da esoccer bet： The plays of the day from action at the fourth day of the first Test at Mohali
da winzada777： Amit Varma and Osman Samiuddin11-Mar-2005You are in your seventh Test, having scratched around for 15 balls and two runs, against the oldest enemy. You have just come in and are battling to erase asizeable deficit with almost half your team gone. You are facing a living legend playing in his 92nd test and who has just dismissed your captain, talisman andbest batsman before tea. What do you do? If you are Asim Kamal, you hit Anil Kumble for four successive boundaries.The first ball of the over, Kamal tried a cheeky late cut; he caught an edge and Rahul Dravid at slip failed to get his hands onto a sharp chance. Fearless, hetried the same shot next ball, except he played it later and with more control; same result. Kumble flighted the next two balls outside off-stump, Kamalcoolly deposited both through the covers, the last on bended knee. Pressure? What pressure? (OS)Two GiantsSo there they were: India’s would-be matchwinner and Pakistan’swould-be matchsaver. Anil Kumble came in to bowl to Inzamam-ul-Haq,who was 86, having added 139 with Yousuf Youhana after Pakistan were10 for 3. The match hinged on this partnership, and Inzamam wasbatting beautifully. All afternoon Kumble had toiled, and now he gothis man. The ball pitched just outside off, and went straight with theangle to hit Inzamam, who took a big stride forward, in line with theoff stump. He was quite far ahead, but was hit low on the pads. It wasa fair decision.Kumble jumped up and punched the air with both his fists, in childlikeglee. Inzamam turned slowly and walked back to the pavilion,laboriously, in little baby steps. He had been out in a similar mannerin the first innings, and this was quite the worst kind of deja vu. (AV)The satisfaction of a long-distance bowlerVVS Laxman rocked back to cut; the ball, a googly, came into him,caught the edge of the bat and hit the stumps. Kaneria exulted; thiswas his fifth wicket, in his 54th over. Now, which should one clap formore? Those 54 overs under the sun? Or the five wickets (that becamesix when he had Zaheer Khan caught-and-bowled soon after)? Thoseovers, unquestionably, for it was his endurance, his ability to keepbowling with guile and accuracy over after over, that got him thosewickets. He strode back towards the dressing room a satisfied man, nodoubt looking forward to lying on the massage table, with thecontentment of a man who had done a job only he could have performedfor his side. (AV)Sir George Balaji”Bala, Bala,” a few members of the sparse crowded chanted when LBalaji walked out to bat. After he’d hit Shoaib Akhtar for six lastyear, John Wright had written on his bat, “to the next Black Bradman”.Here, he played out a couple of overs from Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, beforefinally getting a full over against Danish Kaneria. What would happen?Would Kaneria beat him in flight, or with a googly? Would Balaji tryto tonk him out of the ground?First ball, Balaji steered it to third man for four. Not entirelyintended, perhaps. Next ball, dot. Third ball, a two to midwicket.Surely he was getting impatient. Then, a lovely square-drive for four,backward of point. Then he played forward and was beaten by alegbreak. Last ball, fullish in length. Balaji played a majesticoff-drive, that evoked memories of, well, what Wright had written injest on his bat.”You can call me George,” he must have said to himself. “George Balaji.” (AV)
