SIMPLY AUSSIES
Hosts Hand
World XI Humiliating Defeat , Assert Supremacy In Tests Too.
For a few romantic moments, a ray of hope lit up the Sydney Cricket Ground, promising to dazzle the world in its afterglow and radiance .But alas, the blinding light proved to be the final flicker of a fading bulb, the last glimmer of a dying soul.
The World officially passed away in the
second session of the fourth day here on Monday; the ICC didn’t even bother to wait for the humiliating 210-run defeat to sink in : it almost immediately announced a quiet burial to the entire series and concept.
The morning, however, didn’t give any indication of the tragedy ahead .Rain had taken control of the night and it looked like the Super Test would live on, at least, for one more day. But by the
time the city had got on to its wheels, the clouds were clearing up.
The ground-staff in a flash, moped up the specks of water on the grass; play commenced much sooner than expected , just 45 minutes late. Brain Lara and Rahul Dravid, who were unbeaten on a duck and an eight , arrived with great determination and resolve to save the World and, at the same time, conquer the Aussies.
It wasn’t going to be easy though: they were just 25 for 2, and had to steal 330 runs more from highly stingy, yet lethal, attack .They had three days more in front of them but ,ironically, even they hung around their necks like a dangerous albatross.
Glenn McGrath tested them for five long
overs, varying his line and
length with the precision of a laser beam. He beat Lara and Dravid in the air, with his swing and imperceptible variations , and rapped them on the pads ;but that wasn’t enough to convince either the umpire or the man with the deadly button in the pavilion.
At the same time, Brett Lee was purring like a sports car. He had his foot on the pedal right at the start and, at times, was even speaking with the wind .But Lara’s elaborate shuffle had already reduced to a swift movement; his feet were moving perfectly and his willow was flowing too. A square-cut and a square-drive were followed by a couple of more sparkling hits through the off-side.
Dravid too hung around with his broadest bat and the duo lasted the first session , rather comfortably .Pointing , seeing that McGrath was losing pace, finally turned to his blonde bomber: Shane Warne. The leggie started with a quiet , but ominous over; by the second , he was weaving his death trap.
Lara thwarted him for two overs, at times leaning so much that it almost looked like he was flat on the
wicket. But eventually Dravid had to face him,. Warner’s fifth delivery pitched on the middle stump, on the good length spot, drawing Dravid forward for a defensive stroke; but the
ball spun viciously, kissed the edge of the bat on its way and landed in the safe hands of Hayden at first slip.
Two overs later, he came with a very, very special over ,Lara spotted his first ball, a floater , and flicked it away to the mid-wicket boundary, just like Laxman .Warne responded with a mixture of mindboggling deliveries : a googly, a flipper , a straighter one and a sharp leg-break .His final delivery pitched just a little shirt of good length , outside the off-stump.
The ball held its time but turned just a little more than Lara expected; it touched the inside of this willow and Gilchrist caught the treasure in his second attempt .The World XI had slipped to 69 for 4 and the end was at hand .Next over, Brett Lee and the umpire struck, leaving Inzamam-ul Haq in front of the wicket on a king-size duck.
It was only a matter of time after that Jacques Kallis coped with Warne nicely and Flintoff too started attacking Stuart MacGill .But the other leggie soon had the last laugh, yet again .Warne took care of Boucher with another classic leg-break and MacGill wrapped up the tail, to pick up another five wicket haul, in the 50th over.
Australia have truly knocked the daylights out of the World. ICC needs to think of something else now..
More reviews about the Times of India