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[Jun 2001] - Bulawayo test - when India finally won away, first data analyst for Indian team and Rent a crowd scheme by ZCU


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VIJAY LOKAPALLY

IT was a rare feeling. Too much has indeed been made of a Test win outside the subcontinent, but then all these years the same team was hounded by the critics for not even winning in Zimbabwe. So, when the same team won in Zimbabwe, there was reason for it to get together and there was reason for the players to celebrate.

"It's important," said Rahul Dravid. "It's important we celebrate our successes whenever we get the opportunity to do so."

V. V. KRISHNAN
24250481.jpgTendulkar and Das return after accomplishing the mission.

He was right to a large extent. For 15 years, the team traversed the cricket world but won just two Test matches, both in the sub-continent. One against Sri Lanka at Colombo in 1993 and the other against Bangladesh at Dhaka in 2000. Victories, yes, but not the kind you remember fondly.

Even this win was not the kind which would have set the Zambezi on fire. It came against a side which was considerably depleted in the bowling department, and which chronically lacked the temperament to play Test cricket. How else would you explain the indisciplined batting on the first day of the match? Zimbabwe, strictly speaking, lost the Test match that day.

Dave Houghton used to feel miserable when his team was described as just another squad and not really worthy of Test status. Too many resounding defeats had hampered Zimbabwe's efforts to progress as a Test team and as a team which deserved a place in the family of Test playing nations. It took time for Zimbabwe to make a mark even though just five victories in its nine-year Test history may not be the best advertisement for its potential. The team has lost far too many matches which it should not have lost.

V. V. KRISHNAN
24250482.jpgLaxman is poised to pouch Carlisle off Nehra in the second innings.

The loss in four days against India at the pretty venue in Bulawayo was not a surprise. The Zimbabweans had expected the track at the Queen's Sports Club to be their ally. It was nice and flat, but then their batting stumbled against an attack which could not have been said as being hostile at any point.

It was a poor performance by Zimbabwe and the Indians very nearly wasted the opportunity to build on the advantage. It was a typical response from the Indians with the openers failing to give a solid start and the middle order not able to keep the bowlers at bay.

"I know we should've batted better but then we did recover to win the match," said Ganguly. He acknowledged the fact that the top-order batsmen had thrown the advantage away and it was only some wonderful batting by Harbhajan Singh and Sameer Dighe that saw the team through.

V. V. KRISHNAN
24250483.jpgCarlisle edges Zaheer to Laxman in the first innings.

"If you ask me, it's a great feeling to have won away from home. It required almost everyone to dig in but then that's what team effort is all about. We all were confident and I'm glad this time we didn't let the opportunity go by," said Ganguly, remembering all those occasions when India came close to winning in the West Indies, New Zealand, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Shiv Sundar Das earned praise from all quarters for his batting in this match. The hundred in the preceding match had been a good warm-up for this Oriya and he conceded, "I was a little nervous but I'm glad I could manage to keep my composure."

It had been a long journey and the Indian team had made a lot of efforts to realise its resolve to win overseas. The bowlers may not have been at their best on the first morning, but the Zimbabweans were too obliging.

V. V. KRISHNAN
24250484.jpgAndy Flower, who top-scored for Zimbabwe in each innings, cuts Harbhajan Singh.

"It's difficult for any team to come back into the match after a first innings collapse. It cost us the match. We didn't bat well in the first innings and gave away wickets cheaply. We should have applied ourselves better," said Zimbabwe skipper Heath Streak after India won the contest by eight wickets.

Ganguly was balanced in his assessment. "We're happy but then we ought to have batted better in the first innings. The best part of our win was the fielding. We've been working hard on this aspect and the Bangalore camp was the starting point for us. The difference is there to see," he said.

"Keep your feet on the ground," warned Dravid. He had passed the word around and was rightly guarded in reacting to the win. "It's a nice feeling but we've to realise that this is just the beginning. The challenges are not over and will come in Sri Lanka and South Africa. We're looking ahead and we're not getting carried away by this victory,"he said.

V. V. KRISHNAN
24250485.jpgGanguly falls, caught by Andy Flower off Streak.

But Dravid had a point to make. "It'll be nice to project this victory well. After all we all had to work hard for it. I'm sure this win will have a lot of impact on young kids back home. It certainly can be an inspiration."

It was a pity that the Test had such a poor response from the people of Bulawayo. The crowd was made up mostly of schoolkids who had great fun. But not their team where Andy Flower alone stood up to fight in the first innings. He came up with a neat innings in the second knock too and helped Zimbabwe put up a respectable challenge. This time, Andy was assisted by brother Grant and Stuart Carlisle but then the effort was not enough to make any impact on the contest. The target for India was hardly testing.

The talking point of the match, apart from Das' progress as a Test opener, was the disqualification of Ashish Nehra for running on the danger area. "It was hard on Ashish," said Ganguly while coach John Wright admitted that the monitoring of Nehra and Zaheer Khan's follow through should have been tighter. At one point, both Nehra and Zaheer were on two warnings each before the Delhi seamer was forced to be taken off.

V. V. KRISHNAN
24250486.jpgRamesh has no clue to this one from Watambwa.

It was a shattering experience for Nehra. He had looked the best bowler among the Indians and contributed immensely by removing Andy Flower in both the innings.

A feature of the Indian victory, as Ganguly rightly pointed out, was the splendid catching by Ramesh, Das, Laxman and Dravid. "The fielding was a strong point," said Ganguly.

Harbhajan's knock came in for praise from the skipper. "I was enjoying my batting. In fact, I was confident of getting a hundred," said Harbhajan of his brilliant knock.

It was a very calculated assault by Harbhajan and he was assisted well by Dighe, who batted most positively. "We kept talking to each other," said Dighe, who was also involved with Harbhajan in carving a win against Australia at Chennai.

The overall standard of the match never really rose above mediocrity. The empty stands and some average fare in the middle were poor advertisements for Test cricket indeed.

Brief scores: Zimbabwe 173 (A.Flower 51, Nehra 3-23) and 328 (S.Carlisle 52, A.Flower 83, G.Flower 71, Srinath 3-71) lost to India 318 (S.Tendulkar 74, H.Singh 66, Streak 3-63, Watambwa 3-94) and 184 for 2 (Das 82 n.o.).

 

Cast in Gavaskar

HIS infectious smile is what pleases his mates. But not the bowlers, for Shiv Sundar Das is a compact batsman, who knows the importance of making his wicket a precious commodity.

In carving an unbeaten 82 and shaping an easy win for India, Das took a giant stride in forging a place for himself in the team. "He's a quality player," said a beaming Sourav Ganguly. The skipper has played a big role in guiding Das from the time he made his debut last year.

Das is the product of a hard grind, a product of six years of training. His sincere pursuit to open the innings for India was built on the sound belief that he had the potential to make it. When the opportunity came, he grabbed it.

Aware that he had a role to play, Das concentrated hard. In the first innings he was unfortunate when ruled caught at silly point, the ball coming off the pads. In the second innings, Das was lucky when he nicked the ball down the legside and was ruled not out.

It was Das' crucial opening partnership with Sadagopan Ramesh which saw India make it quite comfortably. "We had planned it this way. There was no question of any panic because the pitch had eased out considerably," said Das, who won the 'Man of the Match' honours for his knock in the second innings.

Das built his innings well on the fourth day. He took care that he did not fall into the trap of the Zimbabweans when he was tested with short balls. "Sachin (Tendulkar) kept telling me to concentrate on my game and not to worry about scoring runs. He wanted me to remember not to get out," Das added.

An important aspect of Das' knock was the manner in which he paced his innings. There was a touch of class as Das let quite a few deliveries pass. It was a vital lesson he had learnt from Gavaskar. And then he pounced on the loose deliveries to keep the score moving. This was a lesson he had learnt from Tendulkar.

"He has good defence," remarked Tendulkar as Das dominated the attack. Having played a lot on matting wickets, Das has developed a very strong backfoot play. And it came in handy here as he produced some classy shots square of the wicket.

The intensity with which Das treats his job speaks of the man's passion for the game. An opener cast in the mould of Gavaskar, blunting the attack and gradually dominating it, Das promises to go far. The innings at Queen's Sports Club was a pleasant start in that direction.

Team was desperate to win anything after being deprived of it for more than a decade. I remember reading headlines in newspapers like "ghar me sher, bahar dher", it was common knowledge that while Indian team can challenge anyone in India, it was nothing once they stepped out. Hence when they finally won against Zimbabwe, this victory was huge relief for them.

 

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'Rent a crowd'

VIJAY LOKAPALLY

JUNE 7 : It is the first day of the Test match and the data analysis system in the Indian dressing room stops functioning. So typical of an Indian effort. We don't know how much difference it makes to the overall performance of the team on the field because Zimbabwe bats poorly. But Nandan, the cricket analyst from Bangalore, is a much harassed man. He looks as rattled as the Zimbabweans.

The Board has cleared him for the trip after much persuasion from coach John Wright and now the system has stopped functioning, making Nandan fret and fume. The computer failure sends him into the repair mode and by evening he is smiling. The cricketers have a job to do and so has Nandan, an affable software engineer and a former Karnataka wicketkeeper.

Nandan was a big help to the Indian team during the home series against Australia, travelling with the squad but not staying at the same hotel. And then running around to get his bills cleared was as taxing as his analysis.

On the trip to Zimbabwe, Nandan stays in the same hotel as the team and does not worry about the bills. Everything is taken care of and his job is to make his computer analyse the cricketers' game. His room is crowded with cricketers wanting to check on their weak and strong points and there the camaraderie is infectious. "A great asset," remarks one senior cricketer as he repeatedly watches his dismissal and makes a few mental notes on what to do and what not to. Nandan also makes a few notes in his mind. He is well-equipped and charged up too. The tour has just begun and so has his hard work.

June 8: "The buzz is missing," comments Craig Ray, the Reuters correspondent from Johannesburg. He is talking of the Test match buzz, which is certainly missing, as empty stands greet the cricketers at the Queen's Sports Club. It is in keeping with the trend these days where fans prefer watching the one-dayers instead of a five-day contest, which comes off as an ordeal for many employed people.

The Zimbabwe Cricket Union has hit upon a novel 'rent a crowd' scheme where schoolkids are packed into buses and brought to the ground. But the din created by the kids can't match the roar of a crowd which understands the intricacies of the game.

The kids' stand is a colourful area. They come in school uniforms and maintain amazing discipline. The kids are treated with cool drinks and handed lunch packets too. A lovely picnic for them really, basking in the sun, seeking autographs, having fun and not being marked absent in school. This is official duty and they are the official cheerleaders. But kids being kids, they cheer every boundary and every dismissal and it does not matter at all which camp, India or Zimbabwe, benefits. The best crowd for cricket one must say.

June 9 : Mrs. Naidoo is a very affectionate lady. She keeps aside some vegetarian food for five of us in the press tent. On the first day she is embarrassed when we ask for veg food. "No one told me about veg food," she says in mock anger. We manage with salads.

On the second and third days she has come prepared and takes great delight in serving us. "I've rice and some nice dal for you gentlemen. And there is a veg curry too," she welcomes us with a big smile. Today, she has added one more veg curry, a spicy one, to make it a feast really. "Enjoy your food gentlemen," she says and her face lights up when she learns that one more member of the scribes' party has turned vegetarian. She now has six men to take extra care of. But Mrs. Naidoo does not mind at all.

June 13 : There are few cricketers I have seen with books in their hands. The Australian team is well-equipped with lap-tops and should rank as the most advanced in this regard. Even the South Africans are well-versed with computers, as are the Kiwis and some Englishmen. But not many of them read books.

Sunil Gavaskar is an exception. He enjoys reading - from newspapers to magazines to books. The subject does not matter for Sunny.

On tours, he often packs his bags with the latest magazines and makes it a point to circulate them among the team members, provided they show interest. He would often bring issues of The Sportstar and film magazines for us and the players. He has stopped that now since these are the days of the internet. But he has not stopped carrying his books.

Once his stint in the commentary box is over, you can see Sunny engrossed in a book or rapidly penning his daily column. He is quite a professional and takes care not to miss the deadline. Every minute of Sunny's time is marked. There is a time to commentate, a time to eat and drink, a time to chat and a time to write. And of course a time to read his book.

 


So it took some effort from John Wright to pursuade BCCI to hire a cricket data analyst with whom cricketers could watch the videos and discuss weaknesses. Wonder how much more time would it have taken if Wright wasn't the coach. 

 

Even when he joined he wasn't allowed to stay with team and had to pay from his pocket and then get it reimbursed. 

 

Aussie team with laptops were most advanced. Some of these things seem amazing now.

 

http://www.sportstaronnet.com/tss2425/24250550.htm

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I remember this ,it was summer vacations time,won the first test and then couldn't last against Blignaught and threw a chance to win the series :facepalm:

Then the tri series ,looked gold in round games & choke in the finals

I remember VVS looked in Golden touch in two tests but threw away his 30-40s

It was also the first series with that original star sports commentary team,it was well before they all became bikau :hehe:

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