The Wisden Verdict
by Sanjay Manjrekar
Saturday, March 16, 2002

Yuvraj Singh's match-winning effort today came as no surprise to me, after his fantastic debut at Nairobi; I haven't seen a more impressive beginning by an Indian at the one-day level. Yuvraj's success today emphasized that India must learn to nurture special talents and not dump them in a hurry.

It's not often someone plays with so much ease in a pressure match and on a comeback trail. His natural talent and flow had a devastating impact on Zimbabwe, who at one point of time, seemed to be heading towards another victory.

Zimbabwe could not be faulted on any counts. Their bowling was good, their bowling changes were sensible and their field-pacings were just right. But Yuvraj's brilliance made all of that redundant.

Mohammad Kaif did not display too many extravagant strokes, but he showed the importance of fitness in modern-day cricket - something that reminded me of Robin Singh. Fitness is not one of India's strengths, which is why Kaif comes across as a refreshing change. He's the sort of cricketer John Wright would be looking for to help win India more consistently.

Kaif is a good candidate for the crucial No 5 slot in the future. That position is the most difficult place to bat in one-day cricket as it requires a very fit player who needs to run hard and takes the singles and twos in a very spread-out field.

VVS Laxman yet again gave the impression that he does not have the feel for limited-overs cricket. He gets bogged down, and finds one-dayers a burden. For his own good, he should be relieved of that burden.

The pitch was not the kind one expects in this part of the world, which normally helps a target of 300 plus. Considering that it was a slow track, and given Zimbabwe's batting limitations, I thought they did well to post a total of 240 - though it was eventually around 15 runs short.

Ajit Agarkar continues to impresses me as a bowler. He is a picture of aggression when he has a ball in hand. The manner in which he got Travis Friend out with a bouncer - cramping him for space - showed that Agarkar has a good cricketing brain too. In the absence of Javagal Srinath, he looked the strike bowler to pick up four wickets. More importantly, he did not give away too many runs.

If there was one player I was keen to see apart from Yuvraj, it was Murali Kartik. But he disappointed. He probably felt the pressure of one-day cricket, while Andy Flower made things that much more difficult by playing him so beautifully.

A great night for India. Not just because of the victory, but also for the fact that it was made possible by two youngsters.

Sanjay Manjrekar, stalwart of the Indian batting in the early 90s, was talking to H Natarajan

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