da 888casino： July 13th will always be remembered as a golden day in the annalsof Indian cricket hence
Erapalli Prasanna14-Jul-2002July 13th will always be remembered as a golden day in the annalsof Indian cricket hence. Under clear blue skies and with Lord’sbathed in golden sunshine, the Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly wentdown on his knees to kiss the hallowed turf after what could betermed as the greatest comeback win in one-day cricket history.The eventual win had looked highly improbable when India had lostfive of their top batsmen, including Sachin Tendulkar, with just146 runs on the board in 24 overs. But thankfully Saturday was towitness a miraculous recovery by the Indians and an end to ablighted sequence of nine straight losses in the finals of multiteam limited overs tournament.
© CricInfoAs far as I was concerned, the most satisfying aspect of this winwas that the heroes were two young men, who refused to give up inthe face of almost impossible odds, and went on to ensure thatall of India rejoiced in sweet victory. Mohammad Kaif and YuvrajSingh have indeed infused a new life into Indian cricket whilealso instilling a new-found belief in the millions of fans whosupport their team.One of the best matches played at Lord’s witnessed a deluge ofruns – 651 runs were scored in a matter of 99.3 overs – in whatturned out to be a summer treat for everyone present at theheadquarters of world cricket, including even the prim and MCC members.No one would have imagined at the start of the day that thefortunes of the would fluctuate sodramatically from one team to the other.I was a bit bemused by the Indian management’s decision to dropAjit Agarkar, who it has to be said has had a brillianttournament with the ball. It is another matter altogether thatHarbhajan Singh, his replacement, contributed with the bat at thedeath. Had India lost the match, the decision to play twospinners would have definitely come in for some much-deservedcriticism. There, however, is nothing like winning, and theycould be forgiven this faux pas after a win of suchincandescence.England have been playing some smart cricket under the ableleadership of Nasser Hussain. I have only deep respect forHussain’s leadership qualities; here is a man who has instilled alot of character into the England team. His decision to bat firstagainst an Indian side, which went in with just two mediumpacers, was by all counts right.Having said that, Hussain disappointed with his decisions towardsthe closing stages of the game; the field placements were allawry and there was a certain complacency in his team’s approachwho it seemed almost expected India to buckle under the pressureof having to score 326 runs. In my opinion, Hussain, then, giftedIndia a memorable win.
© CricInfoThis after Marcus Trescothick had ignited the England inningswith a luminescent start in the morning. Trescothick, in myopinion, must rank right up there in the order of merit with thevery best in the world. Along with Matthew Hayden, he must rankas the best opening batsman in business today.He played an impeccable innings, not resorting even once to anunorthodox short on a placid track; there were runs to be scoredand he showed how to get them in style without the slightestfuss. When you have efficiency, class and character blending likethey did in Trescothick’s innings, there is very little thatbowlers can do.In contrast to Trescothick, Hussain looked like a man who haddragged excess baggage with him into the middle. I was not amusedby his antics after scoring his maiden ODI hundred – pointing hisnumber three on the shirt to a few of his detractors. It was nota polished hundred by any stretch of the imagination.The England captain wasted too many scoring opportunities bytrying to play the reverse sweep. There is a time and place foreverything; a big final at Lord’s is simply not the place to trythings out – that is what nets are for.It is a completely different story that Andy Flower plays thatstroke to perfection; the many indefatigable hours of practicethat he put in has made Andy a master at it. I am sure that ifHussain had played sensible cricketing shots, England would havescored 20-odd runs more in the end. There were 59 dot balls inhis innings and on a belter of a track that simply wasunacceptable.Coming to the Indian challenge, it threatened to vapourise afterGanguly and Sehwag had given their team a good start with somebrave and innovative hitting. Yes, India has been playing somegood cricket in England. But on the day of the big final,Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar were guilty of notapplying themselves. Everyone knows that Tendulkar is a classbatsman, and this makes it the more difficult for me to believethat someone like Giles actually gets the better of him inpersonal duels.When it all looked dead and buried, the two young men – Kaif andYuvraj – refused to accept defeat, a very positive attitude thatmight soon change the face of Indian cricket. We have seen somany times in the past, the Indian team folding up when victoryis well within their grasp.
© CricInfoNo words are enough to praise Kaif for a wonderful exhibition ofbatting; it was simply sublime, not one wild slog even whenthings looked so desperate. Yuvraj Singh also played yet anotherinnings of character, taking his time to settle before openingout to punish the part-time bowlers.The temperament, self-belief, natural talent and hunger forsuccess that they displayed, makes these two guys real matchwinners. I sincerely hope that the selectors take note of thisand retain them for the Test series too.Andrew Flintoff bowled very well in the end and almost gaveEngland a realistic shot at victory. But Kaif put paid to hishopes; the Indian middle-order batsman kept a cool head and tookhis team to a sensational victory.Great indeed as Kaif’s and Yuvraj’s contributions were, I cannothelp remarking that Hussain made it easier for the duo by somestrange field placements. Kaif was finding the ropes at midwicket with such ease and yet most of the fielders were on theoff-side.I am sure India will take the belief gained from this victory tothe upcoming Test series. The morale must be sky high in theIndian camp, and they now have a real chance of upsetting Englandin the Test series. This indeed is the time for a whole nationto rejoice.