Back in the saddle after a long, long time, Sachin Tendulkar’s first day as West Zone captain was boosted by an inspired spell of bowling from Ramesh Powar, and a consequent South Zone batting collapse. Here’s a look at how he played his cardsSHUFFLING THE PACKAware that Powar was in good form, Sachin gave him 22 overs as compared to Pathan’s nine, Zaheer’s 12 and Agarkar’s 13. The stocky all-rounder rewarded him with seven wicketsMAKING THE BREAKAjit Agarkar was used in three spells for his 11 overs. He was hit by the Laxman onslaught but was then brought back on and had the last laugh when he had the Hyderabadi caught in the deepTALKING THE TALKA captain’s toughest job is keeping his bowlers’ morale up when the runs are flowing but Sachin did that by constantly talking to his bowlers. Especially with Zaheer, whose frustration became increasingly evident after Y Venugopal Rao and Anil Kumble began hitting him all overSOFT-TOUCH APPROACHOne area he was particular about wasn not letting his fast bowlers work up too much steam. Pathan, who never appeared to be very comfortable in his stride (something that physio John Gloster is working on) was brought in only for a short second spell (four overs). Zaheer and Agarkar got similar treatment
