Saturday, Dec 20, 2003
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Cricket
By Vijay Lokapally
Martin Love who fell just short of a century at the Bellerive Oval on Friday.
Today, a placid track provided the Australia `A' batsmen with a glorious chance to stake their claims even as the selectors made their intentions known by announcing that the fast bowlers should grab the opportunity by doing well and force their way into contention for the next Test at Melbourne. The injury to Jason Gillespie has left the Australians in search of a bowler. With Brad Williams nursing a shoulder injury, the focus was on finding the right partner for Brett Lee, who returns to the team at Melbourne. And this game at a scenic venue is being seen as the stage to give one fast bowler an outside chance to bowl at the MCG a week from now. Opting to bat, Australia `A' declared at 311 for five and saw the Indian XI finish the first day of this three-day match at 37 for one, the batsman out being S. Ramesh when he played too early to be taken at gully. Having decided to rest Sourav Ganguly for this match, and having made an announcement to that effect, the Indian team management changed its line of thinking this morning. Ganguly chose to play because the team suddenly felt it was a batsman short and Anil Kumble earned the privilege of sitting out. The leg-spinner must have been pleased by the offer since the Indians mostly appeared to be going through the motions on the field. There was little in the pitch to motivate the seamers even though the overcast conditions and a strong wind created an encouraging atmosphere for the Indian bowlers. The aggressive Chris Rogers, 26, and Michael Hussey, 28, both from Western Australia, put the bowlers to the sword and plundered runs at will. The Indians made no impression on the openers and Rogers soon reached his half century when Ramesh put him down at gully off Ganguly with the team score on 89. Hussey, whose first job was as an indoor umpire, lived up to his reputation as a consistent run-maker in domestic cricket. The partnership prospered till lunch and beyond before Rogers, who had dominated the first session, fell to Ganguly. His attractive 70 was crafted off 94 balls with ten 4s. Hussey joined his partner when he attempted to pull Ashish Nehra and the top-edge was superbly pouched by Ganguly running back at mid-wicket. India tasted one more success before tea when Brad Hodge, maker of 264 against the Indians earlier on this tour, played the wrong line against Nehra. The Indians had made a strong comeback in the second session. The outstanding performance of the day came from Martin Love, 27, from Queensland. His footwork enabled him produce superb shots and a couple of late cuts were stirring. His recent Test century against Bangladesh at Cairns was seen as a firm step towards gaining a place in the team this summer. A successful county season also backed his case. The tall batsman with a wide range of strokes hit a flawless 94 off 130 balls with four 4s and a 6 but tried a cut from a cramped position to nick behind. Among the bowlers, Nehra earned respect, and with it two wickets, for his good line, while Irfan Pathan and L. Balaji bowled without luck in their second spells after starting off in a disappointing manner on a track that demanded accuracy. Balaji overstepped nine times, while Pathan struggled for length. Left-arm spinner Murali Kartik, getting his first bowl after 40 overs, toiled relentlessly and earned a wicket only at the fag end of the day. The scores: Australia `A' — 1st innings: Chris Rogers c Dasgupta b Ganguly 70, Michael Hussey c Ganguly b Nehra 67, Martin Love c Dasgupta b Pathan 94, Brad Hodge b Nehra 1, Michael Clarke 38 (not out), Cameron White b Kartik 15, Wade Seecombe 0 (not out). Extras (lb-6, nb-17, w-3) 26. Total (for five wkts. decl.) 311. Fall of wickets: 1-119, 2-204, 3-207, 4-279, 5-302. Indian bowling: Irfan Pathan 22-6-77-1 (w-3), L. Balaji 18-2-84-0 (nb-9), Ashish Nehra 10-2-33-2, Sourav Ganguly 8-1-38-1 (nb-7), Sachin Tendulkar 1-0-9-0, Murali Kartik 15.4-2-64-1 (nb-1). Indian XI — 1st innings: Akash Chopra 12 (batting), S. Ramesh c Wright b Nicholson 4, Deep Dasgupta 18 (batting). Extras (lb-3) 3. Total (for one wkt.) 37. Fall of wickets: 1-5. Australia `A' bowling: Mathew Nicholson 5-2-10-1, Damien Wright 4-3-2-0, Cameron White 2-0-14-0, Shaun Tait 2-0-8-0.
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