PORT ELIZABETH, 3 March 2003 — What a truly astonishing batting display it has been from Sachin Tendulkar against arch rivals Pakistan. I have always said that there was Sachin and then the rest of them in contemporary cricket, and the little man seems determined to prove that in this World Cup. I must admit that I thought the total of 273 would be a little beyond India’s reach at the Centurion, but the way Sachin and his mirror image Virender Sehwag went about it was completely unbelievable. I can only imagine the joyous scenes across the breadth of India, from Mumbai to Kolkata.
I have always felt that Sachin Tendulkar must be the name at the top of the Indian order, because while he has the ability to succeed anywhere in the batting lineup, Sachin himself prefers to open. This particular pair was seen in one of the one-dayers in Kanpur against England last year, where they absolutely murdered the attack to finish off a match in no time. Since then various combinations and permutations between Sachin, Sehwag and Saurav Ganguly have been tried, but I think they finally got the batting order right on Saturday.
I was also pleased to see that wonderful young batsman Mohammad Kaif come in at number four after languishing for almost a year at seven. His innings was a crucial one, as it brought some sanity back into proceedings after the mayhem of the first six overs that saw 54 runs and two successive wickets.
In fact, none of the middle-order batsmen tried to emulate Sachin in strokeplay. Instead, they went about accumulating runs through singles and the occasional boundary. Sachin’s innings had such an impact on the asking rate, that this was all that was required from Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh, and the duo went about it with professional ease.
I think Waqar Younis did a couple of things wrong on Saturday, after Saeed Anwar had helped his side reach 273 with a well-compiled 100. First, there was no need to have replaced Shoaib after a single over, as it seemed to have left the fast bowler a little short on confidence. It was a panic move, and the Indians must have gained confidence from it. He did hit stride toward the end of his spell, but by that time, India were too far ahead. It was also unfortunate to see Wasim Akram look a pale shadow of the form he had shown early in the tournament. He had been very good against Australia, and had played a good hand against the other teams as well. On Saturday he was off-color and did not have any answers to Sachin’s offensive.
At the end of the day one also wondered whether 300 was needed on a pitch on which the Indians were playing their strokes with such ease. Perhaps the middle order for Pakistan could have put on a better show after the start Anwar provided.
After Australia defeated England in yesterday’s match, Pakistan will have to beat Zimbabwe handsomely to qualify for the Super Six.
