After two washed-out matches at Sabina Park, it was a relief to getsome cricket underway again with the third one-day international atthe Kensington Oval in Barbados

Erapalli Prasanna30-May-2002After two washed-out matches at Sabina Park, it was a relief to getsome cricket underway again with the third one-day international atthe Kensington Oval in Barbados. The pitch looked like a cracker, fullof runs and holding plenty of promise for a high-scoring one-dayer.Sourav Ganguly, the Indian captain, won the toss and, as expected,asked the West Indies to bat first.The hosts’ batting impressed me very little. The West Indian batsmen -perhaps as a result of their 2-1 Test win over India – looked overconfident and complacent. The batting on display oozed carelessness,and it was no surprise that the Indian bowlers capitalised on that tothe fullest extent.
© CricInfoI was particularly disappointed with Brian Lara and the way he jumpedout to Harbhajan Singh so early in his innings. It only showed thatLara wanted to hit Harbhajan out of the attack, even though he hadbeen at the wicket only for a couple of deliveries. Harbhajan himselfwas only in his second over at that point, and Lara’s wicket couldonly be attributed to a sever lack of self-confidence or, indeed, asupreme over-confidence.The Indian attack, for its part, looked particularly sharp andincisive. I was impressed especially with Tinu Yohannan, who struck meas a very quick learner. His line was excellent, and he was preparedto attack the batsman and make him play at the ball all the time. Inmy opinion, that is what good bowling is all about.The only West Indian batsman who seemed prepared to stick around andgraft his runs was the skipper, Carl Hooper. In possibly the form ofhis life, Hooper seemed to have no trouble at all with the pitch orthe bowling, and his partnership with Ramnaresh Sarwan, at one stage,looked to take the West Indies to a considerably strong total.Sarwan’s dismissal was the turning-point. After the youngster, noneappeared willing to stick with Hooper at the crease and give him thesupport he so desperately needed. Admittedly, he played a knock ofconsiderable brilliance, but even he must have known that onceShivnarine Chanderpaul – the West Indies’ Mr Dependable at the moment- was brilliantly run out, it was going to be an uphill struggle.India were helped in no small measure by the fact that the West Indiescould not bat out their full quota of overs. That in itself meant thatthe target was not going to be an imposing one.The Indian outfit during the match looked a very strong side. Thefielding was sharp, and the captaincy was spot-on. Ganguly’s bowlingchanges were well thought-out and effective. Once the work in thefield was done, the batsmen had to merely buckle down to their task,and that they did with great efficacy.
© CricInfoGanguly himself played a good knock, but Dinesh Mongia, coming in atnumber three, was a revelation. We have seen his ability to unleashthe fireworks, but this was a calm and measured innings from theyoungster. Recognising the situation, he quickly adapted his game tocollect the runs at a steady rate, rarely panicking or slogging.With such an innings chasing such a moderate total, the Indian chasewas always going to end with a win. Mongia, with his all-rounderperformance, deserved the Man of the Match award in full. The WestIndies, going by their lacklustre approach to the match, will have todo something extraordinary if they are to come back in this series.