Aussies reel under Tendulkar assault

Chennai, March 9: Indian cricket basked in the sunshine, here, today. It was one of those days when everything went right. Indeed, rarely in...

Chennai, March 9: Indian cricket basked in the sunshine, here, today. It was one of those days when everything went right. Indeed, rarely in the history of Indian Test cricket would the country have experienced the kind of success it enjoyed on the penultimate day of the first Test against Australia at Chepauk.

Total, complete, absolute dominance. First, the Indian batsmen and then the bowlers played their roles to such perfection that the team was poised to register its first win in seven meetings against Australia at Chepauk.

When a team chasing a target of 348 is 31 for three, it only points to a victory for the fielding side. For India, not to win from this position would require a combination of bad cricket on their part and resilience of the Aussie batsmen.

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However, Australia were a morally beaten side on Monday. They were made to look ordinary by the brilliance of Sachin Tendulkar. The former India captain, who turns 25 next month, acknowledged as one of the two leading batsmen in the world,enthralled the 30,000 strong crowd with the radiance of his strokeplay. It was not so much the bigness of his score as the manner of his batting that took one’s breath away.

If this Test was built on the duel between Tendulkar and Warne, then it can safely be said that the Indian won by a knock-out, despite having fallen to the leg-spinner cheaply the first time. It was as if Tendulkar had come out determined to sail into Warne and he did not waste any time cutting him for his first boundary.

From that moment, it was ecstasy for the crowd and agony for the Australians.Warne bore the brunt of Tendulkar’s fury. He was in a particularly murderous mood after lunch, having reached 50 by the interval. Clutching at a straw, Mark Taylor adopted the age-old ploy of taking the new ball with Tendulkar on 97. But the trick was wasted as Tendulkar and soon he glanced Michael Kasprowicz to bring up his 15th Test hundred.

Tendulkar and Azharuddin just piled on the agony for the hapless Australians and the climax camein Warne’s 30th over. The Indian captain waded into the leg-spinner and the sequence read 4,0,4,4,0,6. Warne had to come off, a gesture of final, conclusive defeat for the bowler with 308 Test wickets to his name — one short of Lance Gibbs as the most successful spin bowler of all time.Finally, Azharuddin intoxicated by success, pulled Mark Waugh high to square-leg but there was no end to the Australians’ torment.

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To see Saurav Ganguly, with a career average of 52, walk in at this stage was the last straw. Runs by now were there for the picking. Tendulkar and Ganguly slapped on 63 runs off 11.1 overs before Azharuddin made a bold declaration, setting the Australians a target of 348 in 105 overs.The figure 348 had a familiar ring about it.

Indeed, it was the target Australia had set for India during Tied Test II on this very ground 12 years ago.But by stumps, the target was as distant as the Himalayas for the tired and dispirited Australians. First Slater, trying to off-drive Srinath, dragged the ballonto the stumps. Then Blewett, playing forward to Anil Kumble’s first delivery, was well taken by Dravid at silly mid-off. And finally, Taylor played an irresponsible shot and was well held by a diving Javagal Srinath at short gully. The Australian goose was well and truly cooked.