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Tendulkar and Dravid were just too much

You could see the little look in the eye and the gleam when the toss ensured Sachin the opportunity to bat first. You may be excused for thinking this one-day cricket match was over once the toss was decided, for the match at the Lal Bahadur Shastri stadium was all but a mirror image of the first encounter at Rajkot.

There are always two major issues to be decided on the field, of course. One is how to use the batting conditions and the other is to strive for control in the field. There is no question which side was superior in dealing with these issues.

I have seen some wonderful batting displays by Indian cricketers over the years and have suffered some battered hands in the field too. But nothing quite prepared me for the onslaught delivered by Tendulkar and Dravid yesterday. I have frequently expressed my admiration for these two players but they both surpassed any previous description.

Dravid is in my view possibly the most technically perfect batsman playing today, anywhere. He is invariably in the ideal position, head still, eyes over the ball, feet dancing smoothly. He has this surreptitious capacity that is granted to few, of being able to score extraordinarily quickly while giving the impression that there is no hurry. As a result he was often outpacing even the little master. There was no broadsword, simply the silken application of the scalpel.

Pace was the key to the Indian innings. It started modestly enough as the adjustment was made for Ganguly's unlucky dismissal. Then the contribution from the fielding side assisted the major swing towards batting dominance. There were so many no balls, and the odd wide, so that there was no pressure on the pair of batting princes.

Tendulkar uses these situations in a manner that is unique today, and possibly for all time. His ability to work the gaps and to penetrate the field is almost uncanny. He builds an innings like this with virtually no risk, and you will notice that even when he reached 162 he had scored more than half his runs from ones and twos, rather than boundaries.

It is a method that quickly wears down the opposition, especially in the wicked heat of Hyderabad.

It was exacerbated by the surprise performance of the Black Caps at Rajkot, putting the lie immediately to Tendulkar's rather rash claim that he expected to win the series in a whitewash. The flak from that defeat would have rankled and his determination to put matters right was evident from the start.

A huge and expectant crowd was blessed with sublime batting by the Indian pair and they constantly revelled in their heroes' enchantment. It is a power that tends to multiply itself, with the crowd adding to the players' adrenalin and the entire confrontation conspiring against the hapless Kiwis.

That they added to their problems unnecessarily goes without saying. There were the infringements by the bowlers, who to a man failed to find a line that might have contained this glorious strokeplay somewhat. The difference may have been only 50 or so runs but that would have meant a major hill rather than a mountain to climb when the Kiwis batted. For the New Zealanders maintained a very respectable scoring rate that on other days and with less formidable a target may have been competitive.

Except that wickets fell steadily and confusion reigned when the run-outs started. That mode of dismissal invariably reveals a state of mind and by now the Black Caps were out of gas. In my opinion they were out of gas on the field, particularly the captain Stephen Fleming. He is a calm and unruffled character but on this day that aspect only seemed to indicate he had gone to sleep.

Why otherwise were there no rapid bowling changes, no experiments with other bowlers, no recognition that some of his bowlers were in serious trouble and needed help. Vettori bowled only eight overs and yet went for less than five an over. Twose, often useful with the ball, was not even considered. It was a laboured display by the New Zealand leadership but it must not detract from the exalted presentation by those two remarkable wielders of willow. It was my delight to watch them and to be permitted the privilege of appropriate comment.

(Gameplan)

Martin Crowe