The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : The Rawalpindi Express — playing on Indian batsmen’s minds

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The Rawalpindi Express — playing on Indian batsmen’s minds

Rakesh Rao

Shoaib Akhtar lives up to his reputation as a wicket-taker

— Photo: S. Subramanium

SOWING FEAR: Shoaib Akhtar has risen over his injury problems to trouble the best in the business.

NEW DELHI: Shoaib Akhtar is playing only his second Test this year.

Since playing against South Africa in January, the 32-year-old is fighting, besides other issues, a battle to regain his fitness of old. But, he never misses a chance to play to the galleries or grab headlines.

On Sunday, however, it was proved beyond doubt that the Rawalpindi Express has been playing on the minds of the Indian batsmen ever since he yorked Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid on that February afternoon in front of a stunned Eden Gardens crowd in 1999.

Fear factor

It is surprising how Akhtar remains a ‘fear factor’. Who can forget the express delivery that shattered the woodwork behind a surprised Tendulkar and a shaky-starter like Dravid? After all, no bowler in the world had bowled these two seasoned campaigners off successive deliveries.

Both known for their organised defence, but beaten for pace. This was something unimaginable, till then.

Again on Sunday, Akhtar brought back memories of those dismissals when he bowled Dravid with a peach of a delivery. Unlike at the Eden Gardens where Dravid was out first-ball, on Sunday the former skipper had faced 95 balls for a well-made 34.

This time, it was the second ball from Akhtar after the tea interval that did the damage.

Bowlers like Glenn McGrath and Richard Hadlee were known to produce such stunners against well-set batsmen. It was the just the kind of dismissal that a pace bowler dreams of and a batsman dreads. What more, it leaves the connoisseurs delighted.

In fact, Akhtar has almost cast a spell on the Indian batsmen whether they admit it or not. Right through this Test, it appeared that the Indians were only looking to play out his spells.

Survival first

Survival is first on their minds and that’s the reason why Akhtar, even on a slow pitch, has ended up with flattering figures.

When India began the chase of a modest 203 for victory, it was Akhtar who stood between India and victory.Interestingly, before Akhtar, it was medium pacer Zaheer Khan and part-time seamer Sourav Ganguly who gained from the ‘hara-kiri’ committed by the Pakistan late-order.

Though Akhtar lived up to his image of a wicket-taking bowler, Ganguly and Tendulkar have taken India to the threshold of victory. But all is not lost for Akhtar and Pakistan. As in 1999, Pakistan’s next stop after the Kotla is Eden Gardens. Pakistan can gain plenty from the memories of that day.

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