Indian captain8217;s error proves costly

Tendulkar had a marvellous first session as skipper, making all the right moves but he erred after lunch in bowling Ganguly rather than Anil Kumble into the wind. The Adelaide Oval pitch dries out quickly during the lunch break and often the moisture that assists the seamers in the first session is long gone by the second andmedium-pacers become fruit for the sideboard.

Ponting isn8217;t a fruitarian, but he feasted sumptuously on Ganguly8217;s medium-pacers and that prepared him perfectly for anyone else who took the ball. Being a strong player of the back foot Ponting is ideally equipped to take advantage of the short side boundaries at Adelaide and he played some wonderful forcing shots and pull shots. He was in such control that it came as a surprise when he got an underneath edge to an Agarkar short delivery but he was reprieved by umpire Steve Dunne.

Dunne had done it again. I8217;ve always considered umpire Dunne a bit of a no8217; man when it comes to lbw decisions. Generally when those types crack and give an lbw it8217;s a shocker and on this occasion Justin Langer was on the receiving end of a bad one, having got a thick inside edge to a good Venkatesh Prasad delivery.

This was a classic example of how the game of cricket has its own way of getting even. Langer had scored two successive Test centuries, the first one contributing toa miracle win over Pakistan after Wasim Akram8217;s men thought they had the left-hander caught behind. Dunne8217;s dubious decision appeared to even that ledger and it was also one-all team wise, but it was definitely two black marks against the umpire.

Ponting had another let off when VVS Laxman grassed a difficult one at second slip and Steve Waugh could so easily have been run out when he made an ambitious call and Rahul Dravid missed from close range. It is these opportunities that must be grabbed at Adelaide Oval once the pitch flattens out and Ponting and Waugh made sure the Indians were suitably punished for errant ways.

Ponting scored his sixth century with a magnificent cover drive and showing no favouritism, he now has one century against six different opponents. He8217;s ready for promotion in the batting order and the man who may suffer demotion is Mark Waugh, who is batting inconsistently at the moment.

Steve8217;s batting has also been suffering from the same problem this summer, but he rectified it witha typically gritty century when runs were badly needed. In the process of passing the century mark Steve passed eight thousand runs, but approaching stumps he also passed Ponting in a dash for the safe end after a mix-up and the less experienced player left the field an angry young man. This is not the first time I8217;ve seen Steve Waugh dash for safety after a mix-up and he8217;s never beaten in such a race.

Tendulkar was made to pay dearly for his one error of judgement by an Australian side that doesn8217;t let opponents off lightly. Nevertheless, Tendulkar will have the opportunity to atone when he bats as this is a very good pitch and the short side boundaries will equally suit his style of play. He8217;ll need to bat well, because a match that appeared to be in India8217;s grasp at lunch has now become one that they8217;ll find difficult to save.