See what ‘rest’ can do. Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly were rested from the one-dayers against Bangladesh and were included only for the two Test-match series. Not that they were doing a whole lot of playing in the previous month of April after their return from the West Indies. But resting from a game is different from resting at home. Whatever take one may have on that, there is no room for complaint after the way the duo batted at Chittagong and thwarted Bangladesh’s ambitions on the first day. Their partnership of 163 on a pitch that afforded a bit of turn was a superb example of how to build a partnership brick by brick. Whenever the bad ball came along, it was dispatched to the boundary with very little fuss, and the only discordant note in the partnership was that they were never sure of each other’s calling for a run.
Ganguly is notorious for settling for two when there’s a possibility of a third run, and while it is okay if those runs are off his own bat, it can be a bit annoying if it is off his partner’s bat. The little champion made his displeasure clear more than once, but if there is one characteristic that is entirely Ganguly’s, it is unflappability. So all that Tendulkar got in return was a quizzical look from the southpaw, which actually defused the situation. In any case, both are old pros and hardly likely to lose concentration over a missed run and especially on a shirtfront wicket like this one. They would be looking for a double century each in the morning, and make sure that they don’t have to bat again in this game. That would of course mean a lost opportunity for Jaffer, Karthik and Dravid. Jaffer got a ‘jaffa’ of a ball to be out and Karthik got a tad overambitious and tried to pull a shortish ball without moving his feet and holed out to mid-off. Dravid, who was looking to fill his boots with runs and runs, was surprised by the extra bounce that Shahadat got, and must be kicking himself on missing out on a century.
If anything, it is harder to get a century against lesser attacks than against better attacks, as the intensity is not the same. While a batsman is physically prepared, it is in the mental aspect that he is not there against lesser attacks, simply because he doesn’t see a challenge in it, but then, as Dravid found out, all a batsman needs to do is make one error and he would be back in the pavilion.
So, don’t mock the hundreds that Tendulkar and Ganguly get, because it is a credit to their mental attitude more than their technical skills.
