Present safe, future secure

SYDNEY: Time came to a standstill as the past and future of Indian cricket overlapped each other at the Sydney Cricket Ground here on Sunday night. 

Sachin Tendulkar, with his best years behind him, and Rohit Sharma, with his best years certainly ahead, came together in a classical union, as India recorded perhaps their most authoritative win in recent times.

The six-wicket verdict gave the Men in Blue a rare lead in the tri-series finals and Tendulkar his first ODI century in Australia.

Tendulkar and Rohit stitched together a 123-run partnership that was engaging, exhilarating, entertaining. Even as the old pro was showing his magical touch, the rookie was unraveling his hidden skills. If Tendulkar was mastering the upper cuts, Rohit was exhibiting his pulls and drives.

The gap between their ages is almost 15 years but with every ball, the difference appeared to be dwindling as Rohit kept growing in stature and Tendulkar rewind his hey days.

Never before in his burgeoning ODI career, Rohit showed so much in class, command and control over the bowlers and never before in the series Tendulkar appeared so much in diligence and determination. Both, of course, come from Mumbai, but that’s another thing.

Australia, who recorded a modest 238 — thanks to some incisive spells by the Indian bowlers and imaginative field placements by skipper MS Dhoni — had entertained hopes of a win when they got Yuvraj, with India’s score reading 87-3.

They tried to choke the flow of runs with some tight bowling and intense fielding, but the two Mumbaikars put the issue beyond Ricky Ponting & Co’s reach with a mesmerizing batting show. A rare lapse in concentration led to Rohit’s fall but Tendulkar ensured he stayed till the end.

Earlier, Matthew Hayden launched a daring counter-attack after Dhoni’s surprising, but effective, moves. The Indian skipper handed the new ball to Praveen Kumar, the hero of India’s win over Sri Lanka last week, and it worked wonders.

Praveen got rid of dangermen Adam Gilchrsit and Ponting to have the home side, backed by a raucous crowd, in trouble. The fall of the captain and vice-captain at the other end, however, had little effect on Big Mat, who went after the Indian bowlers.

Irfan Pathan suffered the most as Hayden greeted him with three consecutive fours. He was involved in a productive fourth-wicket stand with Andrew Symonds before Harbhajan Singh, who had run-ins with both during the series, saw off both.

The fourth wicket stand worth 100 runs, came off 103 balls. Later, Mike Hussey stitched together a couple of useful stands (38 for the sixth wicket with James Hopes and 39 for the seventh with Brad Hogg) and Brett Lee used the long handle to good effect to give some respectability to the Australian total.

But the Indian bowlers — including Piyush Chawla — with the rare exception of Pathan, had the better of the Australian batsmen and later Tendulkar and Rohit ensured the bowlers’ good work did not go waste. It’s 1-0 India, with two to go. Or is it one to go?