India lose Test Series against Pak
Before the start of the series, everyone thought this was going to be another of those titanic battles between the two most fierce rivals in world cricket. But alas, it turned out to be a damp squib!!!
The first two tests went literally unheard and unseen because of the placid nature of the wickets. Just not good enough for Test cricket. Virtually nothing in it for the bowlers, the batsmen made merry. Infact, both the teams got vital batting practice. But when it mattered the most, in the Karachi test where the ball was doing something, the Indians faltered! The Pakis sure know their pitches better than the rest and they ought to, don’t they!
What went really wrong for the Indians? In my opinion, the most defining factor which played in favor of Pakistan was their bowling strength. In Akhtar and Asif, they had two bowlers who could bowl fast, real fast! Imagine someone steaming in and delivering at 95 odd mph! Its a nightmare for batsman of any pedigree. And the Pakistani bowlers came good in the final test in both innings. I was particularly impressed by Mohd. Asif’s performance. He did not try to do too much, given the fact that he is a rookie. He bowled an immaculate line and kept it tight. And he was bowling in the slot which fetched him truckload of wickets (I believe he got 7 in all for the match). Akhtar at the other end steamed into the batsmen in typical fiery fashion. Perhaps, he wanted to put to rest the ghost of the 2004 tour, when he was taken out for special treatment by Sehwag and co. Even though his return of wickets is not particularly impressive, he did enough to rattle the Indian batsmen.
Also, Razzaq proved to be quite a handful with both bat and ball. He wielded the bat like a butcher when required, scoring runs at will and bowled brilliantly throughout the third Test. In my books, he is the “Man-of-the-Match” for the third test.
Coming to the batting, Younis Khan and Mohd. Yousuf proved to be a constant menace for the Indians throughout the series. Together, they amassed close to 850 runs between them in this series alone which is quite extraordinary. Inspite of the absence of Inzy for most part of the 2nd Test and the whole of the 3rd Test, the batting looked pretty solid. The youngsters grabbed their oppurtunities with both hands. Imran Farhat and Faisal Iqbal both came good with the bat when it mattered the most! They are sure to give some headaches to the Pakistan selection committee in the near future.
For India, the bowling was below par, except for that wonderful effort from Irfan Pathan in the 1st innings of the 3rd Test when he reduced Pakistan to 0/3. A loss for India was unthinkable at that point of time. But as they say, “Cricket is a funny game”. And so it proved to be one. The rest of the bowlers huffed and puffed but they never really got going. RP Singh was the pick of the bowlers in Faisalabad (2nd Test) but he struggled in the 3rd Test on a favorable pitch. Zaheer Khan was the most disappointing in my opinion. He has done his reputation no favors and continues to struggle at the international level. Kumble toiled with little luck. The tracks were simply not to his liking. Harbhajan was another major disappointment in this series. After bagging a handful of wickets in the series against SriLanka at home, this series turned out to be quite a nightmare for him. So much so that, he was dropped for the 3rd test for the inclusion of Saurav Ganguly.
The batting also looked good only on favorable pitches of Lahore and Faisalabad. At Karachi, the batsmen were all at sea against the movement of the ball. Mohd Asif and Abdul Razzaq bowled cleverly to the Indian batsmen and reaped the benefits. Sachin got starts in both innings but faltered. He tends to get into a shell for reasons known only to him! Ganguly was gritty in both the innings at Karachi, but failed to convert good starts to big scores. Dravid and Sehwag failed in both innings. The whole idea behing Dravid opening the innings was illogical! Most experts believe Dravid is not equipped to face the new ball. He is best when the shine has been taken off. He can blunt the attack and then score runs at will once he gets his eye in. Opening slot should go to a specialist. Wonder why Wasim Jaffer was selected for this tour!!! (Perhaps for sipping tea in the dressing room!) Rest of the batsmen really did not turn on the heat in the third test.
Team India still has a chance to redeem themselves. And thats if they plan out a strategy to topple the Pak team in the ODI’s. Chappel, Dravid and co. have a task in hand and it remains to be seen if they are a match for the rampant Pakistan team.
Wish Team India good luck for the ODI’s!
-Subhash
I can be reached at subh_yadav@rediffmail.com
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