Nehra, Das provide the silver lining
Anand Vasu - 19 June 2001
When Ajit Agarkar bowled one overpitched and outside the off stump for
Andy Flower to drive to the cover boundary, hopes of setting a 15-year
ignominous record straight evaporated. Zimbabwe had won the second and
final Test at Harare by four wickets and squared the series. And yet,
when Sourav Ganguly went out to the toss at Bulawayo, the series win
in England in 1986 must have been at the top of his mind. The tour of
Zimbabwe was, if nothing else, India's best chance of winning a Test
series outside the subcontinent in 15 years. On that count Ganguly and
his men failed.
To say the tour as a whole was an exercise in futility would be
carrying things too far. One has to begin with the wintry morning of
June 7 in Bulawayo when Zimbabwe skipper Heath Streak won the toss and
elected to bat first on a good wicket. In just the sixth over of the
day, Ashish Nehra had his first Test wicket since February 1999 when Guy
Whittal dragged one from outside the off stump and disturbed the
timber. The young left arm seamer from Delhi went on to be India's
best bowler in his debut series snaring 11 wickets at an average of
less than 20. Showing good control, Nehra was consistent with both
line and length. Add to this his ability to swing the ball both ways
and you have the recipe for a very handy bowler. A good clean action
also certainly helps. With the foundations laid, Nehra now needs to
add a slower ball and a yorker to his repertoire and you can be sure
he will be a frontline bowler for India for years to come.
If Nehra's speedy acclimatisation at the highest level was one
positive to come out of the series, the way in which Shiv Sunder Das
led the Indian charge with the willow was yet another saving grace.
The diminutive opener from Orissa showed a technique and poise at the
top of the order that has seldom been exhibited in recent years.
Knowing what deliveries to leave and how to play at ones that had to
be tackled, Das amassed 239 runs at an average of just under 80.
Easily the most prolific batsman of either side, Das walked away with
the man of the series award.
On the back of a mediocre Zimbabwean effort with the bat and some
disciplined cricket India went one up in the series. However, there
was not much to write home about in the days that came after the
fourth and final day of the first Test. Sadagoppan Ramesh developed a
bad back, just when speculations about him being dropped were doing
the rounds. The problem that has dogged Indian cricket for many years
now, the opening slot, reared its troublesome head once more. Hemang
Badani, unable to resist the temptation of a chance at Test cricket
offered up his services. After making a forgettable debut (lbw
Brighton Watambwa for 2) Badani was relegated to the middle order in
the second innings of the same Test.
Scoring 237 and 234 is not going to win you many Test matches. It
certainly did not win India the second Test at Harare. Further
weakened by the inexplicable inclusion of Ajit Agarkar ahead of Zaheer
Khan (4 wickets in the first Test) India went on to lose in under four
days. The form of the Indian captain is another extremely worrying
aspect. Sourav Ganguly made 5,9 and 0 the three times he was called
upon to bat. VVS Laxman, if anything, looked like he suffered from
exactly the opposite problem as his skipper. In what could be the best
form of his life, Laxman has looked well set, positive and of a very
high pedigree and yet did not go on to make even a half century.
In all this however one cannot discount the role of Andy Flower and
his mates. Still averaging over 100 against India, Flower was
unstoppable even as brother Grant joined the party. Young speedster
Brighton Watambwa impressed and Andy Blignaut picked up his second
five wicket haul in just four Tests. Stuart Carlisle batting around
Zimbabwe's main batsmen helped himself to a couple of gritty half
centuries. Coach Carl Rackemann would not have much reason to complain
at his team's performance.
At the end of the day, the Test series that just concluded was a case
of being so near and yet so far for the visitors. The opportunity was
there, and India let it slip.
© CricInfo
Teams
|
India,
Zimbabwe.
|
Players/Umpires
|
Ajit Agarkar,
Andy Flower,
Sourav Ganguly,
Heath Streak,
Ashish Nehra,
Shiv Sunder Das,
Hemang Badani,
Zaheer Khan,
Brighton Watambwa,
Andy Blignaut.
|
Tours
|
India in Zimbabwe
|