West Indies tactics astonishing: Harbhajan

ST KITTS, June 25: Ace Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh said the Indian team was surprised with the strategy adopted by West Indies, who seemed to be playing for a draw, on the third day of the third cricket Test here.

West Indies scored only 22 runs in the 14 overs before lunch break and Harbhajan termed it as astonishing tactics on the part of the hosts, who could have put more pressure on India by stepping up the scoring rate.

"We were surprised and were not sure if they wanted to play for a result or a draw. If they had picked up scoring earlier, they would have made 600-650 runs and put us under more pressure," Harbhajan said after the third day’s play here yesterday.

The Punjab bowler said perhaps the hosts had no intentions of winning the match.

"It seemed they did not want to win the game," he said.

However, Harbhajan, who did not play the first two Tests and picked up five wickets on his comeback, attributed his success to the attacking mode adopted by Caribbean batsmen in the post-lunch session.

"In those two games, the West Indian batsmen were in a defensive frame of mind. But here they wanted to attack," said Harbhajan after he recovered from an initial mauling to finish with 5 for 147 runs.

But, the turbanator said it was a difficult task to get wickets on a flat track suitable for batting.

"It is a batting paradise, the boundaries are short, the wicket is flat and it reminds me of Lahore. On this wicket even getting out number 11 is difficult."

He said the technique to let the body go behind the ball helped him a bit in the later stages of the innings.

"Chris Gayle went after me but in my second spell of 12-13 overs, I could let the body go behind the ball and it gave me confidence," he said.

Also the offie had to deal with umpire Brian Jerling, who once thought that Harbhajan was bowling a negative line.

"He thought I was bowling too wide and cautioned me that it could be termed negative. I told him I was bowling to my field on the off-side," he said.

Marlon Samuels, who along with Shivnarine Chanderpaul, was guilty of scoring slowly in that spell later defended their tactics.

"We went into our shell and sometimes when you do that, it is difficult to come out of that shell. The same happened to us," said Samuels.

West Indian captain Brian Lara said it was difficult to get wickets on a flat wicket but hoped to gain substantial lead in the match.

But, Lara did not think it was right to term his side had begun to turn the corner against the Indians in the series.

"I still feel it is early days. India has been the better team for much of this series."

"They are a better team, I would never forget their performance against Australia a few seasons ago which I thought was exceptional," he said.

Lara said his team was in the process of learning the nuances of Test cricket and needed to be more consistent in performance.

"We are still learning the art of longer games. We have to play tough sessions consistently. We need to learn to draw Tests before we start thinking of winning the games," he said. (PTI)

India beat New Zealand 3-2, bag third spot

KUALA LUMPUR, June 25: A fine brace by Hari Prasad guided India to a 3-2 win over New Zealand in the play-off for the third place in the 15th Sultan Azlan Shah eight-nation hockey tournament here today.

It was India’s first podium finish since 2000 when they finished third behind Pakistan and Korea.

In a hard-fought game, India, who led 2-1 at the break, found their star in Hari Prasad who scored twice in the 8th and 35th minutes while drag-flick specialist Sandeep Singh converted a penalty corner in the 43rd that proved to be the match-winner.

The black sticks stayed in the match right through after Simon Child put them ahead in the 7th minute and Hayden Shaw found the mark from a 39th minute penalty corner to put his team on level terms.

The Indians also owed their victory to goalkeeper Adrian D’souza who stopped at least four clear goals and also wing half-backs V S Vinaya (right) and Prabhodh Tirkey (left), both of whom had an outstanding game today.

India should have finished the first-half in a far more comfortable position but for some poor finishing by the forwards and also a loss of concentration by the deep defence.

The Indians repeatedly breached the fragile Kiwi defence only to break down inside the striking circle due to wrong passing or positional play.

In the sixth minute, Arjun Halappa pounced on a deflection and fired the ball onto the boards. Even though TV replays showed that the ball was inside the striking circle, Korean umpire Jung Min Jang disallowed the goal saying the hit was not taken from inside the D.

The Indians were distracted by the incident and the Kiwis mounted a fast counter-attack at the end of which child deftly turned and let fly a reverse hit to the net.

Despite the stunning reverse, the Indians, who had beaten New Zealand by the same margin in the two practice games ahead of the tournament, kept their composure to equalise almost immediately.

A diagonal scoop by Sandeep Singh found Bradley Shaw just inside the New Zealand half. Shaw, however, messed with the block and Hari Prasad snatched the ball from him. In a burst of brilliant acceleration, Prasad steamed into the circle and beat goalkeeper Kyle Pontifex with an angular hit from the right.

Thereafter, India controlled and dominated the flow, but could not score until seconds before the half-time whistle from a superb transfer of ball. Halappa, from near the left corner flag, backpassed to Vikram Pillay whose diagonal hit into the circle was deflected into the net by Prasad.

The early minutes of the second-half witnessed a series of penalty corners. Shaw came good for the Kiwis while Sandeep replied in kind for India with a nice variation.

The match then swung from end to end with both goalkeepers staying busy in saving attacks by rival forwards.

D’souza, in particular, displayed brilliant agility and reflexes to parry attempts, including two by Hayden Shaw and one by Bevan Hari.

At the other end, the Indians, as in the first-half, penetrated repeatedly and with a sharper finish they could have scored a few more goals. (PTI)