da realbet： Over recent months, Australia’s southernmost capital city has barelyexperienced a drop of rain; indeed, the past three years have broughtsome areas around Hobart their lowest amount of rainfall on record
da doce： John Polack21-Jan-2000Over recent months, Australia’s southernmost capital city has barelyexperienced a drop of rain; indeed, the past three years have broughtsome areas around Hobart their lowest amount of rainfall on record. Soit was probably fitting, then, that India’s extraordinary drought ininternational matches in Australia this season should come to itszenith here today, with a 32 run loss to Pakistan leaving its playersall but condemned to the prospect of catching an early flight home ina little over a week.Essentially, this seventh match of the Carlton and United Series (atthe Bellerive Oval) was another emphatic personal triumph forPakistani allrounder Abdur Razzaq (70* and 5/48). For it was he whonot only had a large part to play in setting an imposing total for theIndians to chase, but also captured five crucial wickets with the ballto throw his rivals completely off the scent of already unlikelysuccess.Notwithstanding the fact that India’s two outstanding top orderplayers, Sachin Tendulkar (93) and Sourav Ganguly (43), were able tomount a brave opening partnership of 99 to afford their team anoutside chance of overhauling their opponents’ 7/262, neither they northeir teammates could overcome the rapidly maturing 20-year-old. Whenhe induced Ganguly to leading edge a ball to Shahid Afridi at cover inthe 19th over, he precipitated what became an irreversibleslide. Another ten balls later into his sublime exhibition ofpredominantly outswing bowling, he induced a struggling VVS Laxman (7)to nervously edge an attempted cover drive through to wicketkeeperMoin Khan. That suddenly rendered India 2/111, and undid much of theexcellent work that Tendulkar’s classical strokeplay all around thewicket and Ganguly’s serial driving through the off side had effected.Razzaq also dismissed Anil Kumble (14) and Javagal Srinath (2) laterin the innings when they committed the similar sin of playing down thewrong line to him. That the Lahore-based allrounder in between bowledthe jewel in the crown, Tendulkar, for the second time in successivemeetings with a superb delivery spoke volumes in itself about thequality of his performance. Moreover, it was interesting to notethat, by the time that India was eventually dismissed for 230, he hadeven nearly enjoyed the almost inconceivable distinction of recordinghis highest score and his best bowling figures in the one day in thisform of the game.Earlier in the day, Razzaq had also been at the forefront of a fineall round batting effort from his team after they had lost thetoss. On a morning on which the temperature did not rise nearly ashigh as the quality of the play of Razzaq, Ijaz Ahmed (67), YousufYouhana (45) and Saeed Anwar (43), the Pakistanis were indeed prettymuch always in command throughout the early going. Shahid Afridi (12),again recalled to the line-up as his team continued its so farfruitless search for a productive opening partner for Anwar, wasdismissed in just the sixth over, but there were few tremors afterthat. Even two wickets from successive deliveries to Venkatesh Prasadin the 37th over did not significantly alter the balance.After Saeed had set the early tone with some sublime strokes throughthe off side, Ijaz was the man mainly responsible for setting theplatform for his team’s imposing total. He was at his brutal besttoday in a performance in which the Pakistan top order as a wholebelied their collectively dismal start to theseries. Characteristically, he was strong through the off side;several shots slammed over and through the covers as he vented hisrage upon anything even vaguely errant in width.And then, toward the end, came another innings of raw power and timingfrom Razzaq. A player who, with the bat at least, is completelyreinventing himself from the one who played so many fine sheet anchorinnings whilst amassing 170 runs from 392 balls during the 1999 WorldCup, his innings was sublime in both execution and effect. As hecarted shots all over the ground from most members of the attack, heraced to his half century from a mere 36 deliveries and afforded theIndians no mercy as they rotated their attack in a vain attempt tocontain him.For the Indians themselves, it was a tough day and a shattered SachinTendulkar’s demeanour after the loss was revealing. Doubtless theydiscovered less menace in the pitch than they had been expecting afterwinning the toss, and their bowlers and fieldsmen appeared to labourunder the misconception that matters would be easier than they became.Nevertheless, leg spinner Kumble (1/25 off ten overs) bowled possiblyhis best spell of the entire tour and Prasad (2/41 off his ten)likewise toiled manfully. Wicketkeeper Sameer Dighe also effected twobrilliant dismissals while standing up to the stumps for a time to themedium pace of Ganguly.Ultimately, it would have been better for the Indians had theunusually threatening clouds hovering over Hobart at the start of theday transformed themselves into rain-bearing ones. But the likelihoodof that was about as remote as their chances now appear of doinganything to disrupt their two opponents’ path to the finals of thistriangular tournament.
