Sourav weathers heated bowling

There was a Duleep Trophy match on but you’d be forgiven for thinking today’s play was all about getting Sourav Ganguly in shape f...

There was a Duleep Trophy match on but you’d be forgiven for thinking today’s play was all about getting Sourav Ganguly in shape for the Sri Lankans. He walked out to bat in the late-evening light, faced 28 balls in a flurry of blazing pace and, at stumps, had held on to his wicket, 19 runs richer.

Was North Zone skipper Dinesh Mongia operating to a specific plan to unsettle Ganguly? It certainly seemed so, from the field placings — three slips, gully, square-leg, deep square-leg, third-man, covers — to the introduction of his fastest bowlers when Dada was batting.

The pace trio of VRV Singh, Gangandeep Singh and Amit Bhandari aimed specifically at his elbow, the cause of much strife over the past few weeks, and his rib-cage. At a rough estimate, 90 percent of the balls bowled to Ganguly were short-pitched and tested his weakness in playing the rising deliveries on the on-side.

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Punjab’s VRV Singh was the most consistently hostile, generating such pace off the green-top that even wicket-keeper Pankaj Dharmani had trouble gathering comfortably. One of VRV’s deliveries hit Ganguly on the helmet when the latter tried to duck.

Ganguly started tentatively but soon found his sweet spot and his confidence. He had only seven scoring shots, hitting four boundaries of which one was a classic pull to the legside. As he walked off, it appeared that he was trying to set himself up for a big knock on Friday.

If Ganguly can score some tomorrow, and East strengthen their grip on the match, the two selectors present — Yashpal Sharma and Gopal Sharma — should have a few good words to say about the ex-captain.

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