More a class test than a board exam

Despite skipper Saurav Ganguly’s temper tantrum-induced absence, the hosts with a 3-1 lead are certified favourites and the final match of the series is more like a public flogging of the dead horse. And by no stretch of imagination the locals seem keen on this sadistic sight.

The two captains, on eve of the match, did attempt to conjure up some purpose to Thursday’s inconsequential tie, but mostly indulged in looking beyond tomorrow and glancing back to the past. India’s stand-in captain Rahul Dravid, coach John Wright and Zimbabwe’s skipper Heath Streak did dish out the expected "every international game is important" sound byte but mostly concentrated on the end of the tour assessment report and then talked about the coming games against the teams from Down Under. (In coming months India play Australia at home while Zimbabwe tour New Zealand and Australia).

After giving a detailed assessment of the impact of the present tour on their future games, the captains had very little to say about the job at hand. They kept the team composition close to the chest while Dravid didn’t even disclose the identity of the man who would fill opener Ganguly’s shoes.

The only sort of revelation about the match was the pitch report — typical Rajkot wicket, a complete batting paradise.

Asking goundsman Rasik Makwana whether the wicket is batsman-friendly is like asking — Is Pope Catholic? A brief history of the brown rectangle here, which has seen countless run marathons, would give a bowler sleepless night. And a few statistics from the last international match played here between India and New Zealand would make any batsmen lick his lips. 655 runs were scored in 97 overs and all the bowlers on show on November 5, 1999 gave more than five runs per over.

But despite India’s strong batting line-up, the hosts have an abysmal record here. Of the six matches played here, they won just one and this would give the Zimbabwe players some hope. But this piece of statistics didn’t have the expected reaction from the two captains. Rather than dwelling on the jinx, Dravid said this was a chance to set the record straight. As for Streak this did not make his eyes lit up as he dismissed it as mere piece of obscure history.

With the opposition already floored, it is now more of a intra-team contest for the Indians. For the freshly blooded youngsters, Thursday’s game is more of class test rather than a board exam. The young turks — Yuvraj Singh, Hemang Badani, Shridharan Sriram, Reetinder Singh Sodhi — who were inducted to avert India’s mid-life crisis will be competing among themselves to cement their places in the national side.

For the Zimbabweans, there has not been much to write home about on this tour. The Test series was lost while the cynics slot their One-Day win at Jodhpur in the `one-off miracle’ category. As for Thurday, the visitors pray that the likes of Flower brothers and Alistar Campbell get going on this sleeping beauty at Rajkot to carry home some consolation.

Consolation is okay but if the win gives the team, which seriously lacks depth, a sense of false pride then that’s not done. It is like landing in fool’s pradise after a trip to a batting heaven.

TEAMS: (from)
INDIA: Rahul Dravid (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Hemang Badani, Virendra Sehwag, Vijay Dahiya (wk), Ajit Agarkar, Venkatesh Prasad, Sirdharan Sriram, Ashish Kapoor, Sunil Joshi, Reetinder Singh Sodhi, Zaheer Khan.

ZIMBABWE: Heath Streak (captain), Guy Whittal, Andy Flower, Grant Flower, Alistar Campbell, Sturat Carlisle, Gavin Rennie, D Marillier, T Friend, T Madondo, M Nkala, B Murphy, B Strang and H Olonga.

Umpires: Amish Saheba (Ahmedabad) & VN Kulkarni (Karnataka).

Third umpire: K Murli (Tamil Nadu).

Match starts at 9 am