The Hindu : Sport : It will be tougher for India in the ODIs

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Apr 01, 2005

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It will be tougher for India in the ODIs

By Inzamam-ul-Haq

After our fantastic come-from-behind win in Bangalore to level the Test series, spirits in our camp are high. Many people are even saying that we will have the upper hand in the ensuing ODI series. It is nice to get a few compliments for a change, but I am not the sort who gets carried away by success or devastated by failure.

True, our one-day form over the past 12 months has been quite out of the ordinary. We did lose to India at home (2-3), but it was a series that could have gone either way. After that it has been one-way traffic all the way against India, right from the Asia Cup onwards to the BCCI jubilee match in Kolkata.

In-between, we reached the semifinals of the ICC Champions Trophy, and earlier this year, the tri-series finals in Australia after beating the West Indies. Though we ultimately lost to the Aussies, my team ran them close in both the finals. With a little more experience, we could have won the first final that we lost by just nine runs.

On the other hand, India's ODI show has been below-par in recent times, including a loss to Bangladesh. Considering all this, I am tempted to say that we will start as the favourites in the six-match series.

However, I will refrain from doing so because it is foolhardy to make any predictions about the one-day game.

Had it been a five-Test series, Pakistan would have called the shots post-Bangalore. But ODIs are different. A stroke of individual brilliance — a couple of great overs or a few wickets — can change the course of a match.

It will be a long series in extremely tough conditions. The schedule is such that both teams will be playing, packing and emplaning, which, in hot and humid conditions, is bound to take its toll. Don't be surprised to see tired legs and weary faces after three or four games.

Both sides have called in their limited-overs `specialists' and that's always exciting because these players know to play the game only one way — in top gear.

The warm-up game in Hyderabad went well for our youngsters, who hardly broke a sweat in overcoming an India `A' side packed with new faces. The seniors enjoyed a well-deserved two-day break.

It was nice to catch up with Mohammed Azharuddin at his gymnasium. He still looks as fit as he was in the nineties when he was at his peak in international cricket.

It is difficult to hazard a guess as to which way the cookie will crumble in the ODIs, but I can safely tell you one thing: If India found it hard to combat us in the Tests, their job will be harder in the shorter version of the game.

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