The Hindu : It is a pressure series

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Mar 22, 2004

Sport

Sport - Cricket

It is a pressure series

Moin Khan

It is a pressure series, there is no doubt about that. We could have been 3-0 up in the series, but for that one superb catch by Mohammad Kaif in Karachi's opening one-dayer which gave India the little extra motivation which ultimately cost us the game. The effigies of our players were not burnt after we lost in my hometown. In fact, people admired both teams as they watched one of the best one-day internationals ever played. This kind of sportsmanship should be kept alive in both countries. People should realise that one team has to lose, but if both teams give their best, it doesn't matter who wins the game.

For me victory and defeat are part and parcel of the gentleman's game. I don't mind if I finish on the losing side, and if my team fulfils its duty on the field with the utmost ability, it gives me the satisfaction that at least we tried our best.

This Indian team has a galaxy of stars. The best part is that it has now learnt how to win those matches in which Sachin Tendulkar fails to show his mastery with the bat. Watching Virender Sehwag's ferocious cuts from behind the wickets or seeing Rahul Dravid's art of rotating the strike reminds me of Gordon Greenidge and our coach Javed Miandad's playing days.

Before the Indians landed in Pakistan, our bowling was projected as our strength while the Indians were expected to bank on their top five batsmen. However, so far I think batsmen from both sides have dominated the series. One reason is that it's difficult for a bowler to bowl all his deliveries in the right areas under pressure and a batsman gets enough chances to score.

We were labelled as bad chasers by the international media and to some extent I admit it was a true assessment. But in this series we nearly pulled off a world record chase in Karachi and in the third game, on a difficult wicket in Peshawar, our batsmen managed to chase a decent total of 245.

I was under pressure too after I failed to see my team through in Karachi. Then Ashish Nehra bowled an unplayable delivery in Rawalpindi and sent me packing off the very first delivery. I got another chance in Peshawar and together with Razzaq put on nearly a run-a-ball 70 odd runs to win the match with more than two overs to spare.

My only worry is that our bowlers are not delivering what was expected from them before this Friendship Series began. They are keeping me busy behind the wickets with their wayward bowling, but slowly and gradually they are improving their line and length.

I was worried when Shabbir Ahmed bowled a 14-ball first over in Peshawar but his three top order wickets made amends. Shoaib Akhtar's brilliant line and length, capped with his trademark speed, stopped the Indian batsmen from scoring freely and the Rawalpindi Express is certainly steaming. Mohammad Sami might look out of sorts, but he was not feeling well in Peshawar. He has some problems in his run-up, but I hope he will overcome his problems.

The crowd at all the three centres _ Karachi, Rawalpindi and Peshawar _ was fantastic. I hope by now, the Indians have realised that the people of Pakistan thoroughly enjoy good competitive cricket.

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