When Dravid's ploy met with success

[vishvas]

The one-day series is interestingly poised with India and South Africa winning a match apiece. The Indians came back well in Bangalore to win comfortably after they were surprised at Hyderabad. Greame Smith inserted the opponents at Hyderabad and his fast bowlers backed up his decision by making early inroads. Yuvraj Singh's brilliant century under pressure as also Pathan's useful contribution enabled the hosts to put a competitive score. The left-handed duo played with panache with Yuvraj stealing the show by launching a counter attack. The century would have relieved Yuvraj of some pressure that was gradually building up due to lack of runs in the recent past. However, his efforts were in vain as the visitors romped home powered by a steady innings from the experienced Kallis.

The Indians were made to rethink their strategy as the defeat came as a rude shock after their facile victories against Sri Lanka. They had to win in Bangalore and draw level in order not to give the psychological advantage to the South Africans. Dravid was quick to realise that the Indians had to play on a relatively slower track, which would assist the slower bowlers. The ploy succeeded with Harbhajan Singh and Murali Kartik making things difficult for the visiting batsmen by producing a lot of turn and bounce. Harbhajan Singh is really bowling at his best of late and Kartik would be pleased with his comeback. They bowled as many as six maidens between them and the South Africans were all at sea against their wiles. Though both Harbhajan and Kartik lived up to expectations, Pathan provided them a superb platform by bowling an incisive spell at the start of the innings. The youngster carried on his good work later in the evening as well with a sensible knock. He once again displayed good technical skills and sound temperament. If at all he needs to improve anything quickly, it is his judgment while running between the wickets.

Sachin's performance


The third match in the series will be hard-fought, as both the teams would look to sneak ahead and gain the psychological advantage. The pitch at the MAC stadium in Chennai normally will have some pace and bounce on offer to the fast bowlers. The South African fast bowlers will enjoy bowling on the harder surface and that too after the slow pitch they had to contend with at Bangalore. However, the deviation off the pitch will be minimal and as such the batsmen will relish playing their shots. Tendulkar who missed out in both the games will be keen to make his presence felt. He has done well at this venue in the past as the ball comes on nicely to the bat. It will be interesting to see if the Indians instruct the curators at the MAC stadium to prepare a slower track. With the visiting batsmen struggling to cope against the turning ball, the temptation of instructing the ground staff might be hard for Dravid to resist.

The stage is set for an exciting contest. Given that the South Africans are playing for the first time in Chennai, it will be a unique experience for them. There have been a lot of outstanding performances in the past at this venue and the knowledgeable Chennai crowd would hope that the trend continues. The cloudy weather is adding to the pre-match intrigue, as the threat of rains is looming large. For a change, the administrators will have butterflies in their stomachs for a better part of the next couple of days. One hopes that the sports lovers of Chennai are not denied the chance of watching a good cricket contest.