A view from the Gully (21 May 1999)

21 May 1999

A view from the Gully

Tawfiq Aziz Khan

It was a day of sensational cricket. Top favorites South Africa knocked down Champions Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe pulled the rug under former champions India. Two African nations, uncrowned so far, triumphed over two Asian nations, interesting - isn't it.

Both India and Sri Lanka have now lost two matches each and are in dire straits, From here on they must win rest of the matches if their chances for a 'Super Six' berth has to be booked. Both matches had such dramatic finish that they would be remembered and talked about for a long time to come.

The Indians must have been in a state of shock as the news of sudden demise of Sachin Tendulkar's father reached their camp. This has been a bolt from the blue for the master batsman who had to rush back to India for the funeral rites of Late Ramesh Tendulkar. I offer my deep condolences to Sachin Tendulkar and pray for the eternal peace of the departed soul. Hope Tendulkar comes out of the grief and rejoins his team for the rest of the tournament.

Without Sachin, in recent times, the Indians are lost in the wilderness. This situation speaks volumes about the colossus that Sachin has become but it also downgrades the capabilities, commitments and intelligence of the rest of the team members which can never bring about any positive changes in the team psychology.

It was incomprehensible that the Indian bowlers should have conceded a staggering 37 wide and no balls which warranted more than 6 extra overs and 51 extras in a total of 252 was incorrigible. This has hardly happened to the Indian bowlers, who are generally very cautious, in the past. The extra overs posed the additional problems for them as they were penvalised by the match referee deducting four precious overs from their normal quota of 50.

On that bouncy wicket this target was always achievable and the Indians went about their business rather briskly. Weather was good but going was bumpy. The initial hiccup of the Indians were smothered by Ramesh and Jadeja and at later stages the innings was beautifully grafted by Robin Singh, Mongia and Srinath. Azhar played another irresponsible innings and gave the impression that his mind was not in the game but somewhere else. The Indians were always ahead of the run-rate and when everything appeared rosy in the garden, like many other previous occasions the batsmen buckled. Henry Olonga was no match-winning bowler yet Campbell had to take that gamble and it paid off most unexpectedly. Three wickets in six deliveries for five runs and Olonga was an instant hero. Victory was so near yet so far. It is not for nothing Geoff Boycott calls it a 'foony' game.

Sri Lanka had the Proteas almost on the ropes at Northampton with wickets falling at regular intervals. The South Africans are not normally accustomed to such situations and as the stranglehold of the Lankans became tighter, Lance Klusener launched his desperate attempt in the last over that took his side one short of the two hundred mark. Ranatunga must have been smiling through his eyes. But the Lankans had a date with genuine African lions. The champions' best efforts took them to the lowest total of the tournament till Wednesday.

In both the grounds umpiring left much to be desired. The lbw decisions against De Silva and Jadeja could be rightfully contested and decisions against Cullinan and Pollock were starkly against the rules, given by the TV umpire Ken Palmer. I do not believe that at this level of the game an umpire does not know that benefit of doubt goes in favour of the batsman and that a catch is deemed to have been completed beyond any doubt within the playing area. All these four players received raw deals from the umpires. Wrong decisions can always have far reaching effects in any tournament.

Source :: The Daily Star