Dravid,Tendulkar lead India’s strong reply

For others, it was the countless cups of tea which helped them stay awake. And the action? Well, it was the funny Henry Olonga again. Twice Olonga was hit for three fours in an over — first by Rahul Dravid and then by Sachin Tendulkar — suggesting that the Indians were game.

It was only a mirage. Otherwise, Rahul Dravid getting to the 3000-Test runs with his unbeaten seventh century (118 batting) was the news of the day. Young opener Shiv Sundar Das and Sachin Tendulkar were also untroubled by the so-pedestrian Zimbabwe offerings.

Yes sir, India’s worst fears were just figments of their own imagination as a defeat to Zimbabwe in the Test doesn’t quite seem to be on now. But, winning it from this stage too seems a remote possibility. Their approach so far confirms they are interested in anything but a victory. Even at a strong 275-2, just 147 runs behind Zimbabwe’s first-innings total of 422-9 declared, putting money on an Indian win would be too princely. After all, only 11 wickets have fallen in three days on this pitch!

Dravid came out positive. The blade of his bat got broader and broader after he decided to play straight, as in a mirror. Medium pacers crashed on to the hoardings and spinners, unable to judge the length as Dravid’s footwork helped him get wherever they pitched, were conceding runs in a flurry. Dravid got to 35 at run-a-ball and, wow, everybody thought let’s just sit and enjoy his batting.

Then, as the wicket slowed down progressively, Dravid changed gears. “After I was dropped (by Alistair Campbell off Heath Streak), I lost my rhythm. Also, after lunch they set a defensive field. Most of my strokes went to the fielders but I knew it was a matter of time before runs would start coming,” went Dravid’s explanation.

As Dravid struggled, the diminutive 22-year-old Orissa opener Das showed pluck and resolve to get to his maiden half century. Without getting carried away, indeed, Das was unruffled in his 146-ball 58. Das was comfortable on the backfoot, picking many runs with his cut shots. “I grew up on matting wickets, so I am strong on the backfoot-shots,” Das, who went to train in the Adelaide-based Australian Cricket Academy recently, said. “I was confident of doing well. I am delighted that I got a Test half century.”

Das blamed loss in his concentration for his dismissal. He was in a Catch-22 situation — faltered for a moment — went neither forward nor back and Olonga won the lbw appeal. Das, whose opening partner Sadagoppan Ramesh fell like him in the morning, is the seventh batsman India have sent out to open since last year’s series against New Zealand. So much for consistency in selection!

Tendulkar needed 23 minutes to get off the mark but Olonga’s turn came soon. Ever since Olonga made a song and dance right after claiming Tendulkar’s wicket in a game at Sharjah once, the little master hasn’t forgiven him. So, the faster Olonga bowled, he disappeared equally quicker into the outfield. Tendulkar, don’t talk how badly he needs his first Test century this year, is definitely eyeing the three-figure mark. He rarely took risks, but at an average two full tosses an over from the two Zimbabawe leg-spinners it only helped Tendulkar’s cause.

The wicket, Dravid says, “is still a perfect batting strip”. The new ball came on to the bat well in the morning and 91 runs came in the morning session. The pitch got slower and slower in the post-lunch session and the runs dried up, with only 78 runs coming in those two hours. And, when the Zimbabweans decided to take the second new ball late in the evening Dravid, with a century already under his belt, and a well-set Tendulkar reaped a flurry of fours to make the day’s total look formidable.

ZIMBABWE (Ist innings) 422-9 declared
INDIA (Ist innings)

Shiv Sundar Das lbw Olonga (211m, 146b, 6×4) 58
Sadagoppan Ramesh lbw Streak (75m, 53b, 1×4) 13
Rahul Dravid batting (352m, 239b, 17×4) 118
Sachin Tendulkar batting (205m, 162b, 10×4) 70
Extras: (b2, lb6, w2, nb6) 16

Total: (for two wickets in 99 overs, 418 mins) 275
Fall of wickets: 1-27 (Ramesh), 2-134 (Das)

Bowling: Heath Streak 20-7-39-1 Bryan Strang 23-7-70-0 Brian Murphy 22-3-51-0 Henry Olonga 14-3-51-1 Paul Strang 13-1-40-0 Grant Flower 7-1-16-0