Warne dreams of Paradise Regained

When Shane Warne walks out into the middle of the Eden Gardens, the oldest cricket club outside of England, on Sunday March 11, it will for him be the start of a mission. A mission to erase memories.

It was at the Eden Gardens, three years ago to the month and almost to the day, that Australia suffered an innings and 129 runs thrashing at the hands of the Indian team. It was the biggest total India had put up against Australia in 60 years, the biggest margin of victory for India against Australia.

The defeat among other things was the first occasion that Australia had lost in Calcutta; it also signalled the end of a streak that saw Australia remain undefeated for nine successive series. It was also the biggest margin of defeat suffered by Australia since the 1938 Oval Test, when England did them by a margin of an innings and 579.

For Shane Warne, it was purgatory. In India's only innings, Warne bowled 42 overs, conceeding 147 runs without taking a wicket -- his biggest every thrashing.

What India did, to an Australian team depleted by injuries, was murder on the cricket field. Though Roman collisseum would be the more appropriate analogy -- 90,000-plus fans attended each day of the Test, screaming and baying for blood while the Indian team toyed with a wounded, and fast fading, Australian outfit under Mark Taylor.

Mohammad Azharuddin, who is to Eden Gardens what Adam was to the Garden of Eden, continued his incredible run on that ground with a blazing, unbeaten 163. And Sachin Tendulkar, who at one point told coach Anshuman Gaekwad that the key to a win was to score runs at lightning speed, went out into the middle and delivered on that with a barnstorming 79 off just 86 balls, that powered India to 633 for five declared and left enough time on hand for the home side to bowl the battered opposition out.

Perhaps, however, it is time for a flashback within a flashback. Because the demolition of Warne actually began earlier the same month, in Chennai.

In the first innings of that Test, Sachin Tendulkar riding on an unbeaten, barnstorming double hundred for Mumbai in the tour game against the tourists, blasted the first ball he received, from Warne, to the mid off boundary. Four balls later, he was walking back -- to stunned silence -- after being caught by Mark Taylor at first slip, off Warne's bowling.

Came the second innings, and a confident Warne began beautifully, beating the bat time and again with his big-turning leg breaks. His first five overs conceeded 10 runs, and a wicket seemed imminent with every ball he bowled.

That cued in Navjot Singh Sidhu, at the time international cricket's longest-serving player, into a counter-attack of awesome proportions. Warne's next three overs went for 33, including 15 (two fours, one six, one no-ball) from the last of those. And Sidhu raced to a half-century of which 30 runs came in boundary hits, all off Warne.

That opened the floodgates -- Sidhu yielded space at the crease to Tendulkar, who responded with an unnbeaten 155 at almost a run a ball. And Warne's misery culimnated at the hands of skipper Mohammad Azharuddin, who belted his final over in a sequence that read 4-dotball-four-four-dotball-six.

It was counter-attacking cricket of the highest order -- precisely the kind of cricket India appears to have forgotten since. And it set the stage for what was to happen in Calcutta later the same month.

Of the many obituaries that were written in the aftermath of the Calcutta carnage, perhaps Bishen Singh Bedi in his column said it best: "Eventually, when the hurt dies down, Warne will treasure this thrashing. Even the great bowlers have to have a bad series sometime, and Shane hadn't really had one up to this point. This will make him think about things that work and things that don't."

Warne has had two years to do just that. Think. And get his shoulder back on song. And come back, not alone this time but as part of a pack of bowlers who thrive on the scent of blood. And a batting lineup capable of giving him and his mates enough to bowl at.

Facing him, will be some names from that time. VVS Laxman, who scored 95. Rahul Dravid, who weighed in with 86. Saurav Ganguly, who contributed 65. And Tendulkar, who blasted an even-time 79.

Missing will be Navjot Singh Sidhu, who began the slaughter in Calcutta with 97 runs, including 10 in an over that kick-started the demolition job on Warne. And Azhar, who over time had made the Gardens his private turf, to lord over at will.

Different, too, will be the mental frame of the two teams. Three years ago, Australia went to Calcutta on the heels of a 179-run defeat in Chennai. This time, India go to the Gardens carrying on their backs the monkey of a 10-wicket defeat inside of three days, at Mumbai.

For the home team, a test of strength of mind and character. For Warne, an opportunity for revenge. For the fans, in the arena-like atmosphere of the Gardens, a cricket contest that has make or break implications for the home side, led by Kolkatta's favourite son, Saurav Chandidas Ganguly.

Now, if only the authorities can keep bottles from winging their way onto the ground...

Postscript: Some grounds bring out the best in some batsmen. Dilip Vengsarkar at Lord's is one example. The now-in-disgrace Azharuddin at the Gardens is another.

Follows, courtesy Mohandas Menon, the checklist of his outings at the venue:

Mohammad Azharuddin at Eden Gardens...
Runs	Series	Against	Result
110	1984-85	England	Drawn (debut Test match)
141	1986-87	Pakistan	Drawn
60	1987-88	West Indies	Drawn
182	1992-93	England	Won by 8 wkts (as Capt)
109 & 52	1996-97	South Africa	Lost by 329 runs
163*	1997-98	Australia	Won by ings/219 runs (as Capt)
23 & 20	1998-99	Pakistan	Lost by 46 runs (as Capt)
7 matches, 9 innings, 1 not out, 860 runs (avg. 107.50), 5 100s, 2 50s

Leading individual run scorers at Eden Gardens...
Batsman	Runs	M	Inn	NO	Ave	HS	100's	50's	0's
M Azharuddin	860	7	9	1	107.50	182	5	2	0
DB Vengsarkar	645	7	12	3	71.67	157*	2	2	0
SM Gavaskar	583	8	15	2	44.85	182*	2	1	2
ML Jaisimha	530	7	13	1	44.17	129	1	2	1
GR Viswanath	501	8	15	0	33.40	139	1	3	1

Read Also:

Srinath, Kumble rock Aussies -- report of Day One

India on song at the Gardens -- Day Two report

Azhar rules, in his personal paradise

India makes it 2-0

All about the Eden Gardens

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