Setting a team 320 for victory in a day-night one-dayer brimming over withexcitement is a sure way to do one of two things - set up a tense run chasewhere the match goes right down to the wire or, more often than not, play theopposition right out of the game. At the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium inMohali, India leveled the five-match series 1-1 against Zimbabwe with aconvincing 64-run win.
The toss was crucial and, for the second time running, Sourav Ganguly won itand decided to bat. Heath Streak bowled a tight line to India's makeshiftopening partnership of Sourav Ganguly and Dinesh Mongia. The former was troubledby the short ball, mis-hitting more than one pull shot but getting away with it.
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Mongia, for his part, was content to play a sedate knock. Using the widthafforded to him to good effect, the Punjab southpaw got the scoreboard moving ata steady pace. He was, however, less than convincing in his approach, and itcame as no surprise that a mis-timed drive went straight down the throat ofTravis Friend at mid-off. Despite being unattractive, Mongia's innings was ofimmense value. His 45 (52 balls, 9 fours) took India to 109 for the openingpartnership.
After struggling to get his feet moving early on, Ganguly regained his oldform, something usually signalled by a total domination of the bowlers inlimited-overs cricket. Using his feet well, Ganguly came down the track withregularity, unmindful of the fact that Tatenda Taibu was standing up to thestumps to prevent just this.
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The assualt had its effect on the Zimbabweans, with Friend losing his waycompletely in the middle overs. The medium-pacer bowled as many as five wides ina single over - the over lasted 11 balls - a clear reflection of the state ofthe match.
Once again, however, a century evaded Sourav Ganguly. After playing himselfin well, the Indian skipper fell for 86 (83 balls, 8 fours, 3 sixes) in the 30thover of the day. By then, Ganguly had managed to pack enough punch to take Indiato a commanding position of 188/2 in 29.1 overs.
After the departure of Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid batted with asense of urgency and purpose that is the exception rather than the rule inIndian cricket. Laxman continued from where he left off in the first game, withDravid at the other end adopting a refreshingly brisk approach. The Karnatakamiddle-order batsman, usually slow and dour, played an innings of character,innovating at will - inside-out through the off-side, pulls that skipped away tothe fence, a reverse-sweep that beat short-third man, and even an attemptedscoop shot a la Marillier were on display.
Laxman, having reached a well-made 52 (72 balls, 3 fours), got the leadingedge off an attempted pull shot. Trying to force the pace, Laxman spooned acatch off Travis Friend to Dion Ebrahim at point.
Dravid, unfazed by the fall of wickets at the other end, grew in confidence.He remained unbeaten on 66 (59 balls, 6 fours) as India put together a massive319/6 in 50 overs. Harbhajan Singh (15 not out), cheered on by his home crowd,struck a couple of lusty blows towards the end. It was yet anotherdisappointment with the bat for Sanjay Bangar, however. After lasting two ballsfor a duck in the first encounter, the all-rounder fell for a first-ball duck atMohali.
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With a massive target on the board, India merely had to stick to a good planin order to restrict Zimbabwe. The early loss of Dion Ebrahim did nothing todampen the enthusiasm of Alistair Campbell and pinch-hitter Travis Friend. WhileFriend used the honest-to-goodness long-handle method to clear the infield andfrustrate the bowlers, Campbell showed maturity and a sensible approach.
After making 64 (60 balls, 7 fours, 1 six), Friend was stumped off theskilful Harbhajan Singh, with Ajay Ratra doing a tidy job behind the stumps.Friend had been instrumental in adding a record 134 for the second wicket withCampbell.
Soon after Friend was taken care of, Harbhajan Singh sent Campbell packing.Straddling the crease, Campbell was trapped plumb in front when he missed adrifter from the offie. Campbell's 62 (74 balls, 8 fours) should really havebeen something far more substantial if Zimbabwe are to go the whole distance.
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The rest of the Zimbabwe innings really lacked the conviction and characterto pull off a chase of this proportion. When Andy Flower (29) chopped a ballfrom part-time left-arm spinner Dinesh Mongia onto his stumps, the writing wason the wall. Overnight sensation Douglas Marillier (2) also flopped, top-edginga sweep towards square-leg off Mongia; Ratra pouched the steepler with ease.Surprisingly enough, Mongia, who hardly bowls in domestic cricket, met withgreat success with his left-arm spin, ending with figures of 3-31.
It was then only a matter of completing the formalities as the Zimbabweantail fell away to 255 all out in the face of an incredibly uphill climb tovictory.
