da heads bet： If it’s the MA Chidambaram Stadium at Chepauk, it is a hundred forSachin Tendulkar
Anand Vasu24-Jan-2002If it’s the MA Chidambaram Stadium at Chepauk, it is a hundred forSachin Tendulkar. The last three Tests the little man has played herebear testimony to this. So it was no surprise to find the line doing therounds on the eve of the third one-day international between England andIndia at Chennai. With the series tied 1-1 and everything to play for,there was enough leeway for the mind to wander to thoughts not directlyconnected to ball meeting bat. There’s the charm of Nasser Hussainreturning ‘home’ to the Madras Cricket Club (MCC). There’s theexcitement of a giant screen playing video at a venue for the first timein India. With all this brewing and the air thick with anticipation,came the news that Sourav Ganguly had done his hamstring in and was”most unlikely to play”, in John Wright’s words.Going through a normal practice routine the Indian captain strained hishamstring and was whisked away quickly by physio Andrew Leipus. Althoughthe Indian camp maintained that Ganguly was not ruled out, all thingspointed to Ganguly sitting out the match.Hussain and England, however, have no such problems, with everyone inthe team fit and raring to go. If anything, the visitors face anembarrasment of riches. Andy Caddick, returning to the England squad forthe limited overs matches, is pushing hard at the sidelines whileMatthew Hoggard does his best to keep his place. Man of the match atCuttack Paul Collingwood is keen to press on and cement his place in theside.Then there’s the fantasy ending to the fairytale that all England ishoping for – a ton for Hussain at Chennai, at the ground of the veryclub that he turned out for when he was just seventeen. On the eve ofthe clash, the MCC added a fitting touch to things when they gaveHussain a life membership to the club. Father Joe Hussain, now a coachat the Ilford Indoor School, was present and the memories must have comeflooding back to him.Old world charm apart, things are genuinely heating up at Chepauk. WithGanguly likely to miss the match, there’s place for Sanjay Bangar.Opening the batting and bowling efficient seamers, Bangar is thefrontrunner in the running to replace Ganguly, said coach Wright.However, he was quick to add that the all-rounder may not end up openingthe batting. “Sehwag has done the job before and has had a bit ofsuccess. Can’t rule out him opening the innings,” said Wright. After hecrashed a 70-ball ton at the top of the order against New Zealand, itwould take a very cynical man to doubt Sehwag’s ability as an opener.Replacing Ganguly as a player may not pose that much of a problem to thethink tank. The captaincy issue however is a much stickier one. Hisnatural successor, vice-captain Rahul Dravid is away at South Africagetting his shoulder mended. This leaves the think tank with a choicebetween Anil Kumble, VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar. Not a fortnightago, Laxman led India A to victory in the Challenger Trophy and thismust stand him in good stead. Tendulkar has done the job before, forthat reason it would be natural for him to come in as a stopgap. Thatsaid, Laxman, however, has simply not made enough runs in recent timesand is low on confidence. Tendulkar’s reluctance to lead is welldocumented. These two reasons, if nothing else, make it likely that theman people say ‘has the best head for cricket’ in India – Kumble – willlead.So what have we here? A flat batting beauty, tickets sold out well inadvance, a venue that brings out the best of India’s finest, a possiblecaptaincy change… What more could you ask for?Just Bill Lawry droning on in his inimitable fashion, saying, “It’s allhappening here at Chepauk.”