 |
 |
 |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
He tried but he could not!
He could not even score his 16th Century. Umpire Tony hill penned a premature death of a heroic innings of 87 – an impeccable, flawless endeavour.
Sourav Ganguly stood on the burning deck nearly four hours for a fine 87 delaying Proteas from victory at the Motera mayhem.
Sourav added 110 with Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and 55 with VVS Laxman, exhibiting all the determination and poise that had been conspicuously absent in India's abject first innings.
But once Dale Steyn, wicketless until then, returned to tempt him into a drive from round the wicket, the match was only ever going to have one outcome. Umpire Tony Hill brought down the curtains on this gripping contest, responding to the South Africans' caught-behind appeal when Sourav slashed and missed Steyn's fullish delivery. Perhaps the New Zealand umpire was deceived by the convergence of the ball leaving the bat and the bat hitting the ground in a follow-through action. Everyone saw how decisive was the wrong decision for the match. TV replay showed that ball passed before Sourav's bat sounded when it hit the ground. The extreme disappointment was vivid in Sourav's face since he with Dhoni was fighting an up hill battle for the team to avoid defeat.
His dismissal completely changed the course of a final session that had started encouragingly for the home side, with Sourav playing some delicate cuts off Paul Harris and a beautiful straight push off Morne Morkel. With Dhoni in dogged and restrained mood, it was Sourav who worked the bowlers, until the decisive moment when Graeme Smith tossed the ball Steyn's way.
Sourav's entry was immediately greeted with well-orchestrated chin music. With three slips, two gullies, short cover and forward short-leg, Ntini and Steyn welcomed him with a flurry of bouncers. Every South African bowler tested Sourav with the short ball, but he was determined not to throw wicket like his compatriots.
Driving Steyn between the slip and gully signalled a determined reply from the former India captain and when spinner Paul Harris was introduced for the first time in the match, to start the 32nd over, he gradually got into his groove.
Sourav swept Harris neatly for four, and reached his 50 from just 86 deliveries. It was brave stuff, but his commendable performance was even not enough to obliterate the first innings stigma of 76.
The former India captain's majestic 87 and his 110-run stand with Mahendra Singh Dhoni (52) in the end proved to be an poetic attempt to delay the inevitable.
Korbo, lorbo, jitbo re happens to be the Kolkata Knight Riders's theme song in the upcoming Indian Premier League. The Shah Rukh Khan-owned franchise's captain, Sourav Sourav, stood alone chanting this tune at the Motera on Saturday amidst Indian batting blues like a true kinight.