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Bowlers will have to get their act together

By S. Dinakar

ISLAMABAD, MARCH 14. On the placid, dry and the largely bald pitch at Karachi's National Stadium the batsmen held sway, even as the ball disappeared to the far corners of the field.

A staggering 693 runs were scored in the first Samsung ODI contest. Though the numbers do not always tell the story, they cannot be ignored either.

The Indian bowling got its act together right at the end, after making dents in the Pakistani line-up early on. In between, it almost let Pakistan pull off what would have been the highest successful run-chase in ODI history. Truth to tell, India will not always have 349 runs to defend.

While the pacemen, with the odds stacked against them did not wilt under pressure, India is not without bowling worries and the absence of a fifth regular bowler is being sorely felt.

India was bailed out of trouble on Saturday because Nehra's final over was outstanding. The Delhi left-arm bowler pitched the ball up, did not give any room, and cramped the batsmen for space.

Though he went for over six runs an over, Zaheer Khan — returning from a hamstring injury — bowled with much better rhythm especially at the death. The much improved and consistent Balaji, like in Australia, showed the virtues of a tidy line and length, and Nehra stood up to be counted when things could so easily have gone wrong for India. However, there are areas of concern.

The Indians are clearly missing the presence of Anil Kumble. Although left-arm spinner Murali Kartik is not without talent, he is finding it difficult to stem the flow of runs. Kartik is a rhythm bowler and in both Australia and Karachi the batsmen have gone after him in a deliberate bid to dismantle his length; the idea being to prevent him from settling down.

Kartik still struck a couple of crucial blows in the climactic stages — removing Inzamam-ul-Haq and Younis Khan — with his ability to get the ball drift in the air, but he will have to concede far less than the 74 runs that were taken off him in Karachi. A tight spell from him after Balaji and Zaheer had achieved the breakthroughs could have made Ganguly's task easier.

The Indians would also have to seriously reconsider if they could afford to go in without a fifth specialist bowler on these pitches. Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly in four overs between them went for 48 runs, and this was the phase where the Pakistani innings gained momentum.

The Indians have the option of giving the promising Irfan Pathan a fling or blooding rookie off-spinning all-rounder Ramesh Powar. But then either one of them can only come in place of a specialist batsman. It is for the team-management to decide whether a seventh batsman or one more bowler would strengthen the side on these pitches.

Akhtar disappoints

Pakistan too has problems concerning team balance. After so much hype, Shoaib Akhtar had an ordinary game in the series opener, overdoing the short-pitched stuff and wasting some early life in the pitch. He is undoubtedly the most threatening of the Pakistan bowlers for the simple reason that he can, without depending on the nature of the surface, get the ball to swing viciously at great speeds. In the first ODI, he hardly gave himself a chance to do that. Since he is more dangerous with the old ball, where his reverse swing comes into play, it can be argued that it would serve Pakistan better if Shoaib does a majority of his bowling in the middle and the end overs.

Shoaib's pace partner Mohammed Sami, in striving for speed, also ignored the virtues of line and length, conceding 74 runs in his 10 overs. And between them, Shoaib and Sami sent down 17 no balls and wides. This, in the final analysis, cost Pakistan the match.

Zaheer Khan during a practice session.

Like India, Pakistan has a bowling headache in the middle overs. Abdul Razzaq has clearly declined as a paceman, and although his value to the side as a clean striker of the ball cannot be questioned, he is less than a full-fledged all-rounder these days. Shoaib Malik won selection over quality off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq for his batting prowess, but the latter, with his bag of tricks, can alter the course of games in the middle-overs.

If accommodated at the top of the order, Shahid Afridi too can provide the host a bowling option with his leg-spin. And then, Pakistan will have to take a decision on Saqlain.

Both the sides will have to clean up their bowling act before Tuesday's second match of the series, a day-night game in Rawalpindi, just 12 miles away from Pakistan's capital Islamabad.

A solution to their bowling worries does not appear so near for Ganguly and Inzamam though.

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