da brwin： Amidst speculation in the local press that the top four teams makingthe semi-final grade would be Australia, New Zealand, England andpossibly South Africa, the Indian team brushed it aside with contemptby registering an emphatic victory against
Shantha Rangaswamy30-Nov-2000Amidst speculation in the local press that the top four teams makingthe semi-final grade would be Australia, New Zealand, England andpossibly South Africa, the Indian team brushed it aside with contemptby registering an emphatic victory against South Africa. The way theIndian team went about the task warmed many a Indian heart.The Hagley Park pitch is different from the Lincoln University pitch.The pitch where the match was played on today had lesser bounce andwas more akin to the type the Indians are used to. The day was brightand sunny and the wind factor, which can upset many calculations, wasvirtually absent. It was an ideal toss to win and bat on as the Indianteam would have loved to have runs against their names. This was notto be as the Indian skipper chose to field on winning the toss.The fact that it is the first match of the competition for them andthe need to have a feel of the pitch obviously dictated the decisionto field first. The only disadvantage with this was that some of theirkey batsmen did not get to bat during the course of the day.The under rated Indian pace attack showed it had teeth when RenuMargaret claimed two quick wickets, the first of which was on accountof a stunning catch at slip by Anjum Chopra. With Smitha Harikrishna,the other pacer, constantly beating the bat with her away swingers,the South African batsmen were tied down.The introduction of Purnima Rau, the offspinner, saw the bowlersvirtually spinning a web on the batsmen from which they could neverextricate themselves. With most of the Indians bowling to a length, itbecame increasingly difficult for the South Africans to score runs andat one stage they were a pathetic 68 for 8.The ninth wicket pair of skipper Kim Price and medium pacer YulandiVan Der Merwe gave the South African score respectability as at onetime it appeared that they would not cross the 100 figure. But somebetter handling of the bowlers towards the end would have made rungetting that much more difficult.Deepa Kularni, the left arm spinner, had conceded just 5 runs in the 5overs she sent down but she was never reintroduced into the attackwhen the two South African batsmen were going for the big hits.With just 129 runs to chase, the target was always within India’sreach. The opening pair of Anju Jain and Anjum Chopra added 23 runsfor the first wicket before the latter was bowled by Van der Merwe,trying to cut a ball that kept low. For an opener, Chopra has too muchof a tendency to play square of the wicket in the initial overs whichmay land her in trouble against a better bowling attack.The exit of Chopra brought Mithali Raj to the middle. Watching her batwas an exquisite experience as in a game where even veterans getinhibited in their strokeplay, she was like a whiff of fresh air.Making her bow in the World Cup, she displayed a temperament whicheven veterans would have been proud of. Her precision timing andplacement left the South African bowlers and fielders frustrated.Mithali Raj’s innings was an authoritative one and it seemed like shelet her bat announce to the cricketing world that she has arrived andin what a fashion! The Indian confidence level is definitely highafter this victory and they are fully aware that they are up againstformidable opposition ahead of them.