By Akshay Iyer
England's opening batsman Andrew Strauss, who hit centuries in both innings of the first Test match against India in Chennai, did everything humanly possible a cricketer could to win the match for his country. But, such is the unpredictable nature of cricket, that despite dominating the match for three-and-a-half days, England still lost the match as India went on to complete the fourth highest successful run chase in Test matches.
However, I shall come to the Indian win and in particular Sachin Tendulkar's unbeaten century knock in just a bit. Rarely have I felt as bad for a player from a losing team (be it India or any other team) as I did for Strauss on the afternoon of December 15, 2008. Strauss came in to the series in India knowing that this is a make-or-break outing for him in light of his not so successful 2007. He had started re-discovering his form earlier this year, but Strauss had reason to be concerned before coming to India as he hadn't played international cricket in a while.
But, that didn't stop him from top-scoring for England in both the innings, and he also finished as the highest individual scorer in the first Test with an aggregate of 231 runs -- 123 and 108 -- at an average of 115.50. While Strauss' century in the first innings helped England post a competitive total, his ton and crucial partnership with Paul Collingwood helped England set a competitive target for India. Apart from the number of runs he scored, Strauss for the most part looked like the only English batsman to have mastered Indian conditions and bowlers alike. In any other contest, Strauss's performances would have been match-winning ones, but in Chennai he ended up being a part of the losing team thanks to a terrific run-chase by India's batsmen led by Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar.
India needed a strong and positive start as they chased a total of 387 to take a 1-0 lead in the two-Test series and Sehwag with a blazing half-century stunned Kevin Pietersen's team as he shifted the momentum of the match towards India. While Sehwag was at the crease, it looked like a T20 match and not a Test match was in progress. Though Sehwag was unlucky to miss out on a well-deserved century, he had laid the perfect foundation for India.
The home team started the fifth day's play needing 256 runs to win with nine wickets in hand. Rahul Dravid was out early in the day's play and Sachin Tendulkar strode out to the middle at fall of the former's wicket. And, though Tendulkar saw Gautam Gambhir and VVS Laxman return to the hut, with 163 runs left to win the match, he was unfazed as he set about consolidating India's innings with Yuvraj Singh. Tendulkar played the role of the elder statesman in the partnership to perfection as he spoke to Yuvraj at the end of every over and at times during overs to ensure the southpaw keeps his focus and doesn't let a rush of adrenalin get the better of him.
Tendulkar knew that as long as he's in the middle, a win is ensured for India, and though he played second fiddle to Yuvraj initially, he started going on the attack only when victory was in sight. Pietersen changed his bowlers at frequent intervals and tinkered around with his field placements as he tried everything to get rid of Tendulkar as the England skipper realised that dismissing the master batsman would bring his team right back in the game. However, Tendulkar maintained his concentration and though he didn't score his century at a fast clip, his presence in the middle meant runs would not be hard to come by.
There has often been a complaint against Tendulkar that his centuries haven't contributed to match-winning causes. Tendulkar ensured that this wouldn't be repeated again in Chennai as he and Yuvraj got India home without the loss of further wickets. And, fittingly, it was Tendulkar who hit the boundary that not only won the match for India, but also brought up his 41st century in Test matches.
Sehwag and Strauss both contributed significantly to a magnificent Test match in Chennai, but for his calmness under pressure and winning the match for India as well as his 41st Test ton, Tendulkar is our Cricketer of the Week.
Source: India Syndicate
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