da bet vitoria： After pouring rain stopped play in the India-Bangladesh encounterthere were fears that rain might strike on the second day ofthe match as well and ruin things for the organisers
Anand Vasu31-May-2000After pouring rain stopped play in the India-Bangladesh encounterthere were fears that rain might strike on the second day ofthe match as well and ruin things for the organisers. Fortunately,the rain stayed away and cricket lovers at the Bangabandhu Stadiumwere treated to generous doses of good batting. To start theday’s proceedings, Akram Khan blasted an invaluable half centuryand took the hosts to 249 off their allotted 50 overs. Not tobe left out of the action, Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly slammedan unbeaten 135 and took India to an easy eight wicket winin the Asia Cup at Dhaka on Tuesday.Though they used eight bowlers in all, the Indians could notbetter yesterday’s performance. Spinners and pacemen alike dishedout a series of less than inspiring overs. Former captain AkramKhan who has promised much but not really made good his promiseso far, used the long handle to good effect. The powerfully builtmiddle order batsman clouted the ball all around the park. Nobowler was spared.After Agarkar and company were hit out of the attack,Ganguly brought himself on and did worse than the rest. He waswelcomed into the attack by a firm thump over mid wicket andthat was just the beginning. Striking the ball cleanly, AkramKhan took 20 runs off Ganguly in one over.Kumaran was too short. Joshi too straight. Kumble too predictable.There wasn’t a single thing for India to be proud of. After slamming66 off just 52 balls, Akram Khan played one shot too many andwas caught by debutant Hemang Badani off the bowling of AjitAgarkar.Naimur Rehman, who was dismissed without facing a ball in thegame against Sri Lanka held one end up in solid fashion. Whenthe last ball of the innings was delivered Rehman was unbeatenon 39. With 249 on the board the hosts would be more than pleasedwith their performance. A healthy score, one made possible onlyby a vicious last minute assault that yielded 91 runs in 10 overs.Without taking away any credit from the Bangladesh batsmen, itmust be said that the Indians helped them along in every possiblemanner.A dazzling start to the Indian innings gave some hope that thematch could be conclusively decided before the rains started.With dark clouds hanging ominously all around thestadium, Sachin Tendulkar and Ganguly went berserk fromvery early on. The adage ‘coming out with guns blazing’ was putto practical use.In an attempt to introduce an element of variety, Bangladeshopened the bowling with spinner Mohammed Rafique. Ganguly lickedhis fingers in anticipation. After playing out one ball withcaution, Ganguly opened his shoulders and sent the ball intothe stands past midwicket. The floodgates opened and all hellbroke loose.Tendulkar had been away from the strike for a majorityof the initial overs and more than made up for that when he didhave a go at the bowling. Chalking up an over of 23 runs againstManjarul Islam, Tendulkar revealed his full array of strokes.Toying with the bowling in a manner that bordered on arrogance,Tendulkar destroyed Islam’s confidence in the spaceof one single over.Having taken the lion’s share of the strike, Ganguly was five shortof his half century when Tendulkar miscued a shot offthe bowling of debutant Mushfiq Rehman. The ball went high upin the air and came down into the waiting hands of Habibul Basherat mid on. Dismissed for an entertaining 25-ball 36, Tendulkarwas replaced by Hemang Badani.An innings that started in entertaining fashion ended tamelyas India coasted to victory. After Badanihit a long hop straight to the waiting hands of Aminul Islamoff the bowling of Enamul Hoque in the 25th over, Ganguly inthe company of former skipper Mohammed Azharuddin took Indiato an easy win. Although Badani made a compact 35, onethought he should really have gone on to make at least a halfcentury.Ganguly’s innings was generously peppered with trademark shotsthat cleared the ropes with ease. Although he played with authority,Ganguly came very close to being run out. The Bengal southpawstumbled when Azhar turned down a single, and made it back tohis crease just in time. Apart from that hiccup, it was a caseof Ganguly all the way.Azharuddin was restrained in his innings of 35 but everynow and then played the kind of shot that amply explained whyhe was a force to reckon with even at the age of 37. Unbeatenon 135 Ganguly would have heaved a sigh of relief as India collectedtwo points and opened their account in the seventh Asia Cup.