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Tendulkar props India Prem Panicker | December 03, 2006 13:59 IST Last Updated: December 03, 2006 16:11 IST - Updates here after ten overs. Overs 21-30 Kallis went for 20 in four overs, one of which was a maiden; that prompted the introduction, in the 22nd over, of the left arm orthodox spin of Robin Petersen. In the 23rd, Andre Nel banged one in; the softer ball, on this surface, didn't bounce as much as the length demanded; it was also a slower ball (121k, as opposed to his normal 135+). Tendulkar was looking to let it go over his left shoulder; the ball however kept low enough to give the batsman a jarring low bang on the elbow. Though he was wearing a protector, the blow was hard enough to force immediately bruising/swelling; it caused a hold up while emergency repairs were carried out by the physio. Petersen is not exactly the most scary of spinners; his utility lies in a very full length on wicket to wicket line, forcing the batsman to play in predictable straight lines that can be blocked by strategically placed fielders. Tendulkar countered, in the 24th, by stepping to leg to make room, carving one over point and slamming another inside out over extra cover to find the fence and wake up the somnolent scorers. And in the 26th, when Petersen sought to block the inside out hitting by going on a middle line, Tendulkar paddled the four to fine leg. In the 28th, Petersen tried the round the wicket line - and this time, was swept in orthodox fashion to the fine leg fence. The intent was clearly to keep pressure on the bowler who has clearly been identified as the weak link in the attack. At the halfway stage, India was 74/2. Nel's first spell was if anything more miserly than Pollock's (6-1-10-0), but the bowler was visibly tiring as he struggled to make things happen on a wicket that was getting perceptibly slower and lower; he was switched off and Kallis brought back on in the 27th. Beaten outside off by a beauty from Kallis in the 29th, Tendulkar to the very next ball played a delicate cut, angling the bat to take the ball above point. Not quite the most orthodox way to play the shot, but necessary given that Gibbs was letting nothing through that was hit along the ground. The resulting four took India to 90/2, and Tendulkar to 53/86. Not the prettiest, most authentic, of his 74 half centuries in ODIs, but noticeably for the grim determination on display, and the focused intent to struggle on despite being made to look embarrassingly human by the SA pacemen. At the end of 30 overs, India had made 100/2, on a wicket where the experts suggest 230 could be a defensible total. Tendulkar 54/89; Mongia 25/68 and Petersen, having given 32 in five, still has five to bowl. Overs 11-20 Shaun Pollock's first spell: 7-3-11-2. Versus Tendulkar, 13 deliveries, 12 dots, one run. Tells two tales, those figures: the first, of a senior bowler at the peak of his powers, and the second, of a batsman fighting for touch, and intent on denying his wicket to a bowler who has tormented him thus far this series. In fact, Tendulkar's intent has remained survival - and survive he has, though in the process both Pollock and Ntini (6-1-15-0; 20 deliveries, 19 dot balls, one three versus Tendulkar) made him look extraordinarily human; extremely fallible. The trouble with batting for survival is that when the bad ball comes along, you fail to put it away. Time and again, to short stuff outside off that he in his pomp would have put away to any corner of the park, he went back, tried to force and ended up hitting into the ground. His first four came in the 16th over, via a thick outside edge that went wide of the slips to third man for four. The tightness of line and length dissipated after Ntini and Pollock yielded the ball to Kallis and Andre Nel, but the South African fielding promptly came to the party, upping its performance to deny runs and subject the two batsmen to the death of a thousand stops. There was for instance this blistering back foot drive off Nel by Dinesh Mongia. At point, Gibbs dived and took the sting out of it, but it was still headed for a couple, at least, when de Villiers sprinted around from cover, dived, grabbed the ball and was up, in position to throw down the stumps. No run. Even the best of fielding sides, though, cannot completely cover for the fact that neither Kallis nor Nel have the bowling nous of Pollock or the pace and fire of Ntini; this allowed Tendulkar opportunities, as this spell of ten overs wound down, to free his arms at least occasionally to find runs. The 18th over was an exemplar: Tendulkar smashed the first ball square to point with force enough to make even Gibbs misfield for a brace; the third ball, dropped a bit short, was sighted early and pulled in front of midwicket for four; the fourth ball erred on the side of fullness and was punched down the ground for another four. Not much on Mongia during this phase, because there was not much of Mongia during this phase. The left hander concentrated on keeping his wicket intact; on the positive side, he restrained himself from pushing and prodding outside his off, a blemish that had made him look less than convincing the other day during his Twenty20 knock. Clearly, the team thinking appears to be that at least once, it has to bat through the full quota of overs. After 20, India has scored 50/2. Overs 1-10 It was a patchy kind of start. Virender Sehwag flayed the first ball of the innings, from Shaun Pollock, through point for four to set things up; and was duly beaten outside off by a bowler operating with a radar-controlled ball. At the other end, Makhaya Ntini began with four wides to Tendulkar; in passing, you wondered whether it might have been a plan for Graeme Smith to bowl Ntini in the first over, against Sehwag, and see if Pollock, bowling the second over, couldn't continue his good work against his bunny, Tendulkar, earning more psychological points ahead of the Tests. In a preview to what the Tests hold in store, Pollock settled down to strangle Sehwag by bowling either full on the off stump, or just outside jagging it back in to cramp the batsman for room. Just occasionally, he would bowl the one outside off leaving the batsman - and one such in the second over saw a tentative Sehwag, anticipating the ball coming in, push at it for the ball to find the edge; for the first time this series, Smith at first slip reacted late, and a possible catch went through to third man for four. At the other end, a fired up Ntini made Tendulkar hop, with a brutish lifter in the first over that the batsman fended away awkwardly on the leg side before being beaten for pace, line and length around off a ball later. Off the 9th ball he faced, Tendulkar got off the mark, pushing a fullish delivery from Ntini off his pads onto the on side for a scampered single. That single off Ntini set up Pollock versus Tendulkar in the fifth over; the bowler won brownie points with a line around off that clearly had Tendulkar uncertain whether the ball was cutting in or leaving him. Tendulkar, yet again, opted to stay on the top of the crease, rather than come fully forward; the end result was to leave him in uncertain territory as he gave Pollock a maiden to go with the one he had earlier played against Ntini. A single from Sehwag off the first ball of the next over, and Tendulkar played out five more dots against Ntini. Sehwag, meanwhile, was pretty much his usual self - `usual', in the sense that he played as he has been playing of late. He wafted outside off, upper edging one that fortunately fell short of deep third man; he missed a few; played one immaculate defensive push by way of showing that he knew how; then drove airily outside his off stump, at a Pollock delivery leaving the bat which the batsman thought was coming in; this time, the edge was fainter, and went straight through to Mark Boucher (11/22; India 18/1) VVS Laxman lasted exactly one ball - the last ball of the 7th, which Pollock bowled down the corridor, seaming away latge. Laxman stood where he was and poked at it with hard hands, as he is prone to do early in his innings; the thick edge went low to Smith at first slip; the Proteas captain took it with the softest of hands (0/1; 18/2) and that, at least for now, was that. Dinesh Mongia watched the first ball of the 9th over - Pollock's hat-trick ball - thru outside off, then smoothly turned the next through leg for a brace to get his feet wet. The first ten overs vindicated Smith's thinking in bowling first, just as much as it showed up Sehwag's statement that he would have batted first anyway. For the rest of the team now, it is about consolidation; for Tendulkar, meanwhile, it is a grim battle not against the bowling so much as against whatever personal demons seem to be shackling his feet, and his bat. Thus far, there have been few signs of dominant intent; a pull at Ntini in the 10th over looked more an act of desperation than of returning confidence. The way the senior player bats on from here should be interesting, from the long term point of view. After ten, India was 22/2; Tendulkar batting 3/26 and Mongia batting 5/11. Toss For the first time this series, Graeme Smith opted to bowl first on winning the toss. (Equally interestingly, Virender Sehwag said he would have opted to bat first anyway). If you ignore Viru's words as an attempt to put the best face on it, and take Smith's reaction as more indicative of the nature of the wicket, you likely would be closer to the mark. The wicket, during the pitch report, looked hard, with bounce and pace in it and a hint of moisture to liven things up; given it is a day game, the team batting second is not likely to have to cope with light-related conditions, and the pitch should ease out by then, so batting second does look like a good option on this wicket. For India, the most significant aspect of a game that is insignificant in terms of dictating the outcome of the series is the return of VVS Laxman to the one-day eleven. He has made no secret of his desire to play in a World Cup; a no-pressure game, but testing opposition, gives him an early opportunity to begin earning brownie points. Mohammad Kaif is out - and that is perhaps the final indication that a player thought at one time to be the face of the future has exhausted his opportunities. It is unlikely his omission will cause raised eyebrows; Kaif has for too long now been the unpaid IOU of Indian cricket, and as Brian Lara said of Ramnaresh Sarwan not so long ago, maybe time out will give him an opportunity to get his mind wrapped around what he needs to do, and how he needs to do it. Dinesh Karthick gets another opportunity - and that is indicative as much of nascent promise shown in the field and with the bat, as to the continued disenchantment with Suresh Raina. Dinesh Mongia's inclusion, meanwhile, comes as another opportunity for a player who occasionally promises much, while delivering less than half. (While on that, much was made of his calm, sensible batting in the Twenty20, and yes he did keep his head and bat as the situation demanded - but equally noticeable was the endless number of occasions on which he seemed at sea to the delivery slanting across and hitting length, so I would hold off on the euphoria). Anyways, for India, playing without pressure on a seam-friendly track against tough opposition, this is as good a chance as any to, first, get a confidence-boosting win and regain a measure of momentum and secondly, for the batsmen in particular, to get in some good practice ahead of the Test series. India's tour of South Africa 2006: The Complete Coverage Would you like to join the Cricket and Cricket Lovers Discussion Group and discuss your cricket views with other cricket freaks? Click here. Have fun!
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