Lacklustre batting, combined with an uneven pitch, left India with anunimpressive score on the opening day of their four-day tour matchagainst New South Wales at the Sydney Cricket Ground onThursday

Rick Eyre02-Dec-1999Lacklustre batting, combined with an uneven pitch, left India with anunimpressive score on the opening day of their four-day tour matchagainst New South Wales at the Sydney Cricket Ground onThursday. India were all out for 185 after stand-in captain SauravGanguly won the toss and elected to bat. NSW, at stumps, were 35 forone in reply.The match was deprived of a lot of its potential drawing power earlierin the week when the team selections were announced. New South Waleschose to rest all four of their current Test players (Steve Waugh,Mark Waugh, Michael Slater and Glenn McGrath), while Indian captainSachin Tendulkar chose to sit this match out.New South Wales made the first breakthrough on the eleventh ball ofthe match. Medium-quick Don Nash, he of the Ian Austin build, beatSadagopan Ramesh (2) with a delivery which kept low and struck the padin front of middle stump. It was an easy decision for umpire SimonTaufel and India were 1/6.With Laxman coming in at first drop, Devang Gandhi fell on 15 whenBrett Lee beat the batsman for pace, rapping the pad plumb in frontwith a ball again keeping a little low, Darrell Hair giving theout. India two for 22.Laxman played one glorious drive through extra cover off Lee. Nash(4-2-4-1 in his opening spell) was replaced by Shane Lee, whocontinued the containment from the southern end. Younger and quickerbrother Brett was, on occasions, gaining good lift from a pitch whichshould lose a lot of its predictability by Sunday.Nash, having been switched to the northern end was despatched for fourboundaries in the first three overs of his second spell by VVS Laxman.The Hyderabad right-hander seemed content to accumulate his runssolely in boundaries, playing some well-timed shots to the cover/pointregion before pulling Nash to mid-wicket to bring up the Indian fifty.Dravid played a subdued innings before despatching a friendly ShaneLee bouncer to the fence behind square leg, his first boundary takinghim into double figures from his 46th delivery faced in the innings.Red-headed military-medium pacer Greg Mail replaced Nash, and hisfirst delivery in first-class cricket was driven by Laxman to themid-wicket fence. Five balls later, Laxman played a square cut whichwas brilliantly caught by an airborne Gavin Robertson atgully. Laxman’s 37 came from 62 deliveries including sixboundaries. India 3/66, and Mail, with a wicket from his sixthfirst-class delivery, was immediately taken straight out of the attack- Michael Bevan no doubt taking credit for the stroke of genius.Stuart MacGill bowled three overs before lunch from the southern endand was already gaining remarkable turn. A spirited but unsuccessfullbw appeal against Ganguly brought up the lunch break with India on3/70.MacGill made the first breakthrough of the afternoon session 20minutes after lunch. He trapped Dravid with a ball that would have hitmiddle stump, but whether it pitched in line with leg stump isdebatable. However umpire Taufel was in no doubt. Dravid spent tenminutes short of two hours in scoring 21 and India, falling on anothermultiple of twenty-two were now 88 for four.Kanitkar had failed to score when the left-hander played a mistimedpull shot off a MacGill leg-break to Greg Hayne at short mid-wicket.Kanitkar’s thirteen-ball duck left India reeling at 5/107.Ganguly had looked at ease for most of his 71-ball innings, and lookedthe pick of the Indian batsmen thus far. But on 38 he attempted a hookshot off a Don Nash bouncer, played under the line and got a top edgeto wicketkeeper Brad Haddin. India had broken away from the multiplesof 22, with the last two partnerships each being worth nineteen butthe score was a dismal 126 for six.While Shane Lee contained the batsmen at one end, giving up barely onerun per over, Ajit Agarkar and Vijay Bharadwaj scored with morefreedom off the bowling of MacGill. The two were not afraid to takequick singles with a couple of close calls. Greg Mail returned justbefore tea for his second over of first-class cricket and thought hehad his second wicket when third umpire Tim Donahoo was called toadjudge on a stumping, but Bharadwaj was just within his ground. Attea, India were 150 for six with Bharadwaj 16 and Agarkar 12.India’s lacklustre innings came to an end shortly after the drinksbreak in the final session, all out for 185. This will be adisappointing total considering Ganguly’s decision to bat first,although the pitch is already showing signs of uneven bounce.Vijay Bharadwaj (16) fell after tea when Brett Lee trapped him for thefourth lbw of the day with a ball nipping back from outsideoff. Agarkar (28) batted with flamboyance at times, but fell to aBrett Lee sandshoe-crusher which rebounded off the batsman’s boot tosend the middle stump flying.Srinath (0) ran himself out at the bowlers end, after Kumble refused asingle as he was charging down the pitch. Kumble survived threedropped catches at 7, 10 and 11 – the last two to Stuart MacGill whorather unusually was occupying first slip. Kumble played admirably tokeep out the attempted yorkers of Brett Lee. The final wicket fellwhen Prasad was out of his ground with the batsman changing theirminds about taking a second run.Brett Lee (3/56) was the most successful of the bowlers with MacGilltaking 2/47 and Don Nash 2/35. Gavin Robertson only had the one maidenover before lunch and it is hoped we will see more of him in thesecond innings.The New South Wales response started disastrously. In the second overof the innings, and with no runs on the board, Greg Hayne got a thickoutside edge off Agarkar and was caught by Anil Kumble at gully. CoreyRichards (23*) and Greg Mail (8*) played out the remaining 12 overstill stumps.Though India had a disappointing start to this match, there is enoughuncertainty about this pitch to give them hope of staying very muchalive in this game.