On both past record and present form, Zimbabwe look to stand
little chance of winning either the two-Test series or the fivematch one-day series on their short tour of India
Partab Ramchand20-Feb-2002On both past record and present form, Zimbabwe look to stand
little chance of winning either the two-Test series or the fivematch one-day series on their short tour of India. Even granting
the fact that India did not exactly cover themselves with glory
in the recent matches against England, a side like Zimbabwe
should not pose much of a problem for the Indian team with their
enviable record at home.Not that everything is hunky-dory as far as the Indian team is
concerned. If Zimbabwe are lying ninth in the Test table, India
are not very far ahead and, as both the Test and the one-dayers
against England showed, there are chinks in the armour that can
be exploited. However, it is doubtful whether Zimbabwe, with
certain inherent weaknesses, will be able to pierce them.At least the visitors are aware of the tough task ahead, and that
is a healthy start. “It is a great challenge to play against
India on their own soil, and we have to work very hard,” said
Zimbabwe coach Geoff Marsh shortly after arrival. The former
Australian opening batsman has played in India many times and is
no doubt aware of the tremendous record of the home team in
familiar environs, as also the fact that Zimbabwe have lost two
Tests and drawn one on the two previous tours of India.
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But the visitors do have a few things going for them. They arrive
in India having been really match-hardened during the season.
Since September, they have hosted South Africa and England and
then toured Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The results have been
mixed, but of particular relevance and a probable pointer
towards events in the coming weeks is the fact they were
whitewashed 3-0 on the recent Sri Lankan tour. They found Muttiah
Muralitharan too hot too handle, and similar experiences are on
the cards against Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh.The Zimbabwe squad, at present, is as strong as it can be. The
recall of Alistair Campbell will not only strengthen the batting
but will also boost the team’s confidence. On skill and
experience, Campbell is still one of Zimbabwe’s best players. A
veteran of 56 Tests, he was dropped from the squad in October
last year and, although his axing was officially put down to a
lack of fitness and patchy form, he had earlier been accused of
making racist comments in a British newspaper. Although the lefthander later apologised, he is still under the threat of a
suspended four-match ban should he step out of line again.Despite Campbell’s presence, there is little doubt that the
player garnering all the attention will be Andy Flower and with
good reason. For one thing, he is currently the number one
batsman in some of the cricket ratings. Secondly, the pugnacious
left-hander’s marvelous run with the bat on the last tour of
India in November 2000 should boost his confidence no end. In two
Tests, Flower scored 540 runs at a phenomenal average of 270. His
scores were 183 not out, 70, 55 and 232 not out. In all, he
batted 1331 minutes and faced 1021 deliveries surely one of the
great endurance feats in cricket history, considering the fact
that it was for a losing team. The only snag is that, not too
long ago, Murali cut him to size, and Flower was reduced to
scores of 42, 10, 8, 11, 6 and 3 in three Tests. Still, with a
career average of 53.55 from 59 Tests, Flower remains Zimbabwe’s
number one batsman of all time.Flower is also a former captain, but this tour will see him
relieved of both keeping and leadership duties. The stump-work
will be handled by teenager Tatenda Taibu, who made such a fine
impression on his international debut in the one-day tri-series
involving India, West Indies and hosts Zimbabwe last year. There
are in fact four former captains in the side Andy and Grant
Flower, Heath Streak and Campbell led now by middle-order
batsman Stuart Carlisle.
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The bowling will again depend heavily on vice-captain Heath
Streak, who was the captain when Zimbabwe last toured India. The
pace spearhead, who will be playing in his 50th Test at Nagpur,
is the only Zimbabwean to have completed the Test double of 1,000
runs and 100 wickets. A notable absentee from the touring squad
is erratic pace bowler Henry Olonga, who has been plagued by
injuries. The batting will revolve around the Flower brothers
like his elder brother, Grant too has played 59 Tests Carlisle,
Campbell, opener Dion Ebrahim and Craig Wishart. Other well-known
names include utility players Travis Friend, Trevor Gripper and
Gavin Rennie.But then, matches are won not only on the field but also off it,
and Carlisle has not missed out on the psychological trick. Aware
of the tough task his bowlers face, and perhaps in a bid to
encourage them, the visiting captain has hinted that India’s top
three batsmen – Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid
– have been “marked” by Zimbabwe.In an interview during the opening match of the tour, Carlisle
said that he and his team members had closely observed the
batting techniques of the three players. “We studied their
strengths and weaknesses with great care and have identified
certain grey areas in each of these players,” Carlisle is
reported to have said. Predictably enough, the Zimbabwe captain
did not spell out the ‘grey areas,’ but the visitors, like
England before them, are obviously looking to capitalise on the
tendency of the Indian batsmen to succumb to pressure tactics.However, given the fact that a rookie like Gautam Gambhir took a
double century off the Zimbabwe attack at Vijayawada, one can
safely say that the bowlers are in for a hard time against
Tendulkar and Co. As on their last visit, Zimbabwe’s batting will
have to come off if they are to fare well in both Tests and oneday internationals.
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If the Zimbabweans are need of inspiration, they need look no
further than the performance of England on their recent tour, and
that is the approach that the team’s think-tank Marsh, Carlisle
and Streak – have been talking about on their arrival. They are
of the view that, if they have a positive attitude, they have the
potential to do well. Last time around, they lost the two-Test
series 1-0 and went down 4-1 in the one-day series. Thanks
chiefly to the efforts of Andy Flower, they were beaten but not
disgraced. However, Zimbabwe will have to perform extraordinarily
well if they want to give India a good run for their money. The
underdog tag could be of some help in this regard.The Indian team has innumerable factors in their favour, and if
they only play up to potential they should have little difficulty
in wrapping up both series. The retention of Ganguly as captain
was expected. All the same, it is healthy that he is aware there
are other contenders for the captaincy. It should spur him on to
greater deeds, both as batsman and captain.He has started off well by calling upon the youngsters to share
more of the burden. A major factor in India failing to win the
one-day series against England was the fact that the
inexperienced middle order failed to build upon the electrifying
starts given by Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Ganguly himself.
As for his recent run drought in Tests, it is to be hoped that
Ganguly makes the most of a gilt-edged opportunity against a
generally stingless Zimbabwe attack to come back into prime form.
He has been spending a lot of time at the nets trying to sort out
his problems with fast, short-pitched deliveries, and as he
optimistically asserted in a recent interview, “The Zimbabwe tour
might see the end of my failures with the bat.”It goes without saying that Dravid’s return will strengthen the
already formidable middle order, and whatever worries the team
management might have on certain aspects the openers, the
wicket-keeper and the inadequate bowling strength should be
unfounded against Zimbabwe. A batting line-up of Shiv Sunder Das,
Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly, Sehwag and VVS Laxman, and a bowling
attack of Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan, Tinu Yohannan, Harbhajan,
Kumble and Sarandeep Singh, with Deep Dasgupta behind the stumps
and the utility qualities of the promising Sanjay Bangar, should
be strong enough to shrug off Zimbabwe’s challenge. It only
remains to be seen whether a contest between teams placed at
numbers eight and nine in the rankings will rake in the crowds.
