da supremo： So remarkable is the ability of Australian teams these days that thetask of successfully standing in the path between them and victoryborders on the verge of impossibility
John Polack30-Dec-1999So remarkable is the ability of Australian teams these days that thetask of successfully standing in the path between them and victoryborders on the verge of impossibility. Or so it seems at least afterthe locals today completed another resounding triumph, this time overIndia by the margin of 180 runs at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.To win a Test match is an exacting exercise in itself; it is anotherthing again to win a series (as Australia has now done in this threematch battle by virtue of its 2-0 lead); but to win six contests in arow at this level is a feat of rare accomplishment. Indeed, only oneAustralian team in the history of Test cricket has a more covetedrecord of consecutive triumphs – Warwick Armstrong’s 1920/21 outfitand its eight consecutive successes the only combination this currentside has still to equal. Yet the Australians achieved their win todaywith a minimum of fuss, a minimum of angst, and even a relativeminimum of wickets from principal strike bowlers Glenn McGrath (0/22)and Shane Warne (1/63). While Sachin Tendulkar (52) again devotedhimself admirably to the cause of reviving India’s fortunes, andalthough he was offered more support today with the bat than he hasbeen for much of this series, the result was rarely in doubt. Underthe leadership of Steve Waugh, the purposeful Australians dulyachieved this win with the same emphatic force that has accompaniedmost of the previous five.Waugh’s midas touch as a captain in fact continued to glitter in manyways today. Indeed, somehow he found a way to conjure two completelyunexpected, yet spectacularly successful, bowling changes in the midstof the innings that went a long distance to securing the win.The first came in the shadows of lunch (the penultimate ball of themorning session no less) when part time medium pacer Greg Blewettturned an uncertain Sourav Ganguly (17) drive at an innocuous, widedelivery into a fatal one by attracting an inside edge which directedthe ball into the visibly shattered left hander’s stumps.In terms of productivity, the second (which came in the over followingdrinks in the middle session) was even better. This arrived in theform of the introduction into the attack of occasional off spinnerMark Waugh and resulted in two wickets in successive deliveries. Atthe time, it appeared a strange move given that both HrishikeshKanitkar (45) and Mannava Prasad (13) had been pinned on to the backfoot by speedster Brett Lee (2/31) and by Warne until that point. Butit was one that could hardly be questioned when a flighted off breakthree balls into the over had Prasad lunging forward defensively andedging a low, beautifully taken catch to Warne himself at slip.More pyrotechnics then followed as Ajit Agarkar (0) exited for analmost inconceivable third successive first ball duck when he flashedhard at a short wide long hop and crashed the delivery straight intothe waiting hands of Blewett at a deep-set position at point.Although the third hat-trick ball of the series (this time a full tosswide outside off stump) was then crashed for four through the coversby Anil Kumble, the skipper suddenly assumed the mantle of astrategist of some sophistication as a result. That Damien Fleming wasalso able to claim the scalp of the cheekily defiant Kanitkar with thevery first ball of a new spell of his own in the death throes of theinnings only added to the extent of the Australian captain’s gleam.As his leadership was inspired, so his bowlers and fieldsmen wereadmirably purposeful. On a pitch that remained true in pace and bounceto provide some of the best batting conditions of the match, the pacebowlers to a man adhered to the disciplined principle of bowling inthe narrow corridor outside off stump for most of the day. Warne alsorefused to be bowed when his time-honoured strategy of pitching intofootmarks outside the leg stump of the Indian right handers did notgain him success initially and his ability to ultimately claimTendulkar told its own story about the quality of his effort.For the Indians, on the other hand, this was always likely to be anarduous day’s cricket. But it took a cruel turn for the worse whenopener Sadagoppan Ramesh (26*) was forced to retire hurt just fiveminutes into proceedings after playing out a maiden from Fleming.Wincing as a result of pain in the knuckle of his right thumb (thelegacy of being struck a debilitating blow to it yesterday evening byLee), Ramesh left the field never to return and he will not be backfor the Sydney Test either. Unfortunately for the tourists, thesituation could never really be rescued – not even by the masterfulTendulkar.Nevertheless, the full story of the day’s play could not be recountedwithout at least some reference to another excellent exhibition fromthe deservedly named man of the match. Indeed, through a little underthree hours at the crease, his was another sumptuous hand. He strodegracefully to the wicket against the backdrop of a reception whichtold of due reverence and maybe even of a sense of supplication (froma large Indian contingent here at least) too. A superb off drive offthe back foot formally announced his presence at the crease, beforeseveral delectable cuts, cover drives and pull strokes were unleashedin an innings in which almost every ball was played perfectly on itsmerits. He was caused two moments of early anxiety (with his score at16 and then at 20) when he twice offered no stroke to Warne but theywere the only signs of mortality that emerged in the lead up to lunch.It was in the 22 minutes following the adjournment that the result ofthe Test was essentially settled. For it was not only during thatphase of that day that a series of mackerel-coloured clouds rolling infrom the south-east chose to bypass the stadium, but also that evenTendulkar’s defences and reserves of concentration began to weaken.Ultimate crisis for the Indians came when he unwisely chose to padaway a Warne delivery which pitched on middle and off and spun onlyfractionally before striking him and giving umpire David Shepherd nochoice but to adjudge him lbw. This capped the end of a short burst ofplay during which the masterful right hander had been troubled anumber of times by Warne’s habit of pitching in and around footmarksoutside the line of leg stump and ripping prodigious leg breaks acrosshim from the Southern Stand End. To the jeering of the mass ofpatriotic Indian fans pocketed at the bottom of the Southern Standitself, the champion leg spinner had beaten a defending Tendulkar’sbat at least twice and also launched a number of lbw enquiries in themiddle of the teasing, probing spell.After Tendulkar had fallen, the match then progressed steadily to itsconclusion before a crowd growing in size on account of the nearinevitability of the Australian success. And it certainly becamedifficult to ignore the symbolism inherent in the fact that the sun(so rarely seen in Melbourne’s skies this week) made its most lengthyappearance of the match as Javagal Srinath (1) fended Lee straight tofirst slip and Kumble (13) was then run out at 4:18 pm in the finalact of this battle of attrition.