Dinesh Mongia halts Aussies on Day 2
Prem Panicker
For an Indian cricket fan -- and increasingly, "Indian cricket fan" defines as someone who spends all his time peering at the clouds, hoping against hope to find the faintest trace of a silver lining -- the sight of the day was outside the actual playing field.
Within minutes of the Australian innings ending, even before the Board President's XI openers went out to begin the home side's reply at the Firozeshah Kotla, Sarandeep Singh and Rahul Sanghvi were seen at the practise nets. With them, John Wright. And with the trio, Bishen Singh Bedi.
For most of the morning, the erstwhile master-spinner was seen assiduously working with the two young Indians. Which may, or may not, make a difference to the ongoing series, but which does tell you that some at least of the young lads are as ready to learn, as Bedi and his ilk are to teach.
As for the game itself, the Australians opted to prolong their innings this morning, letting the tail wag for a further half hour, during which 38 runs were added to the overnight total. And the only reason you can think of for that ploy is that the Aussies probably figured on making the Board President's XI -- which probably expected a declaration some time yesterday evening -- fret and fume out in the middle for as long as possible.
Sarandeep used the extension to add one more to his bag, and collect a five-wicket haul. One thing you notice about the young lad is that he doesn't seem to funk when hit about, nor does he alter his line drastically after a good shot. Which generally indicates a bowler who is bowling to a plan and is confident enough to stick to it, despite the odd setback.
Given that the Aussies went into this game with a hugely depleted attack, one expected the BP XI batsmen to settle down to grind the tourists a bit, keep them out in the sun, frustrating their attempts to break through. But as so often happens, the wicket that was bland and full of runs for the Australians was substituted, during the changeover, for one whereon the Aussie seam bowlers got life, and movement.
Vijay Dahiya was the first victim -- a Fleming delivery jagging back off the seam to catch the opener pushing down the wrong line, to be trapped plumb in front.
Sridharan Sriram, hanging on for dear life, and Mohammad Kaif, demonstrating a wristy style of play, especially on the onside, that is obviously patterned on that of his hero Mohammad Azharuddin, took the home side in to lunch on 50/1, off 20 overs.
Kaif continued to look rock solid after the break, but good field placing, and great catching, took him out against the run of play. The batsman shaped to blast Colin Miller away through mid on -- the fielder, though, was standing very very close, and snapped up a great one.
That brought Indian skipper Saurav Ganguly to the middle -- and almost immediately, he found himself in trouble against Kasprowicz. Twice inside two overs, the right arm seamer's angle, and fullish length, plus the bounce he got as he banged the ball in, had Ganguly edging, the ball dropping short of second slip on both occasions.
Sridharan Sriram, meanwhile, was hanging on without ever looking particularly convincing, at the other end. Kasprowicz ended his tortured stay when he slanted one across the left-hander, Sriram waved his bat at it, and touched it through to the keeper.
Then followed the best session of play, for the home side. Ganguly, initially, sought to counter Colin Miller with his pad. A very narrow escape on a good shout for LBW forced Ganguly to rethink that strategy -- and once he began using his bat, he looked a lot better, more comfortable, against the off-spinner. This period saw Ganguly do one of his patented waltzes down the track, getting nicely inside the line of a Miller delivery, freeing his arms and swinging clean, to deposit the offie outside the stadium.
Against Mark Waugh, who unlike Miller opted to bowl over the wicket and focus on a fullish length and line of leg and middle turning to off, however, Ganguly seemed more edgy. He did make one attempt to hit the part-time offie off his line, but managed only a safe edge. Followed a spell of quiet cricket, and then Ganguly, visibly chafing under the restraints imposed by Mark Waugh, went charging down the track again, only to completely miss the line, play all around it, and find the ball curling from leg and middle onto his off stump, the Indian skipper walking back for 41, off 81 deliveries.
The most noticeable facet of play during the partnership between Dinesh Mongia and Ganguly was the lack of singles -- unlike the Aussies on day one, the Indians preferred the all-or-nothing approach and, time and again, preferred to stay in their creases even when the ball went in the V to fielders pushed a touch back.
That dismissal cued in the predictable collapse. Jacob Martin got a juicy full toss on off stump, and clipped it straight to midwicket. Kasprowicz added to his bag of victims with yet another angled delivery outside off -- for yet another left-hander, in this case Hrishikesh Kanitkar, to drive with bat away from body and put Ponting, at gully, in business.
Dinesh Mongia alone impressed. Judging by the evidence of his batting, both here and earlier during the Challengers, he has an impeccable temperament, an ability to stay calm amidst chaos, an eye quick to spot errors in line and length, and the batting skill to take maximum advantage of any leeway afforded by the bowlers. Also noticeable is his use of feet to the spinners -- classically Indian, in the way he stays inside the line as he steps out.
Having done all the good work, though, Mongia then blotted his copybook when he chose a method of dismissal identical to Sriram and Martin -- the bat-away-from-body waft at a slanting Kasprowicz delivery again finding the alert Ponting, at gully.
Sarandeep Singh's dismissal merits mention, if only to underline, afresh, how Indian players at the highest level often seem completely unaware of the basics. The tail-ender pushed forward at a delivery and got it on his pad, cuing the appeal. Rather than try to regain his crease, Sarandeep stood there looking at the umpire -- and silly point had the easiest of tasks, flicking the stray ball back onto the stumps.
Overall, the BPXI first innings continued a trend seen in recent times -- Indian sides, at any and all levels, seem increasingly incapable of batting out any length of time. The home side folded in just 66.4 overs -- or, given that 90 overs mark a full day's play, just over two sessions.
Steve Waugh had the option of enforcing the follow-on -- but sensibly, chose instead to give his frontline batsmen time in the middle. Hayden seemed a touch unlucky to be declared caught behind off a Hirwani googly that had the batsman pushing the wrong line -- though it needs adding that he was beaten fair and square. The Aussies, however, went in to close with no further loss -- and importantly, Michael Slater used the time out in the middle to get his batting act together again.
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