A view from the Gully (6 June 1999)
India were catapulted further away from a semifinal berth by that lanky Australian called Glenn McGrath
06-Jun-1999
6 June 1999
A view from the Gully
Tawfiq Aziz Khan
India were catapulted further away from a semifinal berth by that
lanky Australian called Glenn McGrath. This Aussie match-winner
suddenly struck form and broke the backbone of Indian batting within
minutes of the rain-delayed match. A good support came on the other
end from Fleming, known for his ability to swing the ball both ways.
In this very important opener of the Super Six stage, both teams were
under pressure and if the recent form was of any consequence then the
Indians were ahead of the Australians in all departments of the game.
Their last win against England had not only took them to the Super
Six but raised their moral sky high. In this World Cup the Indians
are truly always under pressure not only from their opponents but
from their millions of supporters also who believe that Azhar's men
can deliver the Cup to India.
The Australians surprised the West Indies in their last group match,
McGrath was the wrecker in chief. They were also in contention and a
team of Australia's standing, a pre-tournament favourite can never be
taken lightly by any opponent however powerful or confident they felt
they are. Like India, Australia were also putting their act together
after the initial setback.
Experts were divided on the issue of Azhar's decision of putting the
Australians in to bat on the traditionally hard and bouncy wicket of
The Oval. Australia have a strong batting line-up and their middle
order with Michael Bevan coming in at number 6 is particularly
capable of taking apart any attack. So, against a side that had a
penetrating attack it was suicidal to have invited them to bat
specially when India won their last three matches batting first and
with the knowledge that they were bad chasers. A total beyond 250 on
these English wickets have always been difficult to overhaul for any
team unless something extraordinary happened Australia always looked
like a side that was capable of scoring these runs.
The Indian seam attack has hardly been as effective as the
Australians' and the fifth bowler's slot has always been filled in
with part-timers like Ganguly and Robin Singh. On this particular day
the opening attack came for a bit of stick and it was left to Ganguly
to provide a breakthrough but by that time the Aussies were in a
happy position. All the top seven bats men scored freely and the
Indian spinners were shown no respect by the Aussies led by Mark
Waugh. That was a pointer too, because Australia had hardly lost a
game in which Mark Waugh scored runs and this one too proved no
exception. The absence of genuine fifth bowler was once again felt as
Ganguly, Singh and Tendulkar conceded 78 valuable runs in their 13
overs.
The much heralded battle between Tendulkar and Shane Warne did not
see the light of the day as McGrath brought one up just from short of
length that caught the maestro in two minds. It was a jem of a
delivery to which any bats man of Tendulkar's class would have
succumbed. A similar delivery sent Dravid to the dressing room and
when Fleming fooled Ganguly, all the centurians retired to the
dressing room with only a dozen runs on board. When Azhar was struck
by an awkward bounce India's pitcher of owe was full to the brim.
A sporting Jadeja and heavy weight Robin Singh launched a crusade
against Aussie attack hammering Warne for 21 runs in one over but by
then the Australians were safely on a boat for the shore. Jadeja's
ton, achieved in carefree manner, went in vain.
The Indians must win against New Zealand and Pakistan very
convincingly if they want to keep their chances alive, even then the
calculators will come into play.
Source :: The Daily Star