Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The road to victory at Chepauk is always difficult terrain. Two days have passed into another riveting contest and many more obstacles remain for either side. The Indians managed to conquer a few on Friday and nosed ahead of their Australian opponents. And it was the flamboyant Virender Sehwag who battled a few demons within and on the pitch to drive home the Indian advantage.
But another middle-order disorder triggered by the mean and magnificent medium-pacers Jason Gillespie, Glenn McGrath and Michael Kasprowicz nearly closed the gates for the Indians. Rare bloopers by the Australian fieldsmen ensured that the Indians sneaked to a 56-run cushion with four wickets in the hut.
An error in judging a wrong 8217;un brought about Pathan8217;s dismissal and the world record for Warne but by then Pathan had fullfilled the task assigned to him. Unfortunately, none of the other premier batsmen displayed similar attributes: patience and perseverance. Rahul Dravid 26 did settle in, but only just. And for too little time.
Sehwag then single-handedly dealt with the Australian attack as an out-of-sorts Sourav Ganguly 9 and a tentative VVS Laxman 4 perished in the last session.
8216;8216;I always knew that once I scored a fifty, I could get a hundred. It was a matter of spending time at the crease,8217;8217; Sehwag said, stressing, 8216;8216;nothing8217;s changed in my batting.8217;8217;
The Sehwag of old returned once he had crossed the 80s, as balls flew around the park with some getting too close to fielders for comfort. 8216;8216;Maybe my shot selection could have been wrong,8217;8217; Sehwag was to say simply later in the day, having logged his highest score on Indian soil.
Later in the day, under lights brought on to compensate for the slow over rate, Mohammed Kaif and Parthiv Patel survived a few close calls and stood their ground to frustrate the Aussies further. 8216;8216;A lead of 150,8217;8217; according to Sehwag, is what the Indians are looking at.
The morning session on Saturday presents India with a great chance of building on the advantage. As has been witnessed in the past two days, the conditions tend to get difficult as the day wears on. The older, softer ball tends to keep low and reverse swing becomes a lethal weapon for the fast bowlers. Similarly, the variable bounce and slowness of the pitch turn the spinners into weapons of mass destruction.
Also the Indians8217; ploy to go after the spinners is fraught with danger, especially against Warne, who claimed to have bowled his best spell on Indian soil today.
8216;8216;I created lot of chances and worried the Indian batsmen, who didn8217;t know whether to play straight or which way it was turning,8217;8217; he would say later.
The Australians, on the other hand, would be looking to terminate the Indian innings at the earliest and then pile a sizeable total to make India battle a fifth day pitch. 8216;8216;We are going to fight back,8217;8217; Warne threatened.
It appears that we have a classic in our hands again.
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SCOREBOARD
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AUSTRALIA 1ST INNINGS: 235 J Langer 71, M Hayden; A Kumble 7-48 |
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