da doce： This Chennai Test was not one for the mind – it was marred by dropped catches, missed stumpings, nervous errors, and a rained-out day – but it was one that will be remembered fondly for years
The Wisden Verdict by Amit Varma18-Oct-2004
Damien Martyn: produced a sublime innings under great pressure© Getty Images
It is a universal duality: the mind that seeks out perfection, theheart that yearns for beauty. This Chennai Test was not one for themind – it was marred by dropped catches, missedstumpings, nervous errors, and a rained-out day – but it was one that willbe remembered fondly for years. Two opponents who respect each other met ina crucial match and played with passion and fire. They battled the demonswithin them and the heat that came from the sun, and refused to wilt. Timeand again this Test match turned, like a spinning top swaying from side toside but refusing to fall either way. In the end, sadly, it stayedsuspended, as the rain fell, depriving the Test of a result, which itdeserved.Evaluating AustraliaAustralia have been far better prepared for this tour than the last one, asreflected in their willingness to shed the counter-attacking approach thatworks against every other side. But they suffered in Chennai because of theheat. Glenn McGrath looked less than his usual self, and the fielding wasaffected as well, with many catches going down. Most of the men in this sideare over 30, and even the finest athletes suffer in conditions that they arenot used to.But they fought back in an inspired manner. All teams look good when thingsare going their way, but it takes something special to bounce backrepeatedly from setbacks, as these men keep doing. Damien Martyn played a sublime innings under great pressure, and thatis not something new to him.He had the measure of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh during hissecond-innings century, displaying an assurance that he hadn’t shown in hisprevious three innings in this series. His batting is a thing of beauty andhe is a man with great grit. He has proved himself a worthy successor to theNo. 4 position that Mark Waugh had, for so long, made his own.
India have a reason to be wary of Shane Warne on his legacy tour© Getty Images
Adam Gilchrist batted at No. 3 in the second innings, not out of a tacticalneed to get quick runs, but out of responsibility. It will be fascinating tofollow this particular narrative during the series. He is a modern greatwhose genius does not find full expression at No. 7, though he has playedsome classic innings there. The case against playing him higher up the orderis the burden of wicketkeeping that he also bears. But the case for it isthat at the pace at which he bats, even when he is seemingly taking norisks, he can swiftly take a match out of the opponents grasp. He has onemore Test before Ricky Ponting returns to the side, and it is a worthwhileexperiment to continue in that game.Shane Warne had said on the second day that this wasthe best he has ever bowled in India, although that is, admittedly,not saying much. The Indians play him well, but he still ended up with six wickets, though he wasn’t quite as potent as he is against other teams. The second term of American presidents is often called the legacy term, and this is Warne’s legacy tour of India. He will not tire, and India have reason to be wary of him.It has become a fashionable cliché to say of Michael Kasprowicz that he is a’lion-hearted’ bowler, but that is doing him a disservice – he has bite toadd to his heart. He bowled some oustanding spells on the second day, andwas unfortunate to have Sourav Ganguly reprieved off his bowling twice. Ashad happened to Jason Gillespie on his 2001 tour, the figures don’t reflecthow well he bowled. Gillespie, meanwhile, bowled some incisive spells, whileGlenn McGrath will be sharper in cooler climes. The Indians will get norespite from the Australian bowlers.The character of this Australian side is different from that of SteveWaugh’s 2001 team in more ways than just cricketing ones. The UglyAustralians of lore have suddenly become gentlemen Aussies, like a cursedfrog suddenly kissed by a princess. They haven’t sledged, theyhave walked, and there has been little by way of mental disintegration. Steve Waugh referred to India as the final frontier – regardless of what happens in this series, Australia might just have conquered it.Evaluating India
Anil Kumble: If hunger were to decide this series, this man has more than most© Getty Images
India have the stomach for a fight, and they did not always. There was aworry, after Bangalore, that India would unravel from there, but now we knowthat will not happen, considering that this series is still a contest.It is hard to decide which to admire more, the seven wickets that AnilKumble took on a first-day pitch, or the 47 overs that he bowled in the heatof unforgiving Chennai sun during Australia’s second innings. Kumble almostwon India the Sydney Test, which would have sealed a historic series win forIndia in Australia, and if hunger were to decide this series, this man hasmore than most. He is on the last lap of a great career, but the fire stillburns in his belly. He also has a luxury that none of the other greatspinners today, Shane Warne or Muttiah Muralitharan, can boast of a spinpartner in Harbhajan Singh who is a matchwinner on his own, and not just asupport act.Virender Sehwag, as he tends to do every fourth Test or so, made a brillianthundred to secure India’s advantage. Much has been spoken of his unorthodoxbatting, but dissecting Sehwag’s technique is like peering at a dancer’sfeet to understand her art. He would not have got the results he has, eightcenturies in 25 Tests at 53.9, runs scored all around the world, withoutbeing a darned good batsman. Men like him win you games, because if theystay a couple of sessions at the crease, they not only score at a briskpace, they also demoralise the bowlers. “Look at his foot-movement,” theythink, “surely we can get this man out.” And then there she goes again, thatwretched ball, towards the ropes that cannot hold her.Sehwag’s success hides a continuing failure, though. He scored almosttwo-thirds of the runs made while he was at the crease, and the rest ofIndia’s top five failed. Rahul Dravid had played well in the second inningsat Bangalore, and his 26 here, while not substantial in itself, was part ofa crucial 95-run partnership. He will come good. But Sourav Ganguly, edgingrepeatedly, looked as out of place as a piglet in a greyhound race, and VVSLaxman wasn’t his usual graceful self either. Yuvraj Singh still does notlook cut out to open the batting, and India need these men to fire.A side strain prevented Irfan Pathan from bowling as sharply in the firstinnings as at Bangalore, but Zaheer Khan seemed to have got his rhythm backin the second, with a couple of fiery spells. Indian bowlers however needmore support behind the stumps. Parthiv Patel is a fine talent, but for hisown sake, he should be given a break from international cricket. His basicshave gone to pieces and his mistakes, if we total the runs batsmen madeafter being reprieved by him and the byes and penalties he conceded, costIndia almost 200 runs. It tarnished this great contest, but he is a boyamong men, and his time will come.