India go down to NZ in Videocon Final

Veeru grabbed 3
By ICF Staff
September 6 2005

India add another final loss to their long record of slipping at the final hurdle in ODI tournaments, going down to New Zealand by 2 overs in the Videocon Triangular.

Given that New Zealand is ranked third and India seventh, the result should come as no surprise. In this series India lost one to them, won one (albeit lacking their best bowlers Shane Bond and Daniel Vettori), and won both comfortably against minnows Zimbabwe.

However, India ran New Zealand close in this game. Virender Sehwag, perhaps India's best big-match player, delivered yet again in a final, not just with the bat, plundering 75 off 65, but taking 3 of the 4 Kiwi wickets to fall today for an economical 44 off a full quota.

India's genuine ODI lineup these days appears to consist of Virender Sehwag, Mahendra Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh and Sourav Ganguly, in that order. Sehwag and Ganguly gave India a swashbuckling start with a quick 72 runs off 13. Ganguly departed at 31 but Sehwag rocked on, giving India a perfect platform from which to post a 300+ score on a pitch that was a paceman's graveyard. Even Shane Bond could not break through, giving away 5 an over for a lone tailender wicker off 9 overs before limping out with a twisted ankle.

Mohammad Kaif played another solid anchor role, hitting an unbeaten 93 off 110. But like Rahul Dravid, he requires big hitters at the other end for India to take the game away. Today, Mahendra Dhoni could not rally to the team's cause, getting a poor LBW decision to be out cheaply. Yuvraj did not deliver either after a century against Zimbabwe, and Dravid's miserable run continued, out LBW for duck after being bowled cheaply 4 straight times in the series. Venu Rao showed yet again why he is not cut out for ODIs. Daniel Vettori, New Zealand's left-arm spinner, was their best performer with 2-35 off 10 overs.

Still, India ended its innings with a respectable and defendable 276. However the pitch where Bond was unsuccessful was even less kind to India's pacemen, and Nathan Astle and Stephen Fleming did not help matters with a destructive opening partnership that threatened to take the game away early.

Irfan Pathan was hammered for 8 an over, including particularly torrid treatment in one over when Fleming hit him for five boundaries. Ashish Nehra was not much better, and Ganguly was forced to turn to Ajit Agarkar who has been India's best bowler in this tournament. However, Agarkar could not slow down a partnership that had already taken off, although he was denied a good LBW shout against Fleming in his second over. The umpiring in this series has been poor, with Zimbabwean KC Barbour in particular allowing Kiwi bowlers numerous wides which were not called, as well as a bad LBW against India's lower-order MVP Dhoni.

When Ganguly turned to spin in the form of Harbhajan Singh and part-timer Sehwag, the game quickly changed complexion. Runs slowed down to a trickle, and India looked to be back in the game. However, Astle stayed put for a wonderful century which was the main factor in New Zealand's win today.

India's fielding was shoddy, and their best bowlers were part-timers Sehwag and Yuvraj. Harbhajan started well but ended poorly, going wicketless for 49 runs.

The tournament has ended anti-climactically, with India's bowling which has done so well all series flagging in the end. In particular, the pacemen who have delivered in all the earlier games underachieved today, and the best bowling came from part-time spinners.

Kudos to India for staying in the game after the explosive start given by the Kiwi openers, and to Ganguly for giving part-timers an extended run even with 5 regular bowlers available. But the higher-ranked New Zealand edged India out in the end, and it is time for the coach and captain to return to the drawing board with fresh strategies for tournament finals.