BOMBAY, 14 March 2003 — Tony Greig, a former England captain and now a leading television expert, as is his wont, provoked Saurav Ganguly and his boys no less, while forwarding his assessment on the eve of the crucial India-Pakistan clash.
He had fancied Pakistan’s chances better because he had believed that Waqar Younis-led a side “that had the greater aggression in its outlook.”
“I am waiting to see the Indian team, for all the talent at its command, show more aggro on the field.”
As that famous match turned out to be, the Pakistan team, and not without a reason, looked to be playing under pressure throughout. It was the Indian team that eventually came through the battle with all guns blazing.
The reason for the Pakistan team’s somewhat subdued approach was the fact that, for them, it was a make-or-break game. A defeat meant that they would be hard put to it to qualify for the Super Six stage.
What this victory did for the Indian team could not be imagined until the next big game for them came along. Having just about managed to get over the weak challenge of Kenya, the real test was the match against Sri Lanka in the Super Six.
The Indian team’s highly aggressive attitude against Lanka came as something of a revelation and this aggressive disposition from the word “go” could be attributed to the manner in which they had performed against Pakistan, who right up to the day of the match, were rated the better team.
It was to Lanka’s misfortune that skipper Sanath Jayasuriya made what was considered by many as “an error of judgment about The Wanderers wicket,” when he offered the first use of the same to the Indian team. A greater misfortune for the islanders was that the opening gambit of Sehwag’s teaming with Tendulkar finally came to full bloom. The two registered the highest partnership of the eighth World Cup so far.
The start was so good and brisk that the run-rate was never a problem for the Indian team. There was nevertheless an air of confidence even though the total of 292 found the Indian team at least 30 runs short of the expected target.
The manner in which the Indian bowlers went about their task has hardly ever been seen before. People were left rubbing their eyes in disbelief, whether it was the Indian pace attack that was doing this hasty demolition job to reduce Sri Lanka to 40 for 5. It led them to their most disastrous defeat in recent years.
For India, for decades, the spinners have played havoc with the opposition batsmen. Even when the likes of Kapil Dev held center stage and had ended up at one time as the highest wicket-taker, he had the support of spin at the other end. The metamorphosis to pace as a potent weapon was complete at The Wanderers the other day. It was so complete that only three pacemen, Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra, sufficed to knock the stuffing out of the strong Sri Lanka side.
Talking of aggression, it was seen not only in the manner in which the three speed-merchants displayed their ware, each touching the speed-gun at 145 kph, but also the rare attacking field that was deployed. There were no less than four slips, a deep gully, a short fine-leg and a forward short-leg right through Lanka the innings.
For those accustomed to watching limited-overs cricket, this indeed was a rare sight. The first 15 overs permit the fielding side only two men to field outside the 30-yard circle. The rules also stipulate that at least two fielders be in close-catching positions. The options of these close positions are chalk-marked. Instead of two, the Indians had six men in close catching positions. This kind of field has never be employed even by Australia in their matches so far.
The cluster of fielders around the batsmen, waiting like vultures, reminded one of the Test matches of the yore when teams with formidable pace attack had an umbrella field, which had earned the name of Carmody, an Australian captain who had devised it to intimidate the batsmen.
The last time that one had seen the Carmody field was when the Australian pace duo of Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee were going great guns and mowing down the opposition. Well, Saurav Ganguly is no Carmody, and may, perhaps, have not even heard of him. But he was seen at his attacking best as a captain. Consequently, the Sri Lankan batsmen just could not do a thing right, so intimidated were they. What had made this rare, attacking field effective was the brilliant fielding of the Indians.
This performance, coming on top of the one against Pakistan, must now make Ricky Ponting and his Aussies take notice of a team that many now consider as the only one to upset the applecart of the champions.
Surely, the only defeat for the Indians in this tournament, and a humiliating one at that, had come against Australia in the league stage. But as the remarkable march continues, that failure is well behind them. Both, England and New Zealand, have given enough indications that the Australians are not so invincible, as they seem to be.
