An entertaining final day is in store at the Sydney Cricket Ground onSunday, with New South Wales needing 222 to defeat the touring Indianswith nine wickets in hand
Rick Eyre04-Dec-1999An entertaining final day is in store at the Sydney Cricket Ground onSunday, with New South Wales needing 222 to defeat the touring Indianswith nine wickets in hand.Saurav Ganguly and Ajit Agarkar were the stars of the third daySaturday as India made 331 in their second innings, a vast improvementon their uninspiring first innings total of 185 on Thursday.Given the challenging target of 286 to win from 109 overs, the Blueswere 64 for one at stumps.Beginning the third day on 110 for two in their second innings incooler conditions than had been experienced in the past two days,India lost three wickets in the morning session.Sadagopan Ramesh added just four runs to his overnight score, a pullshot backward of square to Don Nash. He fell on 74 when Brett Lee,bowling around the wicket to the left-hander into a stiff southerly,found the edge as Ramesh attempted an off drive, Brad Haddin takingthe catch behind the wicket.Kanitkar (13) fell to Nash, who had the wind at his back. Not offeringa shot, Kanitkar was rapped on the pads and appeared plumb lbw. Indiawere now 124 for four, a lead of 78.Ganguly displayed more of the confidence that was on show in the firstinnings, however the same could not be said of Rahul Dravid. Thebatsman who this year has taken part in the two biggest partnershipsin one-day history defended and prodded for 73 minutes in scoringseven runs, four of those coming from a cut shot played through theslips of Shane Lee.Dravid eventually fell victim to a well-flighted Stuart MacGill legbreak which took a leading edge and gave the bowler a returncatch. Dravid was at the crease for three hours and three minutes inthis match in scoring 28 runs.With Ganguly launching a magnificent cover drive for four off MacGillto bring up the lunch break, the score at the interval was 178 forfive. He continued the brisk scoring after lunch, the Bengalleft-hander bringing up his half-century with a superbly struck fourover midwicket from the bowling of MacGill. Ganguly’s fifty came up in75 deliveries. Bharadwaj (10) fell later in the same over, not pickingthe turn and getting an edge which deflected of Haddin’s gloves toShane Lee at first slip.Ganguly became the highest scorer of the match when he got a thickedge through the slips off Brett Lee to reach 77 and pass Ramesh’sscore. After another boundary in the speedster’s next over, Gangulyfell in the first over of Don Nash’s new spell with the newball. Edging the ball to the keeper, Ganguly faced 122 balls inscoring 81 and hit eight boundaries.For the first time in this match, India scored more than a hundredruns in a session as they carried the score to 279 for seven at thetea interval.The Indian tail, dominated by Ajit Agarkar, carried on at the creasefor an hour after tea, the second innings ending with the score on331, leaving New South Wales 286 for victory.Agarkar (65*) played some fine shots as the total pushed on past the300 mark, a figure that seemed unlikely considering the way the pitchwas playing on the first day. His 120-ball innings included tenboundaries.Kumble (12) flicked a Brett Lee ball off the hips, but it was too fineand went to the waiting hands of Brad Haddin for his third catch ofthe innings. Srinath (7) was bowled by a MacGill wrong-un, while itwas a similar delivery that removed Prasad (9).Brett Lee (4/77) and Stuart MacGill (4/84) were the pick of the Bluesbowlers. Don Nash (2/67) did well, but Shane Lee (0/58) wasunthreatening and overbowled. Gavin Robertson inexplicably was givenonly six overs to bowl in the entire innings.With 19 overs to face on Saturday evening, NSW started the chaseconfidently. Greg Hayne, who broke the record for most runs in aSydney first grade season last year, took two fours and a two ff AjitAgarkar’s first three balls when he replaced Prasad at the southernend, and was proceeding at a pace close to a run a ball.Greg Mail played a surfacemail-like innings to Greg Hayne’sairmail-express, and after scoring 15 from 54 deliveries he playedback to a shorter ball which popped up off the gloves to Rahul Dravidbehind the crease – perhaps the most positive thing Dravid has done sofar in this game.Gavin Robertson came to the crease and faced some torrid appeals forlbw off the bowling of Anil Kumble, at least one of which looked wellworth a shout. Kumble’s next over, the last of the day, was the mostsensational episode of the match.The first ball of the over saw Hayne survive a confident appeal for acatch at bat-pad by Laxman. Umpire Simon Taufel gave it not out, butTV replays seemed to show Hayne getting an edge. Hayne scored asingle from the second ball, then the third ball went for four byes. Aquick single off the fourth ball saw Hayne almost run out, the ballmissing the stumps and the fielders to go for four overthrows – atotal of five runs. Hayne was beaten by Kumble on the fifth ball andthen survived a vociferous appeal for caught behind on the last ballof the day, play ending after 6.30pm.A match that had the words “lacklustre” written all over them onThursday looks very open going into Sunday. India have the edge butNSW are still capable of a win.