India hammer Zimbabwe and avenge world cup defeat

Arjun Raja is a NRIOL featured sports columnist. To read about Arjun Raja, please Know more.

After a really long time, the Indian team clicked as a unit and showed why most sides fear the strength of our batting. Zimbabwe had beaten India in the World Cup and that defeat hurt the Indians throughout until they were sent home sans a semi-final place.

This match was certainly a grudge match as far as the Indians were concerned, even though it may have been on a smaller stage at the Kallang in Singapore. The match itself was reduced to 30 overs a side after overnight rain had rendered the ground unfit for play.

Sachin lost the toss and India was sent in to bat, in hindsight a decision which allowed the full house as well as the millions watching on TV a chance to witness one of the most exhilarating displays of batting by Jadeja and Sachin, who added 143 runs in just 18 overs.

It was Sachin who started off with a bang, smashing the ball all over the park and raced to 30 in just 14 balls. However the dismissal of Ganguly and Dravid in quick succession meant Sachin had to consolidate. Both Saurav and Rahul perished playing shots not part of their repertoire - ungainly swipes to leg. Jadeja walked in and looked in fantastic touch from ball one. He smashed the first of his six sixes over deep square leg of spinner Whittall and then the floodgates opened.

Both Jadeja and Sachin ran ... their singles hard, streets ahead of the rest of the Indians in the department of running between wickets with the probable exception of Robin Singh. When they tired of running, the ball was smashed out of the ground (at will I might add) and soon the total was nearing mammoth proportions for a 30 overs game.

The Zimbabwean bowling was disappointing to say the least, it lacked penetration or direction (14 wides were bowled) and classy batsmen are not going to let them get away.

Sachin sadly holed out at 85 in 72 balls when well in sight of his 24th century in one day cricket.

Jadeja pulled a muscle in his right leg quite seriously and was helped off the field unable to continue. But to my mind, his was the innings of the match - 88 in just 61 balls with 6 cleanly hit sixes as well. Quite strange that Sachin Tendulkar was given the MOM award later in the day.

It was Jadeja's onslaught that allowed Sachin to settle down once the two early wickets had fallen. Once the skipper felt the side was out of trouble, he broke loose as well. From then on it was Christmas come early for the Indian fans in Singapore.

The remainder of the batting was not very thoughtful especially Khurasiya who failed again. He should be a little selfish to survive in international cricket. He tried to hit every ball out of the ground and mind you he played only five of them and was dismissed caught behind for 5. He should have concentrated on giving Jadeja the strike. A few more failures and he will be back playing domestic cricket and we all know making a comeback is the hardest part of Indian cricket.

A total of 245 for 6 wkts in 30 overs was always going to be a tough one but Zimbabwe messed up their chances further by some silly batting. The top 4 players were all back in the tent by the end of the 6th over with the score reading 20 for 4. Poor cricket. However credit should not be taken away from both Mohanty and Prasad who bowled very well in conditions which suited their style of bowling.

Mohanty, who is a vastly underrated bowler, claimed 3 quick wickets (he got 3 for 28) proving once again that he is dangerous at the highest level in international cricket. In the one day arena, few bowlers swing the ball away from the right hander for fear of bowling wides. Mohanty on the other hand bowls a fuller length, swings the ball predominantly away but can surprise the batsman with the off cutter as well. The fact that he plays so rarely for India also helps him as most teams do not know what to expect. Ask England (from the World Cup) and now Zimbabwe.

His early wickets along with Prasad's wicket of Johnson meant the game was over by over number six. Anil Kumble had an opportunity to get a little confidence back and bowled well in patches. However he must be upset that he gave away the most runs - 30 in 6 overs for 2 wickets. Usually Anil is the guy who gives away the least runs. However I am certain he will bounce back when NZ tour India in October. He is simply too committed and intelligent to fail for long. He must remember that even bowlers have a bad patch in the same manner as batsmen.

Zimbabwe scored 130 for 8 in reply to lose by 115 runs - a massive margin of defeat in such a short game. Andy Flower with a few wonderful reverse sweeps was the only batsman to click with 63 n.o. in 69 balls.

India can feel happy to have avenged the loss in the World Cup in such a resounding manner. But greater battles requiring the same level of commitment lie ahead in the form of the West Indies who they meet on Sunday, and the inevitable hype has already begun of a Lara vs Tendulkar affair.

Both teams have already qualified for the final scheduled for Tuesday -7th of Sept.

Brief Scores :
India 245 for 6 in 30 overs (reduced)
Jadeja 88 retd hurt, Sachin Tendulkar 85.
Zimbabwe 130 for 8 in 29 overs (one over penalty for slow over rate)
Andy Flower 63 n.o.
Mohanty 3 for 28, Kumble 2 for 30.  Read more 

- Arjun Raja in Dubai, UAE
1999

The views of this column are the author's own, and do not necessarily represent the views of NRI Online.

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