Mofeez Murtaza February 3, 1999

Tags: Cricket

href="/tag/Pakistan">Pakistan to play in
India. The first test was a classic Pakistan-India battle that Pakistan
won. Pakistan is on the verge of being the first team in 12 years to win
a series in India. Pakistan is also the last team to achieve that feat.
There is so much tension and anticipation. But normally great
anticipation is followed by anti-climax. The forecast of rain for the
3rd and 4th day of this test just might come true and ruin the game. I
hope it does not though since this match has the promise of being a
great one.

It will be difficult to change the sides after the way they fought in
the first one but let us first examine the pitch conditions. The wicket
was dug up before the tour started so the first test match was shifted
to Chennai. On top of that it rained in Delhi a lot. So the wicket is at
best under prepared. Under prepared wickets are great for spinners
obviously but accurate fast bowlers also get wickets. Batting is reduced
to being as positive as possible and latching on to bad balls. A test
match should be played with 5 bowlers as I suggested in the first game
but this match might not last long so the sides might get away with it.
Apart from a couple of great innings there was not a whole lot of
encouragement for both batting sides so they will again be tentative.
For Pakistan, if Mushtaq is fit he will replace Nadeem Khan who did not
get any wickets at Chennai. Shahid will be used as the bowler who
occasionally comes in and gives the others rest. These bowlers become
dangerous because the batting takes them lightly. We’ll see if the
Indians take risks against him. Wasim has a hamstring pull but he will
play. The Pakistani public harassed him after he missed the world cup
quarter final against India owing to an injury. He will take his Brufen
pills, bite his lip and gut this one out. The rest of the side will
remain the same. If the wicket plays low like an under prepared wicket
does, then Waqar and Wasim can be extremely dangerous with their
in-dippers. Saeed is due for runs and will probably react to adversity
like he normally does by hitting out and being positive. On a bad
wicket, the new ball produces the most runs and he might go for it. As
will Azhar. I remember watching him in the series against South Africa
in India. He had all his guns blazing. He hit himself into form and my
guess is that he will try to do the same against Pakistan. Whether it
will work or not, only time will tell. India might replace the left arm
spinner with an off spinner. The teenage off spinner, Harbhajan Singh,
is an unknown commodity on the international cricket arena. It will be
tough for him to play in such a charged situation. Joshi’s batting will
also be missed if he does not play so this will be a tough decision. The
rest of the side will probably remain intact. Tendulkar’s back prevented
him from practicing but he will play as if his life depended on it
because India depends on him.

Javed Miandad was not liked by the Indian crowd when he played for
Pakistan against them. The reason for that was probably that he was a
great player who would battle his heart out for Pakistan. His reactions
to the game in Chennai are worth mentioning. "The people of Chennai set
an example for all those watching around the world. Even the people of
Pakistan can learn from them. The crowd did support their team but what
was significant was the way they conducted themselves after the match
was over. In such a tight situation, so many unpleasant things could
have happened but the crowd was simply marvellous. They gave both sides
just the right atmosphere to give their best.'' There is no reason to
feel that the crowd in Delhi will be any different from Chennai and so,
weather permitting, a very good match is in store. Miandad will not let
the Pakistanis lose focus. They have done that recently. In a test
series against South Africa where they were firmly in command after
winning a test, they lost the last one to end the series tied. It would
have been a great win in South Africa but they lost focus and let it
slip. They will be well advised not to take India lightly in this test.

The predictions for the series pretty much remain the same. I expect
Saeed and Azhar to play key innings for their teams. Waqar will be
difficult to play on a wicket that keeps low. Wasim, baring injury, will
get wickets. The way Tendulkar goes India goes. Srinath will be
consistent and Malik has a chance to redeem himself because the wicket
suits his batting style. Dravid needs to support Tendulkar up top if
India is to score respectable totals. The battle will again be between
the strengths of the two teams. That is, India’s batting versus
Pakistan’s bowling. Whoever wins that battle, wins the game. It is silly
to call this series Asia’s Ashes, in my opinion. The Ashes are a very
good and charged series but those two teams do not have the kind of
history we do. Partition, wars and different ideologies. Maybe we should
give our series a name so that we are never compared with the Ashes.
Since both nations were born in 1947, why don’t we call it "The ’47
clash"? Owing to their bitter history, these two countries will always
love to hate each other. Will this ever turn into just love? I don’t
know but I hope not because that will just take away the beauty of it!


Test 2 Day 1


The story of Chennai continues. The world's best off spinner is starting
to assert himself. Some people have so much talent and enjoy so much
success at an early age that they are stars before they prove themselves
at the highest level. The spotlight follows them. The media follows
them. The fans follow them. It is said that a man's character is not in
the way he responds to success but in the way he responds to failure.
When you enter the highest level in anything you encounter failure, no
matter how talented you are. The question then is, how do you respond to
that? Some people fold. Some people are unlucky. An example of that is
Kambli from India and Basit Ali from Pakistan. Will they ever come back
and play to the potential they have shown? I certainly hope so. There
are others who fight off the attention and emerge with greater resolve
to fulfil their dreams. Lara and Tendulkar are shining examples of that
fact. So is the energetic, emotional and aggressive off spinner of
Pakistan. This latest Saqlain saga of success is not screeching to a
halt anytime soon.


India won the toss and batted. No surprises there. The team selections
were also predictable. Mushtaq replacing Nadeem in Pakistan's side to
give their bowling another match winner. On the other side, India going
with Harbhajan Singh instead of Joshi. The inexperience of the off
spinner Harbhajan coupled with the highly charged atmosphere on the
ground will make it very difficult for him. But maybe that will bring
out the best in him. Time will tell. The rest of the players with their
nagging injuries and bruises were retained from the squads in Chennai.
Early indications from the wicket were that there was nothing much in it
for the fast bowlers. A couple of deliveries did however shoot through
along the ground to put a seed of doubt in every batsmen's mind.


The two young Indian openers batted with confidence and poise. The key
here for the Indian selectors is to persist with them through their
growing pains and bad patches. Good openers are very hard to find and
very important for stability. Pakistan did get their chances but were
unable to capitalize on them. Half chances to Shahid, Youhana and
Mushtaq were put down after valiant efforts and an LBW appeal was close.
But by and large, the Indian openers batted very well till lunch. Since
spin was introduced early thus the spinners did not get a whole lot of
spin with the newer ball. The tandem of Mushtaq and Saqlain came on
early, a precursor to the trend in the match. Lunch was taken with India
at 82 without loss. Wasim got the break through after lunch with a
typical delivery that nipped back and went through the gate of Laxman.
Out walked Dravid. Much depended on him as some one needs to take the
responsibility off Sachin. He is man enough to shoulder the pressure but
another hero must rise in the batting department. After early trouble
with Wasim, Dravid seemed to settle down. Ramesh on the other end got
another well deserved fifty. He has shown a lot of promise under trying
conditions. On wickets where the ball does not come on to the bat, one
needs to graft runs and never lose concentration. There is never a time
on these wickets that a batsman can start making shots. They just have
to wait for the loose balls. This realization only comes with
experience. Ramesh understandably does not have that yet. He threw his
wicket away after a good 60, by trying to heave Saqlain over midwicket
to get bowled off a fullish delivery. Sachin walked in with a reasonably
good beginning and Dravid looking resolute at the other end. The LBW
appeal that I mentioned earlier was to make a point that normally things
even out in the long run. Although the benefit of the doubt in a LBW
decision should always go to the batsman, the umpire some times gives it
to the bowler if the batsman plays a bad shot across the line. This is
just an observation I have made over the years of playing and watching
cricket. Sachin went for a sweep off a pitched up Saqlain delivery that
was reasonably straight and was given LBW. Suddenly India had lost three
wickets and was about to squander the advantage of winning the toss.


Azhar is a very good player of spin bowling and thus his dismissals to
spin in the first test were a bit surprising. He walked in this time
with the usual jitters. One needs to get a few good breaks or favorite
shots going to get out of a mini-slump. Azhar's footwork against the
spinners started to click and his drives regained the fluency that we
are used to. Tea was taken at 169/3 with Azhar looking good. The post
tea sessions in this series have been dramatic. I am not sure why. The
temperature in Delhi was less than Chennai so that might be a factor
here, with muscles stiffening in the cold, but what happened in Chennai?
Right after tea, Azhar handed a dolly of a return catch to Mushtaq,
which he floored. Dravid on the other end made a cardinal sin against a
spinner on a low wicket. I was always told never to go back on a wicket
where the bounce is low unless the ball is a rank long hop. Dravid went
to cut a ball by Saqlain that to his dismay turned out to be a floater.
Plumb in front. Ganguly came and settled down into a shell. The new ball
was due but Wasim did not take it, in fact he left the field at the time
for some repairs so he gave away the fact that he was not going to take
it. On wickets that are uneven, statistics suggest that after every so
many balls there will be one that is unplayable. So the key is to
utilize to the fullest the ones that are sent down to you. That means
that you should never go in to your shell on a bad wicket and should
always keep the strike rolling. Ganguly did otherwise and played overly
defensive to a full length straight ball to be wrapped on the pads in
front. Keeping in mind what I said above, Azhar got a gem of a ball from
Mushtaq that pitched on a good length, kicked and spun away sharply to
hit him on the glove and go to slip where Ijaz caught a blinder. Mushtaq
had two important wickets one after the other. Azhar's 67 was very
positive and a good sign for India. Saqlain then got Kumble at silly and
Srinath played back to a ball on the stumps. Indians ended up with 247/8
and Saqlain got another 5 wicket haul.


On the first day of the first test, Pakistan had the chance to gain the
initiative after winning the toss on a wicket that was going to be
difficult in the fourth innings. They did not. India has done the same
here. The best days on a pitch that is under prepared are the first
three. The side that makes the most of them normally wins the game.
Pakistan will probably not take the new ball tomorrow morning but would
like to take care of the tail early. India would want to wag it till it
can. The first innings lead, barring rain, might be decisive in this
one. Pakistan has the opportunity to bat responsibly and positively to
grab a lead. A lead of about 100 or more, if taken, will probably seal
the game. Opportunities, however, mean squat if not taken. India will
throw the kitchen sink at them to prevent them from taking the lead. The
pressure is squarely on Pakistan to make the most of this situation. The
answer lies in one word. Desire.


Test 2 Day 2


The desire was there. The desire to fight back into the series. The desire
to preserve the record that they have not lost a home series in 12 years.
The desire to do well for the home crowd which has supported them so well.
People will talk about a very good bowling performance. They will throw
names like Kumble, Harbhajan and Prasad. I disagree. On a wicket like this
a good accurate bowler will get wickets. It is the run making that is a
problem. Anyone who gets runs is the real hero. So the performance of the
man who was booed when accepting the man of the match for Tendulkar in the
first test is the key. The man who is never given enough credit for what
he has done for Indian cricket. The man who is doing a job that even
Tendulkar could not do. The catalyst of this fight back is none other than
the Indian captain, Mohammad Azharuddin.


India lost their last two wickets early to inexplicable run outs. Why gift
a wicket on this bowler friendly track? Pakistan needed a good start in
reply to India's 252. They did not get it. Saeed went early fishing at a
Prasad delivery that left him off the seam. Ijaz came in and immediately
started playing his strokes. Shahid was uncertain at the start like he
always is. Now this is not a knock at Shahid. I think he is a very
exciting player but he is suspect against the ball that moves away. Also,
he will not be very effective on wickets that have seam and bounce for the
quicks. He is a natural middle order player who is very good against
medium pacers and spinners. His natural instinct is to hit and that is not
a quality of an opener. I believe the strategy with him needs to be
thought out again and he should play at number 6. Shahid is not to blame
if he plays an "un-opener" like shot. In this innings however he
negotiated Srinath and Prasad with confidence and went on to club Kumble
when he was brought on. A couple of straight sixes off Kumbles first over
and Pakistan were looking confident going past fifty with one loss.
Harbhajan came on and hit line and length immediately. With good control
he tied down Shahid and then enticed him into hitting a bad shot. Shahid
played across the line to be bowled off a ball that was well flighted. Bad
shot but that is the way he plays. Quite often Ijaz loses his
concentration when the batsman at the other end gets out. He had played
himself in like Shahid and it was needed that he put his head down and
play a long innings. He tentatively pushed forward to Kumble and was
caught at silly. With 54/3 Pakistan was in deep trouble in need of a long
partnership.


The Indian captain had relentlessly pressured the Pakistan batsman. After
lunch he continued with close in fielders which led Yousuf to play a drive
back to Kumble that he held brilliantly diving to his left. Malik and Inzi
were at the crease with Pakistan in dire straits at 60/4. Salim Malik and
Javed Miandad were arguably the best pair to negotiate spin in their hay
days. Malik might be at the tail end of his career but he still is a very
good player of spin. He settled down into his normal nudges and tucks
around the corner to keep the scoreboard moving. Inzi wanted the
scoreboard to race as Harbhajan had tied things up with a very accurate
spell. So Inzi went after the off-spinner. Three fours in one over and the
youngster's confidence was about to shake. But just when he looked well
set, Inzi threw his wicket away playing a nonchalant drive against Kumble
that touched wood but not the one in Inzi's hand. Azhar changed Harbhajan
and brought back Prasad while switching ends for Kumble. The thinking
might have been that the off-spinner had given too many runs in one over
or that Malik is not that great against the pacers. It paid off. Prasad
got him bat pad at silly. Srinath came back to get Moin early and Pakistan
was seven down at tea.


After tea Pakistan were wrapped up quickly with Harbhajan coming back and
getting the wickets of Wasim and Mushtaq while Kumble got Saqlain. 172 all
out. Shahid 31, Ijaz 17, Inzi 27 and Malik 31 all batted themselves in and
then batted themselves out. The application and concentration needed on a
wicket like this was not there and India had got a very good 80 run first
innings lead. Kumble got 4 wickets and Harbhajan 3. The Indian skipper did
a stellar job in the field and deserves praise. Wasim got Laxman early
with a carbon copy of the first innings dismissal. He might have
identified a flaw in Laxman's defensive stroke where he keeps a gap
between bat and pad. However, Ramesh and Dravid looked solid in negotiating India
to 46/1 at the close with the match firmly in India's grasp.


There does not seem to be any way Pakistan can come back in this game. The
wicket will deteriorate even further. Pakistans first innings did not last
long enough to make India miss a fifth bowler and that might be the case
in the fourth innings also. For India, it is needed now to stiffen up
their resolve and play with determination. Pakistan on the other hand need
to rekindle the spirit of the cornered tigers of 1992.



Test 2 Day 3


In every good rivalry, a star is born. The unknowns play their hearts
out or a new comer just comes in and in his inexperience does not
realize the intensity of the situation and plays his natural game. This
day belonged to a young player who is playing his second test. He
weathered the Akram storm and negotiated Saqlain brilliantly on a tough
pitch. All credit goes to him for this achievement. Nerves finally
caught up to him but that did not take away from the grit that he has
shown during this test series. He is positive and calm in his batting.
Ramesh is the new batting hero of India. It is imperative that the
selectors nurture him well and he put in the required hard work so that
he does not become a shooting star.


The wicket that was supposed to become a nightmare did not seem so
menacing today. Ramesh and Dravid started positively. They kept rotating
the strike so that the left hand-right hand combination kept the bowlers
unsettled. The loose ball was dispatched with efficiency. Though the
wicket has broken down but it has also slowed down so if the batsmen are
watchful they can survive. By the end of the first hour India were 100/1
and in total command. Everyone and their mother know by now that this
wicket is not conducive for stroke play. Thus attempting adventurous
strokes is not prudent. Dravid had played solidly, like most innings in
this series, but lost his concentration and went for a loft over
mid-wicket only to top edge from Saqlain. Sachin took ages to get off
the mark, which suggests that he wanted to play himself in. Ramesh was
batting with ease on one end and lunch was taken without further damage.
Sachin then settled down after lunch and both started milking the
bowling with nudges and pushes. Sachin threw his wicket away trying to
lift Mushtaq over mid-on. Akram took the catch. Pakistan had slowed the
scoring rate down after Dravid's dismissal but Ramesh was standing firm.
Like all rookies (second test) Ramesh had a bout of butterflies in the
stomach when he neared his maiden test hundred. Losing his
concentration, he played a Mushtaq full toss right back to him. He had
scored 96 very good runs. I am sure he will get his maiden hundred soon.
He made a very good case for a man of the match and should get it.


Wasim came back on, relieving Mushtaq, to induce an errant back foot
drive from Azhar that ricocheted onto his stumps. Mongia could not
handle an in-swinger from Wasim the very next ball to be LBW. Wasim was
on a hat trick and overtook Imran with 363 wickets in tests. He took
three less tests than Imran, which makes one realize how good he has
been for so many years for Pakistan. Kumble was out shortly after tea
caught at silly off Saqlain and it seemed as if Pakistan would run
through the tail. Srinath has many times impressed with the bat owing to
his will. He is a good competitor and gave able support to Ganguly. Both
played patiently and took care of the bad ball. India ended the day at
324/7, 404 runs on.


The pitch has slowed down but it still is helping the bowlers. It just
goes to show how good the Indians have batted in the second innings and
how irresponsibly the Pakistanis batted in the first innings. The Indian
bowling had something to do with it too, though. The Indians have shown
the way. If you bat with patience and application you can survive on
this wicket. It will be interesting to see when the Indians declare. The
attacking thing to do will be to declare over night. Pakistan has never
got more than 315 in a chase in the last inning. The wicket is in the
bowlers' favor. Why leave it to an element of chance with rain possible
on the fifth day? Let the bowlers get a full day tomorrow to bowl
Pakistan out. They have done it before. Imran many a times hung on with
the likes of Tauseef and Iqbal Qasim to save test matches. I remember
one in India in which he hung around with Javed to save one. His motto
was play each ball on merit and never lose concentration. In my opinion,
only a miracle from God can save this game for Pakistan but they will be
well advised to follow Imran's motto in any case.


Test 2 Day 4


Some days everything goes your way. Nothing seems to disturb your
concentration and all the breaks go to you. Your confidence starts to
increase and you try harder. You find little things to pump you up. A
good dive to stop a boundary, a pat on the back by a compatriot and a
scream from a fan. The adrenaline starts to flow and you feel energy
growing inside you. You clench your fists; you growl a little and then
your hair rise owing to the charge inside of you. And then there comes a
moment when you just about reach perfection. Very few sportsmen get to
feel this moment. It is intoxicating. You want to achieve it again and
again. Very rarely does it happen again. But you know that no matter
what, you can say that there was a time in your life when you were
perfect. Anil Kumble had that moment today.


Pakistan started the day in the field with the intention to keep the
scoring rate low so that the Indians take more time to get the number of
runs that they want to defend. The Indians decided to bat on which was
to me a defensive move. It did not take long for Saqlain to find a
rhythm and get some wickets. Saqlain got Srinath at slip and then bowled
the last two to get another five-wicket outing. A great series for him
with twenty wickets and the prize scalp of Tendulkar 3 out of the 4
innings. He got 20 wickets in the series with four consecutive 5-wicket
bowling performances. It was a mystery as to how Pakistan would want to
play. They realized that playing out close to two days on this track was
impossible and on the flip side of it no one had ever gotten 420 to win
in the last innings. That would just leave one choice. Every batsman
play his game. That is exactly what they did. When the world's highest
one day run scorer (in an inning) comes together with the world's
fastest century maker (one dayers), the result is Blitzkrieg. Pakistan
started with all guns blazing. Saeed looked fluent as opposed to his
previous three innings. His drives were flowing and his on-drives were
especially a treat. Shahid was playing in his usual way. Picking the
balls to hit in pre-planned fashion and just whacking them with disdain.
India came out in the field as if they were defending 220 (Holding's
comments). Just one slip for fast bowlers! Inexplicable or was it?
Azhar's philosophy might have been that the new ball is the only time
when the ball comes on to the bat. So, if India could stop the flow of
runs at that time they could attack later on when the ball gets older.
The easiest way to curtail the flow of runs though is to get wickets.
India did not get early wickets and thus the run flow was exceptionally
fast for a test match. Although Azhar's field was not attacking at all
but there weren't many balls flying through slips in any case. Till
lunch Pakistan had blasted their way to 90/0. Did we have a match on
your hands?


When two teams of just about equal power are playing each other, one
decision can change the complexion of the game. Things were going
Pakistan's way. Both openers were middling the ball. As the ball grew
old, the spin was getting difficult to play but by that time the openers
were set so things could have developed positively for Pakistan. But
just then came the decision that broke Pakistan's back and their resolve
to try for the impossible. Kumble bowled one outside the off stump and
Afridi played at it tentatively. The ball seemed to brush by both bat
and pad and went to the keeper. Mongia never fails to appeal and he went
up vociferously as did the others. The Indian umpire raised his finger
to Afridi's chagrin. The replays did not show whether the ball hit the
bat or did not. So there was doubt in the slow motion replays, which
means there was doubt in real time. In an LBW decision the benefit of
the doubt always goes to the batsman. This time it did not. Afridi stood
there cursing the umpire and his luck. Pakistan's heart was broken. The
broken heart got a knife through it when on the very next ball Ijaz was
given LBW on a ball that was clearing missing leg stump. The game was
over. In close games one decision can turn the game into a blow out.
Afridi stays till tea and things would have been very different. In a
game in Australia, during the series in which Akram hit that blazing
123, Ijaz had just about made a game of it when at the other end Salim
Yousuf was given LBW. The ball was missing leg but Alderman got the
wicket. The Australians won it rather easily but if Salim lasts for a
while things might not have worked out that way for Pakistan. It just
shows though how ridiculous it is to have one neutral umpire. There
should be two neutral umpires so that there is no question of bias.


Pakistan folded after that. Kumble got Inzi playing a lazy shot to be
bowled. Yousuf left a straight flipper to be LBW. Moin got a beauty that
turned, got an edge and Ganguly grabbed it at slip. Anwar who had
defended valiantly was clearly rattled by the collapse. He popped one at
silly and left for a well played 69. Malik, with a pulled hamstring, had
a runner in Afridi. He along with Akram took Pakistan to tea. Akram
lashed out at the spinners and hit Harbhajan out of the attack. Malik
played over a Kumble flipper to be bowled. Kumble then got Mushtaq,
Saqlain and Akram to get all Pakistan wickets to fall. His analysis were
26.3-9-74-10. An incredible feat which was thoroughly deserved. He has
been India's best bowler in this series and for a while now. He tied Jim
Laker's 40+ year old record. Delhi has been a hunting ground for him and
he gobbled up his prey in quick succession today bowling Pakistan out
for 207. Accepting the man of the match, he mentioned Ramesh's effort as
well as Ganguly and Srinath's partnership in true gentlemanly fashion.


The series ended at 1-1. India keeping their streak of not losing at
home alive and Pakistan coming back from the doldrums of 1998 to make a
good start to 1999. Saqlain, deservedly, got the man of the series
award. Some questions were answered in this series. India proved that
they can win without Tendulkar being absolutely spectacular. They also
have found a good opener in Ramesh. Harbhajan deserves to be given more
chances in tests after his performance in the last test. Pakistan prove
yet again that when the chips are down they can perform better than
anyone. Saqlain solidified his position as the best off-spinner in the
world. Yousuf Youhana seems to be a good middle order batsman. Akram
broke records and his captaincy has given Pakistan some stability. Both
teams have things they can build on. The end result of 1-1 did not
decide the rivalry, which means that the next time they meet they will
be motivated to get the upper hand. So we will have to wait till the
next series to decide the better team. But wait a minute, there is this
Asian test series around the corner. First game, India Vs Pakistan at
Calcutta on Feb. 14.