A novice, but a teaser
Dileep Premachandran
When Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers sang, "The waiting is the hardest
part", they certainly didn't have Test-match cricket in mind. But if today’s
play at the Chinnaswamy stadium could have had a theme tune, it would have
been that. The crowd waited with bated breath, Anil Kumble bounded in like
an enthusiastic newcomer but the Promised Land -- in the shape of wicket No.
300 -- never materialised. Expectation can be a wearisome burden to carry
around at the best of times and Kumble, a local hero, found himself
inhibited, and almost crushed, by it. The man they call "Jumbo" was for the
most part as threatening as a baby elephant.
Instead, it was left to India’s spin novice to undo the good work done by
Michael Vaughan and Mark Ramprakash after lunch. Before the start of the
match, Sourav Ganguly referred to Harbhajan Singh and Kumble as the "two
best spinners in the world". But it was left to the veteran of one Test to
catch the eye. England were chugging along with nary a false note in the
exhaust at 206 for 3 when Michael Vaughan decided that he needed to play an
even bigger hand. Sarandeep Singh gets no credit for the handled-the-ball
dismissal but it was the day's pivotal moment. Nowhere near as dramatic -- and unlikely to be as crucial -- as Steve Waugh’s dismissal at Chennai in
March but a turning point nonetheless. Once Vaughan was out of the way,
exposing the softer underbelly, Sarandeep wasted no time in landing a couple
of decisive blows.
Flintoff misjudged one in the flight though his tonk to midwicket spoke
volumes for his ineptitude against the spinners. Ramprakash’s dismissal was
altogether more fortuitous. Sarandeep had him driving at one pitched outside
the off stump and Deep Dasgupta fluffed the outside edge, yet again. Luckily
for India, Dravid’s palms closed around the ball at slip. It was a wicket
that owed more to the volleyball court than anything else, but after going
through the fielding horrors in Ahmedabad, India will settle for that.
Sarandeep took his time to find his rhythm. In the early overs he pushed the
ball through rather than look for flight, and it was only after tea that he
found the confidence to toss it up and tease.
It was an up-and-down sort of day for India. Ganguly, who shared the new
ball with Srinath, came out bouncing like a Mexican jumping bean. One appeal
for leg-before against Mark Butcher was so enthusiastic that he resembled a
kid on a trampoline. But after lunch, he was back to
under-the-table-and-dreaming mode. There was little attempt to pressure the
batsmen and the bowling changes were mechanical rather than inspired. Lucky
for him then that fate stepped in to lend a helping hand.
Dileep Premachandran is assistant editor, Wisden.com, India
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