

Fall of wickets: 1-21, 2-49, 3-99, 4-115, 5-128, 6-203.

India bowling: Zaheer Khan 17-4-46-1, Ishant Sharma 14-3-40-3, Harbhajan Singh 27-5-76-2, Sehwag 7-1-12-0, Kumble 8-0-31-0.

India — 2nd innings: G. Gambhir b Johnson 29, V. Sehwag c Hayden b Clark 6, R. Dravid c Ponting b Lee 5, S. Tendulkar c Clarke b White 49, V. V. S. Laxman (not out) 42, S. Ganguly (not out) 26, Extras (b-16, lb-3, nb-1) 20. Total: (for four wickets) 177.

Fall of wickets: 1-16, 2-24, 3-77, 4-138.

Australia bowling: Brett Lee 11-3-26-1, Stuart Clark 11-6-12-1, Shane Watson 5-2-8-0, Mitchell Johnson 8-3-23-1, Michael Clarke 20-7-40-0, Cameron White 18-4-49-1.