'Spinners Did Their Best...'

The Indian spinners bowled as well as they could have on the final day of the Test. I am sure quite a few Indian fanswould be disappointed India could not carry on to win the Test after getting the first six wickets quickly but there wasabsolutely nothing in the wicket.

As for Zaheer Khan, he is truly now India's strike bowler. His first spell was devastating. He has embraced theresponsibility with open arms. I am keen to see more of him in future. As the match progressed, it was evident he was tryingfor the reverse swing.

You can't find fault with Laxmipathy Balaji as well. It was heartening to see a young bowler toil so hard on thatsurface. His line and length got better with every spell. It is only real to say he is coming to terms with internationalcricket. It's hard but he has the right attitude to succeed.

Indeed, this is the right time to congratulate Anil Kumble on his 350thwicket in Test. It is a tremendous milestone. He bowled as well as he has ever done. He did everything which was expected of him.

You can't fault the Indians on the timing of declaration as well. Saurav Ganguly declaredat the right time -- you can't give your opponents less than 350 in the fourth inningson Indian wickets. If you do it, you are taking a huge risk.

But if there is one thing which I thought should have done better was Zaheer's bowling in New Zealand's secondinnings. I thought he didn't bowl as many overs as he should have on the last day.

India's batting, however, is running as well as it has ever at home.

Dravid showed the way and V.V.S. Laxman and Ganguly were too keen to build on it.Batting must now be the biggest worry for New Zealand. They also know it is the tailwhich bailed them out in this Test. In a way they were lucky to face Indian spinners on such a bland pitch.

New Zealand must regroup quickly for the second Test which starts after two days. It was Dravid's Test allthe way. Nothing much has changed in his style of batting from the last decade which is only true to say he is a borntechnician. It was true when he made a chanceless 82 on his debut against Pune in the Ranji Trophy in 1991.

It is true today when he has taken a double hundred and a near-hundred off the New Zealand attack in the first Test.

His basic principle is the occupation of the crease and he is a firm believer of"bowlers-earning-wickets-rather-than batsmen-gifting-it-away" adage.

Having raised the progress bar consistently, he is the most sought after cricketer even in English county circuitwith offers from several counties to lead the side as well.

Though in Tests he still sticks to his tested methods, his batting in one-dayers has changed with time and circumstances. As a team, the responsibilities are divided on each batsman. Likewise, Dravid's role too is well-defined. Hetoo, like everybody else, knows what to do at any stage of the game. It is (a) if an early wicket were to fall, Rahul is up theorder to steady the ship; (b) rotate the strike so well so as to give maximumstrike to the attacking batsmen; (c) if he is at number six, it is imperative to play thelast precious overs and not expose much of the tail.

In essence it is to marshal the batting resources in a way so that the best interests of the team are served. He has alsomastered the cut shot on the balls bowled at the off-stump which otherwise is a dot ball.

If I have to caution him on one thing, it is on his wicket-keeping. In my opinion heshould not do it and on a long tour he could be prone to injuries.

Coming from one of the best schools in Bangalore, his education has really complimented his cricket that has madehim a role model for others. He is very well-read and has excellent communication skills and has played a bigger rolethan any other deputy.

It was mind over matter for him at Motera. Even though the wicket was easy-paced, it was a Herculean effort to stayat the wicket for close to 10 hours. Truly, 'The Wall' is standing tall for the country.

I've known him for as long as I can remember. We've spent a lot of time together. He loves chocolates and shakes and isan avid reader of books, mostly auto-biographies and sports-related subjects. He is also very well-informed oncurrent affairs. In music, he has a good taste for English pop.

His fitness routine is exemplary. He is the most hard-working guy in the side. His day starts at 6 am every day with a metabolic run followed by intense meditation for almost 30 minutes, a bit of shadow practice on match days.A lot of his time is spent in the gym as well. He has always been high on the weekly fitness points system with maximum numberof sessions put in through in gym and aerobic and anaerobic
work.

Extremely careful with the calories, he is always high on sports nutrition food packets. Unlike a few of us, he didn't have problem in his food habits for he has been a non-vegetarian for as long as I know.

He doesn't have any superstitions but then if he had, he wouldn't tell me! 

I have also not seen him lose his temper for he has that uncanny skill to keep his frustrations to himself. He hates toget out though and you could see the restlessness in him till he gets his act together in the next outing.

On tours, he is not big on shopping. He doesn't seek out big brand names. His values are high but simple. He loves togo to movies on tour and Prasad (Venkatesh) was his perfect partner when it came to watching flicks.They've gone to the extent of watching two movies on the same day!

I was so happy for his well-deserved success and reached for the phone no sooner he had achieved the double hundred on thefirst day.

He has also played his part in picking smart catches off me at forward short leg. I remember two such efforts inparticular. Once was a blinder to dismiss Craig McMillan in the Wellington Test ofthe 1988-99 series and another when he caught Moin Khan in Australia in the triangular series of2000-2001. Both were outstanding picks and well-planned. Somehow, he is now reluctant to take that position any more.

PTI