Tendulkar inspires new world order with immaculate inningsPeter Roebuck
March 5, 2008
A MATCH jam-packed with desperate action has brought a pulsating summer to an appropriately dramatic conclusion.
It was a contest full of thrills and spills, first Sachin Tendulkar seemed to have won the series for his team. Then the Indian lower order faltered. Australia collapsed again but as the crowd roared, so James Hopes restored hope for his overheated side. And then, with two cricketing countries agog, a mighty visiting captain tossed the ball to his most vulnerable bowler and the deed was done. It was enormous. Might have been a changing of the guard.
Apart from the frenzied finish and the curious outbreak of tackles on the field, the abiding memory of the match came from Tendulkar's bat. The first final, in Sydney, had produced one of the game's finest chasing innings. Alas, the hullabaloo distracted attention from Tendulkar's hundred. Accordingly, reporters hoped for a second helping from the maestro. Happily he obliged with a superb effort in the second final.
Over the past 15 years, cricket enthusiasts have enjoyed many delights but two stand out. Anyone able to follow the careers of Tendulkar and Shane Warne at close quarters has been privileged. They count among the most enchanting and compelling cricketers the game has seen. Both were craftsmen of high calibre but also artists of supreme talent. Warne was a mesmerising tweaker with a fiercely competitive streak. The Indian remains a classical batsman unburdened with ego and capable of exquisite strokeplay.
Magnificent in Sydney, Tendulkar produced another well paced innings. It is not so long ago that observers wondered whether the time had come for the veteran to slip down the order. He had been losing his wicket to the new ball and seemed to have lost his edge. Recently, another critic pointed out that Tendulkar had never scored a one-day hundred in Australia and had a relatively poor record chasing targets. Never awaken the sleeping tiger.
Although Brett Lee beat him with a couple of frisky outswingers, Tendulkar looked comfortable from the first ball. At such times his bat appears as wide as the Suez Canal. The straight drive is the cornerstone of his batting and he plays it perfectly. To this solid foundation he adds fertile strokes square of the wicket and improvisations executed with imagination and dexterity. But the drive past the bowler tells the tale. It is an immaculate stroke unfurled without any hint of flamboyance.
Spectators find in it the same satisfaction as a mathematician does in a formula. Tendulkar does not indulge himself at the crease. His style is not a style at all, merely his way of scoring runs. Even the apparently cheeky upper cut and the reverse sweep aired yesterday take into account score and field. He calculates and then commits.
Not that every straight drive is the same. Normally the ball is punched past the bowler with an abbreviated swing. Facing Stuart Clark, he adjusted his stroke, rolled his writs at impact and still managed to send the ball speeding past deep mid-on. If the seamer was nonplussed by this offering, he must have been startled by the batsman's next creation as a good length delivery was blasted past him off the back foot. Few men have been able to play the straight pull.
The Indian also took delight in guiding lifters over the slips, the shot that kept the score rattling along in Sydney. Nor is he content merely to elude the catchers. Depending on the field, he places the ball wide or fine. At one stage at the Gabba, Ricky Ponting sent two colleagues to patrol the third-man boundary whereupon the batsman sent the ball between them. It is difficult enough to find the gaps with orthodox strokes.
Tendulkar is also adept at developing singles off accurate deliveries. Either he stuns the ball towards gully and scampers or he steers the ball behind point with a stroke reminiscent of a monarch knighting a favoured admiral. Accordingly he does not allow pressure to build.
After a bright start, Tendulkar pushed the score along steadily, biding his time and allowing fresher partners to take risks. Although the Australians had raised their game, especially in the field, where Michael Clarke excelled, the Indian opener marched impressively towards a final onslaught. But the 90's have often been his undoing, so much so that his eldest son has advised him to hit a six as soon as he reaches 94. Tendulkar did not get that far, a weary stroke bringing him down. For the 17th time he had lost his wicket within 10 runs of an ODI hundred.
India defended their score with spirit and left the country with heads held high. Throughout a contentious trip these tourists played with tenacity and audacity. It has been a colossal struggle between an ageing champion and a bold challenger.
This story was found at:
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/03/04/1204402456194.html
AuthorTopic: Ind vs Aus CB Series 2nd final.. Pre/post-Match discussion and match thread (Read 9930 times)
