DHAKA (Bangladesh): Bangladesh captain
Shakib Al Hasan won the toss and sent Zimbabwe in to bat first in the third
limited-overs international Saturday at Shere-e-Bangla National Stadium.

Zimbabwe replaced injured wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu with Forster
Mutizwa, while Hamilton Masakadza continued as stand-in captain for injured
Prosper Utseya.

Bangladesh included spinner Enamul Haque in place of
paceman Dollar Mahmud. The five-match series is level at
1-1.

Teams:

Bangladesh:

Shakib Al
Hasan (captain), Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal, Zunaed Siddique, Mohammad
Ashraful, Roqibul Hassan, Mahmud Ullah Riyad, Naeem Islam, Nazmul Hossain, Abdur
Razzak, Enamul Haque.

Zimbabwe:

Hamilton Masakadza
(captain), Malcolm Waller, Brendan Taylor, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Charles
Coventry, Elton Chigumbura, Graeme Cremer, Raymond Price, Kyle Jarvis, Justice
Chibhabha, Forster Mutizwa.

Umpires:

Aleem Dar,
Pakistan, and Nadir Shah, Bangladesh.

TV Umpire:

Sharfuddoula,
Bangladesh.

Match Referee:

Ranjan Madugalle, Sri Lanka.

DHAKA (Bangladesh): Bangladesh captain
Shakib Al Hasan won the toss and sent Zimbabwe in to bat first in the third
limited-overs international Saturday at Shere-e-Bangla National Stadium.

Zimbabwe replaced injured wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu with Forster
Mutizwa, while Hamilton Masakadza continued as stand-in captain for injured
Prosper Utseya.

Bangladesh included spinner Enamul Haque in place of
paceman Dollar Mahmud. The five-match series is level at
1-1.

Teams:

Bangladesh:

Shakib Al
Hasan (captain), Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal, Zunaed Siddique, Mohammad
Ashraful, Roqibul Hassan, Mahmud Ullah Riyad, Naeem Islam, Nazmul Hossain, Abdur
Razzak, Enamul Haque.

Zimbabwe:

Hamilton Masakadza
(captain), Malcolm Waller, Brendan Taylor, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Charles
Coventry, Elton Chigumbura, Graeme Cremer, Raymond Price, Kyle Jarvis, Justice
Chibhabha, Forster Mutizwa.

Umpires:

Aleem Dar,
Pakistan, and Nadir Shah, Bangladesh.

TV Umpire:

Sharfuddoula,
Bangladesh.

Match Referee:

Ranjan Madugalle, Sri Lanka.

Once upon a time, pacers ruled. They
bowled fast, intimidated batsmen and even enjoyed spilling blood on the field.
Batsmen had nothing but a willow, and nerves of steel, as a means of survival.
Crest speaks to India’s best batsmen across the last three decades to find out
who was the fiercest of them all… Surprisingly, almost everybody had their own
speed demon.

One of the most electrifying sights on a cricket field
is the collage of a fast bowler, kicking off from his mark 20-30 yards away and
cruising towards the popping crease at optimum speed; as he bounds past the
umpire and prepares for his final leap, the spectators are involuntarily drawn
towards the edge of their seats and a hush envelops the stadium.

At
the far end, a lone batsman is waiting, trembling in his heart but desperately
trying not to show it, worried that the bowler might only get even more charged
up; a quick look beyond reveals a clutch of men, rising and crouching in perfect
symphony, eagerly waiting for the edge that might lead to an even more
spectacular view: a full-length dive.

Behind that electrifying
sight, however, lies a deadly story: it reeks of fear and, at times, you can see
it even in the eye of the bravest of batsmen. Yes, the round little ball that
the bowler hurls can be a harbinger of doom, if not crippling injury or death
itself.

Who can forget Mohinder Amarnath or Mike Gatting awash in
blood after taking one on their mouth? Maybe, that is what made cricket such a
fascinating game: it wasn’t just a clash between one player and another, or a
bat and a ball; it was a battle for survival too.

Thankfully, or
perhaps not, it’s not a life-or-death thing anymore. Over the years, with the
advent of protective gear, right from the innocent leg-pads to the invisible but
vital box to the confidence-infusing helmet and chest guard, the batsman has had
less and less to fear; why, today, even the tail-ender casually stands up to the
speed demons and carts them all over the park.

Add the dying pitches
and one-bouncer per over rule and it’s like the fast bowler has been neutered.
However, there was a time not too long ago, when batsmen were quietly scared of
fast bowlers: they didn’t exactly have nightmares or shiver in their pants as
they took guard; but they could surely hear their own hearts beat, feel the
sweat in their palms or the chill going down their spine.

So, who
were those speed merchants that really tormented and gave sleepless nights to
India’s most gutsy batsmen in the last few decades? Which fearsome bowlers
evoked terror in their hearts and forced them to dig deeper to not only thwart
them but, at times, also tame and humble them?

The first word has to
go to Sunil Gavaskar, without doubt one of the first to really tackle the pace
monsters, if not to master them. The images of a floppy-hatted , over-sized ,
padded little man going back and across and smiling at a speeding bouncer are
still fresh in many minds. Indeed, India’s romance with cricket really started
with his pure batsmanship.

“I have faced several intimidating fast
bowlers,” concedes Gavaskar, even as MS Dhoni is thrashing the Aussie pacers
like they were pie-chuckers in the One-dayer at Nagpur. “But the best really was
Andy Roberts. He could bowl an unplayable at you even after you have scored a
hundred,” explains Gavaskar. “His spells in 1976, in the Barbados and Trinidad
Tests, were really awesome.

“But I think one of his quickest spells
was in 1974, in the West Zone versus West Indies games in 1974. It was one of
the most hostile spells I have ever faced,” he added. And how did the little
master cope with all the express stuff that came his way (think Marshall,
Holding, Garner, Imran, Lillee, Thomson, Willis). “Well, you close your eyes and
pray. You hope that you somehow manage to see off that spell and don’t get out.
Or don’t get hit.” Simple.

For some of the Indian batsmen of that
time, however, Michael Holding was a cut above the rest: as they testified, he
was not only the quickest of all the West Indian pacers, he could also be
positively intimidating. Nicknamed ‘Whispering Death’ , and not just for
the smoothness of his action, Holding was at his ferocious best in the Jamaica
Test in 1976.

Recalls Anshuman Gaekwad: “Boy, was he quick! He
bowled non-stop for two hours and injured many of our batsmen. The crowd too had
gone really crazy. Mike was really letting it fly and despite batting on 80, I
got hit. I just did not see that delivery. He was one guy who intimidated me
that day.”

Brijesh Patel, Gaekwad’s teammate on that tour, agrees.
“Holding was always extra-quick . But (unlike other fast bowlers) he was never
nasty, nor did he use bad words. In the Jamaica Test, the West Indies pacers,
Holding included, switched to bowling from round the wicket and bouncers and
beamers were the order of the day,” recalled Patel.

Mohinder
Amarnath, one of the best players of fast bowling, has a totally different
formula though. “I don’t think any fast bowler ever gave me nightmares or robbed
me of my sleep,” he says, ever so proudly even now. “Perhaps, it’s because I
only looked at the cricket ball, and not the name or the face behind it. I just
stuck to my strengths and didn’t bother about the guy who was bowling or his
reputation. I played with my instincts,” he explains.

Jimmy was no
doubt a brave batsman. Once, his teeth got knocked out by Marshall and another
time he took such a nasty blow from Thomson, that he could only have ice cream
for lunch. Maybe because he focused all his energies on the ball rather than the
bowler, he could always meet fire with fire: he hooked fearlessly and every time
a bouncer came along.

Amarnath didn’t stop hooking even though he
sustained a hairline fracture on the skull after taking a blow from Richard
Hadlee. He was even floored unconscious by Imran Khan, but his love for speed
never diminished. “You have to be gutsy and be prepared to get hit. That’s the
only way to play fast bowling,” he says, with a laugh.

In the
Barbados Test, during India’s tour of the West Indies in 1982-83 , Amarnath was
forced to retire hurt after sustaining a head injury that needed to be stitched
up. On his return to the crease, he was again greeted with a bouncer; he hooked
it straight to the fence. Holding once explained why Jimmy was different: “He
had this great ability to withstand pain. A fast bowler knows when a batsman is
in pain, but Jimmy would only stand up and continue.”

Former India
captains, Krishnamachari Srikkanth and Mohammad Azharuddin, rate Patrick
Patterson as the most intimidating bowler of their time. Flamboyant Srikkanth
recalls a particularly lethal spell from Patterson at the Eden Gardens in 1987.
“We had to bat out an hour on the second day… and by God, he was scary. The
ball was flying all around even as the shadows of the stands engulfed the
playing arena.

“He was bowling at 150 kmph or more. I knew if I got
hit by any of his deliveries, I could die on the spot. He walked down the pitch
and gave me cold stares and I felt the chill running down the spine. I survived
only because of my reflexes,” the current chairman of selectors sighs.

Azharuddin admits that though he found Wasim Akram most difficult to
play, Patterson was more menacing. “He was very fast and could also be very
unpredictable. Being tall and well-built , he hit the deck hard using his strong
shoulders and made the ball lift awkwardly,” says Azhar, who rates Patterson’s
spell in the Mumbai Test of the 1987 series as the bowler’s best.

“He was intimidating in that game. We were bowled out for 170-odd in
the second innings and he took five for 68. I was one of his victims, having got
out fending the ball. He remains the only bowler who got out me out in that
fashion,” Azhar recalls.

During his long and distinguished career,
former captain Dilip Vengsarkar also faced up to all the top fast bowlers of his
time. Says Vengsarkar, “facing dreaded fast bowlers is not an easy task. But if
you fear it, then you have no business to be out there as a top-class batsman. I
played in an era that produced fearsome pacemen like Holding, Roberts, Marshall,
Thomson, Lillee and Imran. One has to be brave and tough to come up on top. It’s
more about how tough you are mentally.”

Arun Lal’s vote goes to
Imran. “I have played against Hadlee and Roberts at their peak, but they
couldn’t compare with Imran of 1982-83 . He was at his destructive best. The
manner in which he swung the ball, that too at great pace, was mind-boggling .
We had no clue how to cope with it. He was particularly devastating in the
Karachi Test. He was simply unplayable on a wicket that suited his style. We
could do nothing to stop him.”

Lal’s colleague Ashok Malhotra
refuses to look beyond Marshall. “I don’t need to think twice about that. He
came at you with remarkable speed. I am a short guy and did not have problems in
ducking Roberts or Garner’s bouncers. But with Marshall, it was different. There
was always a chance of getting hit. He was very accurate and could make the ball
talk,” says Malhotra.

Coming to the now generation, Sachin Tendulkar
is clearly the one who not only stood up to the meanest of pacers but also
carved them effortlessly. He is, however, noncommittal about his choice for the
most ferocious of them all. “I faced many fast bowlers who were quite
intimidating. Ian Bishop, Courtney Walsh, Devon Malcolm, Waqar Younis, Patrick
Patterson, Allan Donald, Brett Schultz, Shoaib Akhtar and Brett Lee, to name a
few. But I can’t really pick one because they all bowled well in patches, in one
series or another,” Tendulkar reasons.

Rahul Dravid rates
Australia’s Glenn McGrath as the most difficult bowler he has faced. However, in
terms of sheer pace and intimidation, his pick is South African Allan Donald. “I
was new to international cricket and I hadn’t played that sort of pace before.
In the 1996 Durban Test, he sent down his most testing spell. The pitch was
responsive and Donald was really quick,” he says.

“Later in my
career, I played guys like Shoaib Akhtar and Brett Lee who often bowled faster.
But by then I had got used to playing quick bowling and was able to handle them
better,” he says. Sourav Ganguly differs though. He feels Shoaib Akhtar, at his
peak, was more intimidating. “When in the mood, he could bowl lightning quick.
Unlike Donald, whose action was smooth as silk, Akhtar’s was somewhat awkward
and difficult to pick. He had a fast bowler’s natural aggression and the body
language to go with it.”

Sourav feels Akhtar was at his deadliest
during the Karachi Test in 2006. “The wicket was tailor-made for him and as he
ran in and let it fly, I ducked. The next thing I knew was that the ball had
sailed over the wicketkeeper’s head to the boundary. I had to concentrate twice
as hard to negotiate those that were on target. It was a brilliant exhibition of
fast bowling,” Sourav recalls.

As far as the ‘Very Very
Special’ Laxman is concerned, Wasim Akram is his most complete fast bowler. “He
was a master of variations, apart from being a very skillful and smart bowler.
He had this uncanny ability to read each batsman’s strong and weak points, and
was always mentally one up on them. He was also a master at using the old ball.
Nobody is in the same league with Akram when it comes to reverse swing,” he
opines.

In terms of sheer pace and hostility, Laxman puts West
Indies’ Curtly Ambrose above the rest during his time. “The quickest ball I
faced was from Ambrose in Jamaica… luckily it was a bouncer and it went one
foot over my head and I was safe,” laughs Laxman, who’s always been at ease
while facing up to the speedsters.

Laxman agrees: “I have never felt
nervous while facing any bowler. In fact, facing up to top-class bowlers is
always exciting and gets the best out of me.”

The last word,
however, has to go to Chetan Chauhan, arguably the best opening partner Gavaskar
ever had. “Thommo was the most intimidating and fiercest fast bowler I’ve known.
He was very, very quick and had a whippy action. Even the West Indies’ quicks
were not as intimidating as Thommo,” he says.

“After delivering the
ball, he would come up to us, the batsmen, and give us a mouthful,” explains
Chauhan, who countered by always getting behind the ball, remaining side-on and
not taking his eyes off the ball during the 1977-78 series Down Under. It was
during the Sydney Test that Chauhan got involved in a verbal duel with Thommo.
“He came right up to me and said, ‘I’m gonna knock your teeth off’ . I
just signalled him to ‘f*** off’ .

He gave me a hell of a time
after that but I survived.” According to Chauhan, Gavaskar was furious with him
about that incident. “When I returned to the dressing room, Sunny screamed at
me, saying, ‘Why the hell do you have to agitate a fast bowler like
Thommo?’ I told Sunny, ‘No one can dare come up to me and tell me that he
would knock my teeth off. I had to give it back to him’.

Thommo
could really get under the skin of the batsmen.” Yes, there was a time when fast
bowlers were fierce and loved hitting the batsman and seeing blood on the pitch.

But that is what also made batsmen brave and either finetune their
heart or technique to just survive, if not get runs off them. Today, sadly, the
pitches have lost their devils and the batsmen are too well protected. The Brett
Lees still come bounding in from 20-30 yards away and bowl at over 150 kmph; but
the batsmen merely yawn and swat them for fours.

(With inputs from
Ajay Naidu, Vinay Nayudu, Partha Bhaduri, Satish Vishwanthan, Dwaipayan Datta,
Nitin Naik and JAC Gladson)

NEW DELHI: It was a night of drama at
the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium, which was getting final touches before the third
India-Australia ODI to be held on Saturday. All of a sudden, in the evening,
Delhi police personnel descended on the stadium and drove out officials of the
Delhi and District Cricket Association, citing a sanitization
drill.

And while the Delhi cops supposedly went about their duties,
DDCA officials were kept standing outside for about two hours as even the gates
were locked. Police say it’s standard procedure, but the DDCA smells
something else — resentment over being denied passes after tickets sold
out as early as Thursday.

‘All the officials were told to leave
and the policemen even threatened to arrest those who stayed behind,” a top DDCA
official told TOI. “The gates were locked on us and all the staff were made to
wait for over two hours outside. This has never happened
before.”

Another official said: “They (police) usually come at
10-11pm. Earlier, all those present used to be asked to come out, show their
identity cards and then be allowed to re-enter even as police went through the
sanitizing.”

Some DDCA officials claimed it was pressure tactics
adopted by Delhi Police. “Maybe they wanted more passes. Probably they
don’t want Delhi people to watch cricket matches,” a senior official
said.