June 7, 1999
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PAVILION END Playing to Potential When we pit our wits together the opposition gets blown away. By Anshuman Gaekwad
Such thoughts are bad because it puts unnecessary pressure on Sachin. For once he was relaxing in the pavilion watching others putting the bowling to the sword. Viv Richards put it in the right perspective when he told Sachin during the match, "Isn't it nice sitting in the dressing room while others do the part?" Cricket is a team game and there is no need to be too dependent on one person. Before the match we had decided that we would not put undue pressure on ourselves. And true to that line of thinking everyone played to their potential. Rahul really set the ball rolling. He stroked the Lankan bowling to all parts of the ground in the early part of the innings. He is technically correct, in terrific form and never looks likely to get out. Saurav took over from there. He was hitting the ball so hard that the ground appeared too small for him. It was a spirited show. The players had realised that if they didn't make the most of the occasion it would be the team's end in the World Cup. Everyone was confident. Sachin was cocksure we were going to win. The plan now is to progress on this mood. India have to iron out some nagging problems. However, if you think we have been guilty of bowling too many wides and no balls, at least we are not the exception. The tournament has seen almost 500 extras, and even disciplined teams like South African have fallen prey to it. The problem has partly to do with the ball. If you hit the seam straight, it's fine. But if the seam is slanted the ball tends to move away on hitting the deck, resulting in a wide. So it has become a question of control. There is no excuse for the no balls we have been bowling. With the wind and the cold it's not always easy for a bowler to find his rhythm. But we discussed it at our meeting and in the Kenya match Javagal Srinath did not bowl a single no ball and Ajit Agarkar only one. This is the sort of effort that India requires. Early in the tournament I felt our batting might struggle in the prevalent conditions. But it is the bowlers who have had a hard time. One of the things we discussed with them is not to bowl quicker and hurry things when they get hit for a few runs. Basically, where India has lacked is in consistency. Against South Africa, although we lost narrowly, we bowled, batted and fielded well. Against Zimbabwe we batted and bowled badly and our fielding was average. Against Kenya the batting was good but the bowling and fielding were average. Against Sri Lanka we improved tremendously in all departments. If we can get all the elements working in top gear we'll be a tough team to beat. I think we need to be more lively in the field, as pumped up as we were in the first match. We need to help each other, boost the bowlers. What happens is that under pressure we tend to curb our natural instincts. We talked about this and decided that when we do get into such a position the players shouldn't pressure themselves. If they do that, they get out and the pressure increases. The best way would be to remain cool, calculated and focussed in the middle. (Anshuman Gaekwad, coach of the Indian
cricket team, will be writing a weekly column |
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For
some time now the talk has been that without Sachin Tendulkar the Indian batting cannot
click. On Wednesday against Sri Lanka Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid proved that is not
always the case. The two took advantage of some characterless bowling to showcase India's
depth of talent. I was really happy because, although Sachin is brilliant, it put to rest
the belief that without him nothing can happen. 
