da blaze casino： The fourth day’s play will decide the outcome of this Test
Woorkheri Raman06-Nov-2001The Goodyear Park at Bloemfontein has provided great entertainment tothe spectators who bothered to turn up for the first three days of thefirst Test. The rate of scoring has been very brisk by any Test matchstandards. The batsmen from both sides have enjoyed themselves on afriendly pitch by playing positive cricket. The little champion,Sachin Tendulkar, along with the debutant, Virender Sehwag, set thetrend on the opening day. Mind you, the situation was not exactly rosywhen these two got together after the top order crumbled in a hurry.
© CricInfo I had written in an earlier column that Sehwag has improvedprogressively, but even he would not have imagined he would score acentury on debut in Test cricket. He joined Tendulkar when the teamwas in a crunch situation, but he batted like a battle-scarredveteran. The most remarkable aspect of his innings was the way heplayed the forcing shots off the back foot. It is not an easy shot toplay, but he repeatedly sent the ball to the ropes through the offside. He was in the company of Tendulkar, and it has to be said thathe never lagged far behind, even though Tendulkar was at his punitivebest.Tendulkar is not only making the statisticians scurry around but alsomaking it extremely difficult for scribes to find new ways ofdescribing his achievements. The latest effort at Goodyear Park canonly be summed up in one word – great. The way he took the attack intothe enemy camp left the South Africans stunned. Besides that, heguided the young debutant, taking the pressure off him by repeatedlytalking to him. Still, one gets the feeling that his job is not overyet, as the match is still very much open.
©CricInfo The home team replied even more aggressively, with Herschelle Gibbsleading the pack, one player who plays both versions of the game inthe same manner. The South African batting depth is formidable whenyou consider that Nicky Boje comes in at number nine. The Indianbowling looked rusty, but the fact remains that three of the mainbowlers are not totally match-fit. Javagal Srinath worked hard for hisfive-wicket haul, with Anil Kumble supporting him well. HarbhajanSingh was sorely missed, but things would not have been easy for himeither.The fourth day’s play will decide the outcome of this Test. TheIndians have to wipe off the deficit with enough wickets intact. Ifthey can set a fourth innings target of around 250-270, then they arein with a chance. The pitch is wearing, and the bounce is likely to beunpredictable. There are a lot of patches where puffs of dust havestarted to emerge. The diminutive opener Shiv Sunder Das has got theteam off to a good start, but there is lot of good work to be doneyet.The Indians have been very positive throughout this Test, and it isimperative they remain so. They have the advantage of bowling in thefourth innings, but the batsmen have to put first up runs on theboard. Skipper Sourav Ganguly is due for some runs in Test cricketand, if he can play a substantial innings, the Indians can reallyfancy their chances of winning the match. The batsmen have broken thevoodoo of not playing up to their potential abroad, and the fact thatthey scored runs by playing positively should keep the adrenalinepumping.