Bangar has been the find of the series
The Jodhpur one-day international was different from the previous fivegames for one reason - the nature of the pitch
EAS Prasanna
22-Nov-2002
The Jodhpur one-day international was different from the previous five
games for one reason - the nature of the pitch. It was not an ideal
track for one-day cricket, with the ball not coming on to the bat.
Stand-in skipper Rahul Dravid's decision to bat second, then, must
have been based on the inferior spin bowling attack of the opposition.
Against the likes of Sri Lanka and Pakistan, chasing a total on a
track that was keeping low and getting slow would have proved
suicidal.
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I feel all young players must look to emulate Bangar's example. Here
is the most unassuming cricketer of recent times, one who has proved
himself to be the ultimate team man. In Test cricket, he plays the
role of the sheet anchor to perfection, while his attacking brand of
batting in one-day cricket is the result of a lot of hard work.
The team management must feel proud for having found a player like him
just ahead of the World Cup. I also thought that Bangar bowled very
well in the Jodhpur one-dayer, claiming the valuable wicket of Carl
Hooper. But it was with the bat that he proved what a champion player
he is.
When all the players around him threw away their wickets, Bangar
called upon his tremendous powers of concentration to make sure that
he stayed on to score the winning runs. He is not a flamboyant player,
but his utility value is immense. Bangar was my Man of the Match at
Jodhpur.
But some of the other players, who had been given an opportunity by
the selectors to prove themselves failed.
Dinesh Mongia, for one, made a mess of a great opportunity. I am sure
that he would have come across similar tracks on numerous occasions in
domestic cricket. But that did not seem to help him. With the level of
competition for the batting places being high, his failure could cost
him dearly. As for Reetinder Singh Sodhi, I just do not know what was
going through his mind; he seemed to have forgotten that there was a
job to be done.
Probably what these players need to do now is to spend some time
playing in Ranji trophy matches. Over the last few years the
importance of the tournament has diminished somewhat with the
relentless amount of international games. But what needs to be
remembered is that it still can play a vital role in moulding a
player's career. Ask Ajit Agarkar.
After he was dropped from the Indian team, Agarkar took eight wickets
in the Ranji Trophy game against Delhi and forced his way back. The
results were there to be seen; at Jodhpur, Agarkar bowled with a great
deal of confidence, and importantly he picked up crucial wickets to
take the Man of the Match award.
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It is in this context that the success of Kartik was particularly
heartening, The young left-arm spinner has worked hard over the last
few years in Indian domestic cricket and has been one of the main
stars behind Railways' success in Ranji Trophy in recent times. I am
glad to see him succeed at the highest level of the game, and the
craft he showed in the Jodhpur one-dayer should make any spin bowler
proud.
I was also delighted to see Dravid leading the side so well. His
captaincy was excellent - his bowling changes, in particular, always
spot on. Dravid's success only underlines the key role he has played
as a deputy to Sourav Ganguly in India's recent successful campaigns.
Moving on to the final one-day international, I think India are the
favourites to win it and take the one-day series. Having said that,
they should not take their opposition lightly, for the West Indies
with their rejuvenated batting line up could seize even the slightest
of opportunities.