da esoccer bet： Gautam Gambhir’s second one-day century, and a promising three-wicketdebut for Piyush Chawla were the highlights as India sealed the one-dayseries against Bangladesh with a comprehensive 46-run victory in a match
The Bulletin by Dileep Premachandran12-May-2007
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Gautam Gambhir’s century was hard work in stifling heat and laid the platform for India’s win © AFP
Gautam Gambhir’s second one-day century, and a promising three-wicketdebut for Piyush Chawla were the highlights as India sealed the one-dayseries against Bangladesh with a comprehensive 46-run victory in a matchreduced to 49 overs a side by early-morning drizzle. Aftab Ahmed’s brisk40 gave Bangladesh a glimmer of hope early on, but needing to overhaul284, they fell a fair way short on a sluggish pitch.But while it was the slow-bowling duo of Chawla and Ramesh Powar thatapplied the tourniquet, it was Zaheer Khan that made the initialincisions. When Bangladesh upset India at Port-of-Spain in March, TamimIqbal had given him a bit of a pasting, and he repeated the treatment inthe opening match of this series. But lightning didn’t strike thrice, asindecisive calling deprived Bangladesh of Tamim’s services with only 18on the board.He struck a delivery from Zaheer to mid-off and started to run, only for ayes-no routine from Javed Omar to leave him hopelessly short as heattempted to regain his ground. Harsh words were exchanged as Tamim walkedoff, but the damage had been done. The innings badly needed some momentumat that stage and it came from Aftab, who started with a gloriousstraight-drive off Zaheer before clipping Munaf Patel nonchalantly overmidwicket for six. When another shot was smashed through the off side,Rahul Dravid strengthened the cordon, but he was helpless when a ball wasdriven straight at his midriff with immense power.One of the heroes of the victory over Australia at Cardiff in 2005, Aftabhad no qualms about adopting the unorthodox, and when Zaheer came roundthe wicket, he moved inside the line and scooped one down to fine leg,before a heads-up charge sent another shot sailing over point and down tothe rope.Omar’s attempt to emulate his partner only resulted in him misreading aslower delivery from Zaheer and chipping to cover, and India’s positionwas strengthened minutes later when Saqibul Hasan, who saw a loft justbypass midwicket, nibbled one behind the stumps.Aftab carried on regardless, dispatching Munaf over cover for four,prompting Dravid to call for spin in the 15th over. Chawla’s first ballwas crashed through the covers for four, but he soon settled down tobeguile the batsmen with his variety, especially a well-disguised googlythat few of the batsmen were able to pick.It accounted for Ashraful, who chopped one on, and when Aftab’s 41-ballinnings ended with a tame charge to Ramesh Powar, Bangladesh were down forthe count at 92 for 5. Mushfiqur Rahim played some lovely strokes down theground while adding 59 with Habibul Bashar, but the captain’swait-and-watch approach saw the asking-rate spiral out of reach. By thetime the big hits came – Mashrafe Mortaza took four sixes and 26 runs offa Dinesh Mongia over – they were nothing more than consolation for theraucous crowd at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium.Earlier, India’s top order put in an improved performance in thesweltering heat, mixing energetic running with clever placement into thegaps. Sloppy catching helped – Gambhir survived two tough chances – butthe lower order couldn’t quite cash in the chips as Bangladesh foughtback.Having spent years on the periphery, Gambhir knew the importance ofseizing limited chances. As in the first match, he began at a rapid clip,whipping erratic deliveries to square leg, before settling down to nurdlea patient fifty. He had to battle the oppressive conditions, forced to usea runner towards the latter part of the innings after being afflicted bycramp, but still managed to pierce the field on a regular basis.His footwork to the spinners was decisive, and he repeatedly targetted thegaps at midwicket and extra-cover. Unlike the more experienced VirenderSehwag, who succumbed to the temptation of trying to whack every ball outof the ground, Gambhir paced his innings impressively. His attempts toaccelerate in the latter half of his innings were affected by hiscondition – a hobble followed nearly every stroke – but he carried ongamely to three figures.
Tamim Iqbal was the victim of poor calling but India were clearly relieved at the dismissal of this dangerous batsman © AFP
Earlier, Bangladesh had been guilty of frittering away opportunities.Mortaza was back, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who helped stabilise theinnings with 36, edged him twice, only for the ball to drop short of firstslip on each occasion. Abdur Razzak also found the outside edge of Dhoni’sbat in his first over, but there was no slip in place to snaffle thechance. Soon after, he fluffed a flat-batted swat as Dhoni went on to add87 with Gambhir.Gambhir had his share of good fortune too – an inside-edge off a fizzingRazzak delivery just eluded Rahim’s clutches – but for the most part, thebatsmen rotated the strike without much ado. Though it was a must-wingame, Bashar didn’t set attacking fields, especially for his trio ofleft-arm spinners.Dravid ensured that he stayed on till the end, watching the lower orderplay some rash strokes. He had worked out the pitch better than most,nudging the ball around for most of his innings even as Bangladesh’sbowlers ensured that there would be no late run-glut. Their initialprofligacy, however, cost them dearly, as two of Indian cricket’smen-on-the-fringe seized their moment.