Bowling is a concern

Memonics

In my book, Sachin Tendulkar’s century at Perth in 1992 tops the list of the whopping 38 he has scored in his Test career. It was an innings of such controlled aggression and character that he was given  a standing ovation by the crowd when he was finally dismissed for 114. Improbable as this may seem today, even the Australian fielders applauded him back to the pavilion.

Tendulkar was only 18 then, and the WACA pitch was a typical flier, giving batsmen nightmares apart, of course, from regular blows on the body.

There was nobody of the express pace of Brett Lee in the Australian side then, but the Indian first innings was quickly in disarray till the young Indian batsman took charge and, in the company of tailenders, took the total to some respectability; alas not good enough to save the match.

I remember John Woodcock, doyen among cricket writers then, going into raptures watching Tendulkar take on the Aussie pace bowlers.

There were peals of ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ every time the young batsman played a cover drive or square cut, giving the fielders no chance. When Tendulkar reached his hundred, Woodcock became unexpectedly sober, and said with an air of finality: “The boy is already master’’, or some such.

Tendulkar’s virtuosity in that match has been so well chronicled that it is pointless dwelling on it further. More relevant in the current context is the fact that while the Perth pitch does pose a severe test to a batsman’s nerves and technique, a good batsman can actually enjoy himself here and make a lot of runs. For instance, in the 1977-78 Test, Mohinder Amarnath made 90 and 100.

There has been far too much theorizing about the ‘demonic’ nature of the pitch, and what it portends for Indian batsmen in the third Test, a great deal of it bluff and guff.

The ball will fly, Australia’s all-pace attack will find conditions to their liking, Ponting will attack and intimidate, but why is all of this unexpected?

If India’s batsmen can stay long enough and adjust to the pace and bounce, they could actually find that all these supposed handicaps are actually advantages. Indeed, I believe India’s problem could be the bowling, and even more the fielding, which has been poor to say the least.

For the past fortnight, Anil Kumble’s team has matched the Australians tit-for-tat; some would argue, even scored a victory.  The action now shifts back to the field. India have a point to prove here too.