da poker： India had set their eyes on a big score against the comparatively weakNetherlands
Shantha Rangaswamy02-Dec-2000India had set their eyes on a big score against the comparatively weakNetherlands. They eventually ended batting first after being put in by theopposition which very much suited them as I guess they would have battedfirst even if they had won the toss.Indian openers Anju Jain and Anjum Chopra began on a sedate note. WhileJain was more open to the idea of scoring runs, Chopra appeared to getherself tied down with her attempt to play, more often than not, square onboth sides of the wickets. She appeared more cramped for space in theprocess but played a determined innings. Anju Jain appeared to be a victimof a leg before decision, bringing Mithali Raj to the middle.The entry of Raj accelerated the scoring rate to an extent especially onaccount of some very good running between the wickets by Chopra. The101-run partnership for the second wicket between these two laid thefoundation for an onslaught later on. Chopra’s attempt to play in front ofthe wicket came rather late in the innings but she eventually fell in theprocess of lofting one over extra cover.The run rate was none too impressive even after Raj fell but the fourthwicket pair of Hemalatha Kala and Chandrakantha Kaul smashed the Dutchattack to smithereens and when the Indian innings ended, the score read ahealthy 275 for 4 with 75 runs coming in quick time from this partnership.Kala’s innings stood out as a shining example with her 56 runs coming offjust 40 balls. It was not just her score but the authentic andauthoritative manner in which she got those runs that warmed the handful ofspectators watching the match.Kaul (39 off 37 balls), who has been out of touch with the game after hersojourn in England, returned unbeaten, obviously happy with her formalthough it was against one of the babes of the women’s cricket arena. Itis interesting that Netherlands are playing in their fourth World Cup butthe difference in standard between the top five teams and the rest israther vast.Set target of 276, Netherlands never seemed to be in the run. SunitaKanojia, who opened the attack, bowled against the breeze but appeared tobe the best medium pacer insight with her ability to swing the ball awayfrom a right hander which pays better dividends against the moreaccomplished batsmen. But she was decisively unlucky not to be amongst thewickets though she bowled economically.In the end the Netherlands team managed to score 121 for 6 resulting in anIndian victory by a huge margin of 154 runs. But what has been disturbingout here has been the inability of the Indian team to get any team all outin the competition and in the two warm up games prior to it. This is inspite of the fact that all the teams respect the Indian spin attack and themedium pacers have made the initial breakthroughs. May be the think thankof the team needs to address this issue and sort out the strategicallyproblematic areas that may have crept into their game plan.But the defeat of England at the hands of South Africa has made it easierfor India even though it has thrown open the competition and made it harderfor England to qualify for the semi-final. But then it is early days yetand one can’t write away the tenacious England team at this stage.