da betsson： The Orange city provided an ideal batting strip for the Indians totake on Zimbabwe in the second and final Test
Anand Vasu25-Nov-2000The Orange city provided an ideal batting strip for the Indians totake on Zimbabwe in the second and final Test. Shiv Sunder Das notchedup his maiden century, Rahul Dravid neared his eighth hundred andIndia chalked up a comfortable 306/2 after electing to bat first. TheZimbabwean bowlers simply did not have the firepower to stop theIndians. Everything now depends on Zimbabwe. If they can get their acttogether with the bat, they just might be able to hold on for a draw.When play began, Sadagoppan Ramesh and Shiv Sunder Das were verycomfortable against the Zimbabwean bowlers. Driving through the offside with characteristic ease, Ramesh was soon scoring at a run aball. Shiv Sunder Das at the other end was the ideal foil for Ramesh.Solid as a rock when it was needed, Das treated the bowling on merit.Being a short man proved to be a blessing, as he unveiled the cut shotevery time the ball was short of a length.Just when he looked good for a big score, Ramesh was involved in anunnecessary run out. Playing the ball to the mid on area, Rameshunderestimated Streak’s throwing arm. A good strong throw found Rameshshort of his ground. Ramesh’s 48 included seven hits to the fence.If the Zimbabweans came to India fearing Sachin Tendulkar, they aregoing to leave with nightmares of Rahul Dravid. Cutting and drivingwith precision, Dravid found the gaps with ease and it was no surprisethat he brought up his third consecutive score of fifty or over.Das was in good nick all day, displaying why he is a natural choicefor the opening slot. His shot selection was impeccable on the day,and his persistence bore fruit. After plodding on manfully for overthree hours, Das came down the track to a well flighted delivery fromMurphy and flicked magnificently. As the ball thudded into theadvertising hoardings, Das held up his bat to acknowledge the crowd’scheers. The young opener from Orissa had found the fence on 17occasions on the way to his century.The wicket was so flat that the Zimbabwean bowlers could not pick asingle wicket. Ramesh was run out and Das’ wicket really belonged toumpire Arani Velayudham Jayaprakash. Brian Murphy did what he knowsbest and tossed up a big leg break, Das, trying to play his favouriteshot, the cut, missed the ball altogether. Alright, so the ball wastoo close to the body to cut. But you can’t give a batsmen out forthat. The ball went past the bat, brushed the wicketkeeper’s glovesand went through to Alistair Campbell at slip. After pouching theball, the appeal that followed was neither spontaneous nor unanimous.In the eyes of the man in the middle however, 110 runs was all Das wasdestined to make. Although one has to concede that these things happenin the course of the game, Das’ look of disbelief on being given outtold its own story.The youngster had played well for his 110 runs. Taking as much time aswas required, Das waited for the right ball to hit. On nineteenoccasions in his 252 minute essay he put the ball away. At 227 fortwo, India were still very well placed.Amidst roars from the mediumsized Nagpur crowd, Sachin Tendulkarwalked out to the middle. However, there were to be no real fireworksfrom Tendulkar. Although he showed bursts of aggressiveness, hisinnings of 49 was largely a sedate one. As the day’s play was drawingto a close, Tendulkar opened his shoulders and played a trademarkcoverdrive. This brought the crowd back to life after a series of dullovers. Three balls later the umpires called stumps and that was that.Rahul Dravid on a patient 93, and Tendulkar on 49 were bothirritatingly close to the century and half century marks respectively.Tomorrow, when India resume on 306 for two, both Dravid and Tendulkarwill look to quickly cross those marks and get on with the scoring.