KUALA LUMPUR: A bestseller will be launched today and it’s not a sequel. Rather, for the three protagonists — Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting — the 13-day tri-series in Kuala Lumpur will be a precursor to greater prizes to be won and reputations to be defended.
For the 6,000-odd spectators who will watch the game from temporary stands at the Kinrara Oval, the deal, at about $32 per game, is quite a steal. For, it’s been a while since the three batting marquees of the modern game, have played in a tournament.
The 1998 Champions Trophy in Dhaka was the last occasion where the trio were pitted against one another. In the last two editions of the World Cup, India did not play the West Indies in both the tournaments. The tri-series starting on Tuesday will be the appetizer that will whet the taste buds before the mini-World Cup starting from October 7.
With over 33,000 ODI runs and 77 centuries among them, the troika should make for riveting moments of batsmanship. Tendulkar has 14,148 of those runs and the other two will have to add up their tons to match the Indians tally. But figures and statistics can obscure hard facts.
The three are at different spectrum in their careers.
In reality, Ponting by virtue of being a good few years younger and now at the peak of his powers, has the best odds to make a big impact in Malaysia.
Lara, the West Indian skipper, is 37 and the Indian is 33. Lara will be a tad slower; Tendulkar after an injury-induced hiatus will be a touch rusty. Ponting has more or less maintained his career average in his last 20 games, hovering around 42 runs per innings.
Lara has managed only to 22 while Tendulkar 35 over the same number of games.
But that should not take anything away from the two established greats who come in with plenty to prove.
Lara would like to change his captaincy record in his third stint. In his own words, it is: “Of moderate success and devastating failure.” Lara will use the Malaysian series as a warm-up for his team to defend the Champions Trophy they won England a couple of years back.
Tendulkar, hit by injuries, has looked mortal at times. His demi-god status has taken a beating. The tri-series is where Tendulkar will want to make a comeback since last playing Pakistan in Multan in February. On his success or failure to a large extent revolves India’s World Cup plans and Champions Trophy fortunes.
Ponting will want his team back into the thick of things. Australia hasn’t played an ODI since their game against Bangladesh in April. The last serious opposition they faced — South Africa — unbelievably overhauled a target of 434 to beat them.
That will go down as a freak match. Ever since the Ashes defeat last year, Ponting has become ruthless. His batting has been merciless and his resolve to win stronger than ever before — be it a tri-series or the Champions Trophy, a title Australia have never won.
The Kinrara Oval in Kuala Lumpur is low on the history quotient but the long-awaited presence of the three geniuses together should ensure the ground of its place in
history.
