da bet vitoria： Ajit Agarkar should never ever be given the new ball again
Anand Vasu27-Nov-2000Ajit Agarkar should never ever be given the new ball again. The feistyMumbai mediumpacer displayed such maturity bowling with the old balltoday that he should be asked to do just that at all times. Althoughhe has come in for a lot of flak for his recent bowling form, Agarkarregained some lost pride after his performance today. On a pitch whereno fast bowler got any assistance, Agarkar managed to extract reverseswing even when the ball was just forty odd overs old. Using reverseswing to superb effect, Agarkar scalped two good wickets, that ofStuart Carlisle and the all important one of Andy Flower. Aided byAgarkar, India picked six Zimbabwe first innings wickets while thevisitors amassed a healthy 359 runs, 50 less than what they need toavoid being asked to follow on.If Agarkar impressed then Sharandeep Singh certainly announced hisarrival on the international scene with a bang. The twenty-one yearold off spinner from Punjab scalped two wickets in the space of tenballs and set Zimbabwe firmly on the back foot at 166/4. Brought intothe attack for just two overs before the luncheon interval, Sharandeepcame good after lunch. Whatever the Sardar ate for lunch, it certainlydid wonders for his bowling. Extracting good turn from the wicket,Sharandeep made the ball jump on the batsmen, and this was thesingular reason for the dismissal of both Guy Whittall and AlistairCampbell. The first to go was the southpaw, presenting SadagopanRamesh at silly mid off with a sharp chance. Having floored a similarchance earlier when Campbell was yet to get off the mark, Ramesh madeno mistake the second time around. Diving to his right, Ramesh scoopedup the ball centimetres from the ground and Campell (4) made the longwalk back to the pavilion.Given the context of the game and the stubborn manner in whichWhittall had resisted the Indian bowlers, his wicket might very wellhave been even more crucial than Campbell’s. Trying to turn a ballfrom Sharandeep behind square, Whittall only managed to glove the ballto Rahul Dravid at leg slip. Whittall’s effective, if not entirelychanceless innings of 84 (12 fours, 164 balls) had come to an end.The period of play soon after lunch when Sharandeep Singh and AjitAgarkar were bowling was the only time that the Indians bowled withany real intensity. It was a serious case of blow-hot blow-coldotherwise and the Zimbabweans capitalised on this. No one more so thanGrant Flower. Having bagged a pair in the Delhi Test, Grant Flower wasdemoted to number six. At the end of the day, this has to be viewed asa wise decision. Hitting the ball crisply around the park, GrantFlower remained unbeaten on 91 when stumps was called. In the courseof his 220 minute essay, Grant Flower used his feet well to thespinners. Sharandeep Singh who met with early success was at thereceiving end of this ploy on more than one occasion. Against themediumpacers, Grant Flower took more chances than would have appealedto the purists. Then again, none of the balls that flew off the edgeof his bat went to hand.The same can’t be said of Andy Flower or Dirk Viljoen. When AndyFlower (55) went after a widish ball from Agarkar he looked back indismay as Vijay Dahiya dived to his left and picked up a good lowcatch. There were murmurs that India’s wicketkeeper problems werefinally solved. If any further proof was needed, it came soon afterwhen Viljoen slashed hard at a quick delivery from Zaheer Khan. Justwhen it looked like the ball would fly over the head of first slipDahiya leapt across and plucked the ball out of the air. Thesensational catch left Dahiya winded but a little medical attentiongot him back on his feet in a hurry.Zimbabwean skipper Heath Streak joined Grant Flower in the middle andsaw Zimbabwe safely through to stumps. The pair will return tomorrowwith the score on 359/6 to continue the quest to save this match.Although the visitors did better than expected on the third day, thereis still a lot of hard work to be done if they want to save this Test.