A magnificent knock

It was a brilliant innings by Sachin Tendulkar, one of the best by the maestro that I've seen.

It was his proactive batting which won the day for India, accomplishing a Herculean task, what with the side on the brink of disaster at 68 for four. He delivered when the side needed it most.

A superb effort in more ways than one. He was innovative; taking calculated risks against the pacemen when he took advantage of the fact that there wasn't a third-man, with strokes over the slip cordon and a couple over the 'keeper's head; but right through he was in complete control, making fine use of the pace of the ball.

He played the horizontal-bat shots splendidly and put the pressure back on the South Africans by scoring runs at a fast pace. He guided newcomer Virender Sehwag in amazing fashion, the latter grew in confidence and played superbly to score a century on debut in a foreign land on a bouncy wicket. No mean achievement.

I think the decision to open with Rahul Dravid was ridiculous. You can't make a sacrificial goat of one of your best batsmen. You could have sacrificed Deep Dasgupta.

One might well argue that Dravid, being a No. 3 or 4 bat, could well open (which he has done before) as there is not much of a difference between opening or coming in at No. 3 when an early wicket falls. There is. Anyway, I've always felt that Dravid is best at No. 5 in Test cricket.

Sourav Ganguly should start making the necessary adjustments against short-pitched bowling. This time Kallis had him with a snorter. Sourav will achieve a lot more if he makes the required modifications.

That Harbhajan Singh is missing the crucial first Test is rather unfortunate. The sardar would have had a huge role to play. Especially because he is the kind of bowler who doesn't rely too much on the pitch; the genial off-spinner gets most of his wickets with variations in the air, among other things.

India is en route to putting up a challenging total. As I've said earlier, the South African batting line-up is brittle when under pressure. It's up to Srinath & Co. to do their bit. I see a very interesting contest on the cards.

K.SRIKKANTH

www.krishsrikkanth.com.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Sport
Previous : Tendulkar wipes the smiles off South African faces
Next     : Bright start to Assam's campaign