The Hindu : Sport : A do-or-die contest for Pakistan

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Nov 15, 2007
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Sport

Sport

A do-or-die contest for Pakistan

Nandita Sridhar

The host will be looking to seal the series on a batting track

— Photo: AP

TIME TO RELAX: Taking time off a gruelling schedule, members of the Indian and Pakistan teams unwind at the historic Gwalior fort on the eve of the fourth ODI.

Gwalior: Set against the backdrop of palaces atop mountains, the Captain Roop Singh Stadium at Gwalior has a regal resplendence about it.

Not that it will affect the cricket much. Once filled to the brim and bursting out of its seams, the stadium will assume its role as a one-day cauldron for the fourth ODI of the Indian Oil Cup.

The series that India leads 2-1 has produced the performances, but not the intriguing, interwoven mini-contests. So far, Shoaib Akhtar vs. Sachin Tendulkar has had the run-up, the edges and the odd flash of brilliance from Tendulkar. Other than that, there haven’t been too many contests.

Changing dynamics

It says something about the changing dynamics of India’s batting vs Pakistan’s bowling. It either means that both sides have the weaponry to counter each other’s strengths, or that the strengths (the Pakistani bowling) have lost some of the edge.

Thursday’s multi-labelled match will be called ‘crucial’, ‘India’s chance to seal series’ and ‘do-or-die for Pakistan’. A substantial amount rides on this match for both teams, but will it offer the thrill of a contest?

Man-to-man, India is the superior side, and will be the favourites to complete the series win on a good batting track. It would be a deserving result for the host, which has played better cricket for most parts. The openers have been forced into survival, but have seen and overcome far worse that what they’ve faced here.

But the batsmen might miss the insurance of Kamran Akmal behind the stumps. After an excellent domestic season Sarfraz Ahmed, if picked, will stay away from misadventures like dropping Sourav Ganguly of the first ball of the match. Tendulkar has suffered from Akmal’s rare show of competence, and might be glad if he doesn’t make it to the squad.

Sound middle-order

The middle-order looks sound with Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and the captain in great form. Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan have made up for any excesses offered by the rest of the bowling attack. Bowling-wise, India’s biggest strength has been in finding the breakthroughs when needed.

Dhoni’s captaincy came under question after Mohali, but the captain showed better judgement while managing his bowlers at Kanpur. Utilising the left-arm option of Yuvraj after Murali Kartik went for runs was a smart move. Part-time bowlers sub-consciously feed off their batting while performing with the ball. Yuvraj couldn’t do a thing wrong if he wanted to.

Pakistan’s bowling is desperately in need of some spark. Akhtar steamed in and Sohail Tanvir offered what was expected from a spinner-subtle deception; but the rest were mediocre.

With the batting and bowling imbalance, comes the series’ only leveller-the fielding. The perennial sub-continental worry has destroyed many a bowling trap.

Both teams have evened each other out in their poor ground fielding.

The teams: India: M.S. Dhoni (captain), Gautam Gambhir, Sourav Ganguly, Harbhajan Singh, Murali Kartik, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Irfan Pathan, Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma, R.P. Singh, Sreesanth, Sachin Tendulkar, Robin Uthappa and Yuvraj Singh.

Pakistan: Shoaib Malik (captain), Younis Khan, Abdur Rehman, Fawad Alam, Iftikhar Anjum, Kamran Akmal, Sarfraz Ahmed, Imran Nazir, , Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf, Salman Butt, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul and Yasir Hameed.

Umpires: Billy Doctrove and A.M. Saheba. Third umpire: G.A. Pratapkumar. Match Referee: Roshan Mahanama.

Match starts at 2.30 p.m.

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