India self destructed at Eden Gardens and it was not a beautiful sight for not just the 1,00,000 spectators there, but also the millions who were watching it on TV. They had such a magnificent opportunity to put one across to the Aussies having restricted them to less than 250 but their much vaunted batsmen messed it up and very badly too.
The omens were not right what with Ganguly unable to play and the toss being lost.
Then Laxman who is one of the safest catchers in the business grassed Ponting before he was set, and then dropped a couple more and the disease jut spread rapidly. Still the bowlers stuck to their task and toiled away. Agarkar got rid of the dangerous Gilchrist with a cleverly disguised slower one and he kept nagging away in spite of those catching errors. What was impressive was the way he disguised his emotions and went back to the bowling mark something which his more celebrated teammates can learn from. After all in a team game it’s better not to demoralize a fielder by giving him a glare after he has dropped a catch. Murali Kartik and Harbhajan Singh also bowled superbly and had the Australian batsmen tied up.
Martyn played some pleasing shots and as always Michael Bevan was there to see that the Aussies had a decent finish. The sprint to that finish was given by young Michael Clarke who showed no nerves but lots of innovation as he powered Australia to the score that they finally finished up with.
Even then with less than five an over to get and the world’s best batsman in their side, the Indians must have been confident of getting to the score.
The chase wasn’t started well, with Sehwag falling quickly. Laxman naturally wanted to atone for his fielding lapses and began well with some wristy flicks to the leg-side but luck certainly wasn’t with him as he got a ‘roller’, which went through to bowl him.
The two men in form Tendulkar and Dravid began the repair job and were helped by some unimaginative bowling from Bichel who gave them deliveries on the pads which they gleefully tucked away for runs, and with it the pressure seemed to ease and even the Eden crowd exhaled with relief.
As the partnership grew one could sense the Aussies getting a bit charged up. This is what makes them the champion team they are.
For where other teams let their heads drop the Aussies begin to attack the ball more in the field, come in closer to the batsmen and generally give the impression that they have something up their sleeve. All they were really doing was waiting for the first mistake, and that happened surprisingly from the little champion who shaped for an expansive drive leaving a gap big enough for a tank to drive in. The off-stump went flying toward Gilchrist and with it went India’s chances of winning the game. Yuvraj failed yet again in the tournament, but Badani keen and eager to establish himself in the side built a good partnership with the ‘Rock’ Dravid and Indian hopes were rekindled again. However the Aussie whirlwind was just too strong and once again a mistake resulted which blew away India’s hopes. Agarkar made some defiant shots, but the fight had gone out of the Indians even as the crowd disappointingly started to catch the early transport home.
It was a case of so near yet so far and while lots of individual awards were taken the one that the country wanted was denied as the world champs added another trophy to what must be pretty stuffed showcase. The win would have done wonders to the Indian morale before they left for Australia. Now of course they will be worried what’s in store for them, with the injured players rejoining the team for the Tests. After all if they can’t get 236 against a second-string attack what will they do against the full-fledged attack? Your guess is as good as mine.
