da bet7k： The scene for the triangular tournament moves to Bulawayo, whereZimbabwe desperately need a victory over India to keep alive theirfaint hopes of qualifying for the final of the first such tournamentto be held in their country
John Ward26-Jun-2001The scene for the triangular tournament moves to Bulawayo, whereZimbabwe desperately need a victory over India to keep alive theirfaint hopes of qualifying for the final of the first such tournamentto be held in their country.Zimbabwe have paid dearly for their on-going battle between playersand administrators. Faulty selections were followed by mediocrebowling and fielding on Saturday, immediately following Heath Streak’stemporary resignation, and they went down to what had hitherto been avery shaky-looking West Indies side. Their hopes to put this right thefollowing day against India were foiled by losing the toss on a damppitch, and they did not come up with the necessary fight to respond tothe challenge.Now, after two losses, the pressure is on them to win both theirremaining matches to reach the final, although even that would notquite guarantee their qualification. One victory would almostcertainly not be enough, and the way they performed against India onSunday does not encourage hopes of that on Wednesday. But Zimbabwe arenothing if not unpredictable, and do have the capability to beat boththeir opponents. The question is: do they have the spirit?On the positive side, playing in Bulawayo means that a good pitch andsimilar conditions for both sides are more likely than at the nownotorious Harare Sports Club. But Zimbabwe have rarely handledpressure well, and India must start the match as strong favourites.They will need better results from several of their batsmen if theyare to succeed, though, and the absence of Andy Flower is being sorelyfelt.India’s main problem would appear to be the continued poor battingform of their captain Sourav Ganguly. He now has to face the intensepressure of criticism from home, and find a way to break through thebarrier and get a sizable score behind him. No news has yet beenreceived on whether VVS Laxman will be fit to play after injuring hishand in Sunday’s match, but he also has something to prove after hiscomparative failures in the Tests, where he was perhaps a little tooeager to dominate.Zimbabwe know there is a great deal more to India’s batting thanSachin Tendulkar, and Laxman’s misfortune on Sunday meant anopportunity at number three for Hemang Badani, who seized it with bothhands. Should Laxman be unfit, the powerful hitter Virender Shewagwill be only too eager to make the most of his opportunity too.So far on tour, India’s bowling has done better than their batting.Ashish Nehra has quickly become the backbone of the attack, troublingthe Zimbabwean batsmen with his accuracy and movement, and his supporthas been good. Harbhajan Singh is learning how to adapt to Zimbabweanpitches and he will only get better. The fielding, too, has been arevelation.Zimbabwe will have their work cut out if they are to claw their wayinto the final of their own competition. They have probably lost toomuch ground, but past experience has shown that they can pull offtriumphs when they are least expected.