This was a great day’s play at the Wankhede, on a pitch that offered a little something for all the bowlers

Sadiq Yusuf27-Feb-2001This was a great day’s play at the Wankhede, on a pitch that offered a little something for all the bowlers. And the highlight of the day came right in the middle, in just about 90-minutes either side of lunch. This consisted of the much-anticipated contest between the hometown boy Tendulkar and the Australian attack – primarily the two legends, McGrath and Warne.The early skirmishes had been won by Australia. After winning the toss and taking a self-proclaimed “gamble” by inserting the opposition, the Australians produced what they do best – excellent tight seam bowling backed up by immaculate fielding. Ramesh hooked and was caught behind, Dravid got a late away-swinger and edged it through to the keeper, and Shiv Sunder Das drove away from his body and was brilliantly caught by a diving Hayden at gully. Tendulkar emerged to a great ovation at 25-2, and was joined by his skipper at 31-3.Tendulkar looked in spectacular form from the start – his first ball was caressed past the bowler for two and the fifth whipped through square-leg for four. Both strokes had come against the bowling of Fleming, who was next driven for three – a little defensive push past the bowler that raced almost all the way to the fence. Gillespie was off-driven all along the ground for four, and Fleming pulled contemptuously over mid-wicket for another. Tendulkar had raced onto 18 with his skipper on four, India had progressed to onto 49-3 three-quarters of an hour before lunch, and the nerves were beginning to settle.That was when Steve Waugh made his move – a double change, turning to the two men who have done the job for Australia so often over the years, McGrath and Warne.At the most sedate of times an Indian cricket crowd is a lively group – drumming, chanting, keeping themselves in good humour with the odd Mexican Wave. There was none of that for the next 45 minutes, though. In that time only 11 runs were scored – it was hard slogging, trench warfare. But then that is the essential beauty of Test cricket – it was as riveting a period of play as one could ever hope to watch.McGrath came on to face a rampant Tendulkar before his home crowd, and bowled with the metronomic precision of a Swiss Clock. For the next three overs, not a ball departed from the famed “corridor of uncertainty” – three consecutive maidens to the most explosive stroke player in the world in rampaging form. It was magnificent fast bowling, and a great batsman was willing to give a great bowler his due, going against his natural instincts and securely playing him out.At the other end was Warne, who started his Test match with a bouncer to Ganguly – seemingly a new weapon he uses to keep the batsman guessing. Ganguly stroked him to mid-off the next delivery, who misfielded and let through a boundary. And then Warne zeroed in – pitching the ball on a perfect length, getting monstrous and biting turn off the pitch, and tying the batsmen in knots. Ganguly was bottled up to the extent of playing two scoring strokes in 21 deliveries, before he edged to be brilliantly caught by Hayden.India went into lunch at 60-4, after a fascinating test of skill. Tendulkar in particular had been kept remarkably quiet, scoring just a single in that time.It all changed after lunch, for one glorious hour off cricket. And the portent was the first ball itself – Warne bowled it on the stumps and spun it away sharply, only to see Tendulkar savagely cut it to the fence. A pull for two and another cut for two followed immediately in the same over.Gillespie came on at the other end – he pitched up, and was beautifully off-driven for a boundary. He attempted an outswinger, and was promptly cover-driven for another.Warne adopted a leg-stump line, spinning the ball viciously across the face of the bat. He was clipped through mid-wicket off his toes for four, and pulled the next ball for four more. And Tendulkar followed that up with a little clip to fine-leg, to reach fifty. A vitally important knock that showed all facets of his batsmanship – the technique and patience against great pace bowling, the soft hands and immaculate defence against vicious spin, and explosive strokeplay to every ball that allowed it.There are, as I said, some periods when an Indian crowd is quiet. And then there are those other times – when the crowd is a living, breathing organism, a seething mass in a boiling cauldron of emotion. When the Wankhede resembles nothing so much as a Spanish bullring with a crowd thirsting for a kill with Tendulkar playing Manolete, driving the emotions higher with every thrust-and-parry.Steve Waugh responded as best he could by spreading his field, even placing a man at sweeper as cover. It was to no avail – Tendulkar went up on his toes and blasted Gillespie off the back-foot past the point and the sweeper for yet another boundary.In desperation, McGrath was brought back – and welcomed by Laxman with a four as he strayed with his first ball. His first delivery to Tendulkar brought only marginally better results – a beautifully timed back-foot defensive push ran away past cover and only a despairing dive kept it to three.Warne was replaced by Fleming, and welcomed by Tendulkar with a drive straight as a die – it crashed into the middle-stump at the bowler’s end thus resulting in no runs. But the little genius immediately re-adjusted the radar – the very next ball was dispatched inches wide of those same stumps down to the sightscreen. The next ball was punched off the back-foot past mid-on for four more. And the third was square-cut with regal authority to the point fence – once again out of the reach of the sweeper cover running around the fence.There was pandemonium at the Wankhede. These are the very conditions that make India such a hard place to win in – when an Indian crowd is in full-throated roar, things can crumble in a hurry. The bowling loses discipline, the fielding gets ragged, and before one knows it the game has run away from the touring side. It has happened time and again over the seasons.The Australians know this. And so, with the momentum speeding away from them with every flash of the Tendulkar blade, their Champion once again stood up to be counted. The very first ball of McGrath’s next over lifted and left Laxman, drawing an edge and an easy catch to Ponting at second slip.Message sent loud and clear – We aren’t going anywhere.Tributes can come in strange forms, sometimes. Tendulkar has received many over the years, but few could be as honest as Steve Waugh today – with India struggling at 130-5 against the might of the Aussie attack, the Iron Man of Cricket had one lonely slip for Tendulkar, with deep third man, sweeper cover, deep mid-wicket and deep fine-leg manning the boundary. The inference was clear – only half the side might be out, but you can have the single if you like. Just let us work on the rest.Tendulkar responded immediately – he smacked yet another straight drive down to the sightscreen past Fleming in the next over, the one spot on the field impossible to cover. The gauntlet thrown down once again.And yet again it was picked up, in the most emphatic way possible – McGrath produced a pearler, perfectly pitched outside off stump and moving away late, catching the edge of Tendulkar’s blade for Gilchrist to hold easily.The rest of the innings was anti-climactic, as it had to be after the afternoon pyrotechnics. McGrath bowled five more overs, conceding a single, solitary run. Warne returned to bowl 12 more overs, claiming three for 19. Akin to shooting fish in a barrel for the great bowlers – and to their credit they did it quietly and efficiently, with a minimum of fuss.India were dismissed for 176 on a first day pitch, and Australia had irrevocably captured the initiative – for the day, maybe for the match, and possibly for the series.