da casino： The morale of the Indian team must be very high after aresounding win over Sri Lanka at Bristol
Erapalli Prasanna12-Jul-2002The morale of the Indian team must be very high after aresounding win over Sri Lanka at Bristol. It was a highlydisciplined show from the Indians after their loss againstEngland in the rain-shortened match. Going into Saturday’s finalat Lord’s, the Indian team, then, would be very confident ofclinching the NatWest Trophy.Having outclassed Sri Lanka in all departments of the game, Indiawill have to outsmart and outplay Hussain and his men. I am sureboth the teams would be working towards evolving a game-plan forthe final. Hussain with his astute leadership skills has beeninstrumental in reviving English cricket. Ganguly also has, inthe meanwhile, steadily matured as a captain who has the respectand support of his teammates. The battle between the two leadersmight prove as intriguing as the final clash itself.
© CricInfoAs for Thursday’s game, its result was only of academic interestas India had already qualified for Saturday’s final. Ganguly hasbeen winning the toss on a regular basis these days and hisdecision to bat first against Sri Lanka was the right one. Thetrack was full of runs and making first use of it was the wisestthing to do.I am pleased that Harbhajan Singh was given an opportunity toplay in this match. It came as a mild surprise to me to see theSri Lankan batsmen struggling against the over-spin of HarbhajanSingh. This is precisely the kind of delivery that they must havefaced against Muralitharan in the nets.The Sri Lankan bowling, which has a depleted look without theirstar bowler, was completely devastated by Tendulkar’s onslaught.It must be worrying for them that their best fast bowler ChamindaVaas has had an indifferent tour of England. As I had mentionedin my previous column, Sri Lanka will have to do some serioussoul-searching and sort out their problems quickly. Somehow thebody language of the boys from the Emerald Isles was that of abeaten side, and it indeed was sad to see them play without theirusual gusto.Sachin Tendulkar is a master batsman, and he is not one who isgoing to miss out on an opportunity against an attack strugglingto get the breakthroughs on a perfect batting track.The run-outs of Ganguly and Sehwag, earlier, were shocking to saythe least, and this is clearly an area where India will have toshow greater discipline. The Englishmen are quick to exploit theweaknesses of their opponents and India have to sort out such asimple thing as ‘clear calling’ between the batsmen.Moving on, the fact that the likes of Dinesh Mongia and MohammadKaif are in good touch augurs well for the Indians. I was impressed by the way Kaif paced his innings and helped Tendulkar to build a partnership of 71 quick runs which effectively took the match away from the Sri Lankans.
© CricInfoAmong the Sri Lankans, I was particularly impressed by the wayDilhara Fernando went about his business; he has the physique aswell as the pace to unsettle the best of batsmen if only he wouldadd some more control to the thunderbolts he delivers.For once, I thought Kumar Sangakkara might tear the Indian attackapart; the ease with which he launched into the big shots wasawesome. Ganguly was forced to bring in Harbhajan Singh and theyoung spinner showed the kind of temperament he possesses. I have a gutfeeling that Harbhajan knew how to get Sangakkara’s wicket.Talking of Harbhajan, he has a key role to play in the upcomingTest series. I am sure he will return home with a bagful ofwickets if he can turn the ball prodigiously on tracks that wouldsuit the spinners in the second half of the summer.Having said that, I doubt whether Harbhajan will play in thefinal against England. Kumble’s hamstring injury does not seem tobe very serious and his experience will count when bowlingagainst the likes of Trescothick and Flintoff. Trescothick indeedis the one English batsman who can single-handedly take the matchaway from India.India, to reiterate, will be up against a thoroughly professionalEnglish side and they will have to play at their very best atLord’s. The winner of the final will definitely carry forward thepsychological advantage into the Test series that is to follow.There is absolutely no room for complacency on Saturday and Iwish the boys well.