Heads roll, tail between legs after winning toss

Small wonder then that Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar were only eager to walk off when the umpires — Aleem Dar and Rudi Koertzen — offered them the light. Australian captain Ricky Ponting was not amused with the decision as the last two overs had been played under floodlights. He was involved in a lengthy discussion with the umpires before returning to the pavilion.

Coach John Buchanan, however, felt the decision of the ground officials was fair: ‘‘The light was pretty uneven all day. I think when you turn on the lights, it improves the conditions, but here it created more complications. Because behind the bowlers’ arm, it became darker.’’

Earlier in the morning, the surprise showers created an odd setting outside the Wankhede. Even as spectators were trooping in at 9.30 a.m., the scheduled start of play, both the teams were making their way out as the umpires had decided to make the first inspection at 12 noon.

During the indefinite wait, while the rookies were battling with the butterflies in their stomachs, one veteran was heading home for an apparent act of stupidity. It was learnt that the finger injury, which sidelined Shane Warne was caused when the legspinner removed his thumb guard while facing a local spin bowler at the training session on Tuesday. He paid a heavy price for it as the ball struck the thumb sending him out for the next four to six weeks.

In the little time that the teams spent on the field, Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie revelled in the tailor-made conditions. Sehwag’s expansive drive off McGrath ended in a death rattle and rookie Gambhir was a sitting duck to the hostile Gillespie.

Light intervened to break the 16 minutes of despair. By then, the Indians were in a familiar situation, and Dravid and Tendulkar got together with the score at 12 for 2. By the end of the day, Dravid — batting with purpose (9 off 16 balls, including two boundaries) — and Tendulkar — yet to score a boundary since his return (2 from 31 balls) — had soothed India’s nerves somewhat.

The action shifts to Thursday now, and the weatherman’s forecast of a cloudy day with light rain doesn’t augur well for the Indians, who have gone into the match with three spinners. The Indians will be excused for thinking the weather god is Australian, but in the time they get on-field on Thursday, the Indians will have to do their best to change the weather god’s allegiances.

Scoreboard

INDIA (1st Innings): G Gambhir lbw Gillespie 3; V Sehwag b McGrath 8; R Dravid batting 9; S Tendulkar batting 2.
Total (for 2 wkts in 11 overs): 22
Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-11.
Bowling: McGrath 6-4-9-1, Gillespie 5-0-13-1.