Looking at the lucky ground (27 October 1998)

27 October 1998

Looking at the lucky ground

Al-Amin and Syed Ashfaqul Haque

Whenever Mohammad Azharuddin runs out of luck coincidentally he comes back to the Dhaka Stadium. Lady luck has always smiled on the Indian skipper here.

Spectators have witnessed the elegant stroke-maker staging spectacular turnarounds on a number of occasions.

In 1997, after the dismal tour of England, Azharuddin was removed first as captain and then, much to the shock of the cricket buffs across the world, was dropped as a player. After a short absence, he regained a place on the team and the captaincy from Sachin Tendulkar, to play in the Independence Cup. The tournament also featured Pakistan and hosts Bangladesh. He consolidated his position by taking the Cup home.

The Indian team arrived in the city Sunday afternoon to participate in the Wills International Cup. They will take on favourites Australia in a make-it or break-it quarterfinal match on October 28. The Indian skipper however stressed more on performance rather than luck while talking to the press at the Hotel Sonargaon yesterday.

"You can say that this is a lucky ground for us. But, I think, when one is not playing well the luck factor is not much help. I sincerely hope that we'll play well also this time and win another trophy here.

"I will bat at number three. But if the situation demands like what happened in Dhaka during the Independence Cup final where I had to send Robin (Singh) in to accelerate the run-rate, then the batting order will change if situation demands."

Azharuddin has experienced a torrid month or so which started with a 4-1 drubbing at the hands of arch-rivals Pakistan in the Sahara Cup at Toronto last month followed by humiliating defeat inside four days by lightweights Zimbabwe in the one-off Harare Test match that ended a few weeks back.

The situation became more awkward for Azharuddin as he did not make much of an impact with the bat, forcing the Hyderabad-born 35-year-old to declare the Dhaka tournament his own.

But the format may hold the key to whether Azhar's men survive or not.

"It's a knock-out tournament, and in such a format you will have to play well in every match. Every match is the final match. I think we will have to do collectively very well," said Azharuddin.

About the pressure, the most successful Indian captain tactfully explained.

"You know, we're playing more one-day games than any other side in the world. We are an experienced side with most of the players featuring in more than hundred one-day internationals."

"By this time we knew (watching TV) how the wicket will behave and also the ground condition. And that makes a lot of difference. When you are playing the first match, you don't know what you're up to. But, now I think we know what exactly we will have to do."

"We're here last January and played lot of matches. That time there was lot of movement on the slow track. But I believe, now the wicket has improved a lot and the ground condition has also got better."

On the strong Aussie side, Azhar said, "In a one-day game, the team playing better on the day, will win the match. Whoever commits less mistakes and plays better will win."

Azharuddin could make history here provided he scores only 95 runs in the tournament. With 8554 runs in one-day cricket, the veteran of 299 matches is only 94 runs short of equalling the world record of West Indian opener Desmond Haynes.

"I'm very happy playing for my country for so long. The inspiration came from alot of people -- my grandfather, parents and wife. I never stop playing cricket. And the biggest compliment I can give is to my parents if I reach that landmark," said the skipper modestly.

"Inshallah I will try to reach the goal and if it happens my father, family members and fans would be delighted," he said.

Source:: The Bangladesh Daily Star (http://www.dailystarnews.com)

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