The Hindu : Sport : Momentum with Inzamam's team

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Sunday, Apr 17, 2005

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Momentum with Inzamam's team

Sanjay Rajan

It is important to dismiss Shahid Afridi early, says Rahul Dravid

It would indeed be a huge achievement for Inzamam if his side manages to pull off a win here.

SHOWING THE WAY: Inzamam-ul-Haq, greeted by a fan on the way to the Kotla ground on Saturday, has proved himself an inspiring leader. - PHOTO: S. SUBRAMANIUM

NEW DELHI: It is not in Inzamam-ul-Haq's nature to be impetuous. It is probably why he is judicious with his choice of words. The Pakistan captain also speaks very slowly. It reminds one so much of his walk to the wicket, a languid trudge, giving himself sufficient time to assess the situation — or a question if it is a press conference, as was the case on Saturday, the eve of the sixth and final match of the Pepsi Cup limited-overs series against India, to be played at the Ferozeshah Kotla here.

It calls for tremendous mental strength to accomplish what Inzamam did at Ahmedabad the other day, when he guided the Men in Green to success, chasing a target of 316.

It was in Motera that Pakistan drew level 2-2. And that knock of 60 by the elder statesman of the Pakistan team did more than just win the match — it instilled belief in his men that they can, after all, triumph in the series.

Shahid Afridi's 45-ball century in Kanpur, which saw the visitor gain a 3-2 lead, was as much a display of the man's talent as it was of the side's new-found belief.

It would not be wrong to say that the foundation was actually laid in Motera.

"Of course, I felt the pressure, especially in the last over. It probably did not show," said Inzamam, a smile hanging on a corner of his lips.

In much the same breath, the visiting skipper stated, "But tomorrow is our biggest game."

On Sunday, Pakistan will play to win the series, which India hopes to square. It would indeed be a huge achievement for Inzamam if his side manages to pull off a win here.

His position as captain had came under fire after the side's ordinary showing on the tour of Australia. It should also be remembered that India had won both the Test and ODI series in Pakistan last season.

Remarkable comeback

In the three-Test series here, Inzamam and company staged a remarkable comeback after being 0-1 down, going into the third, which it won in Bangalore. It was much the same in the ODIs, after being 0-2 down.

"All credit to the boys. They have displayed hardiness, shown considerable self-belief. The series in Australia was tough. So has the tour of India. My boys have learnt quickly, adapted well," said Inzamam, with a sense of satisfaction.

Spearhead Md. Sami did not play in Kanpur owing to a heel injury. "Sami is feeling much better. We'll decide on the position after his fitness Test in the morning," said the skipper.

The teams arrived here from Kanpur only in the afternoon. They did not have a practice session. The two captains and coaches had a look at the pitch later in the day.

When it was brought to his notice that the Kotla square was a freshly laid one, with only two DDCA league matches played on it so far, Inzamam said, "Whatever it is, it will be the same for both."

There was nothing much that the Indian captain Rahul Dravid could do in the face of the 45-ball hundred in Kanpur.

"You can expect a good contest here. It has been an evenly-fought series so far. That was an exceptional knock from Afridi," Dravid said.

"We went 2-0 up in the series, and Pakistan played well to win the next three matches. It is important to dismiss Afridi early. In one-day cricket, whichever team plays well on the given day wins," the Karnataka cricketer added.

Seamer Rana Naved-ul-Hasan was the one who caused most damage in the ODI series with 14 scalps, including that of Sehwag thrice and Tendulkar twice.

Dravid agreed. "He has bowled well. He put the new ball in the right places and got it to swing away. Then he came back for the second spell and reverse swung the old ball. I think the key is to play out his first spell," said The Wall.

"The first 15 overs will be crucial. We need to get a little tighter there, not give away too many runs in that phase. We should also agree that since the 2003 World Cup, we have not played to our best and Pakistan has had more success. Even in this series, we did not consolidate on the winning start. But we sure want to square it," Dravid concluded.

The teams (from):

India: V. Sehwag, S. Tendulkar, R. Dravid (capt.), Yuvraj Singh, M. Kaif, D. Mongia, M. Dhoni (wk), A. Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, M. Kartik, A. Nehra, A. Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, L. Balaji and S. Sriram.

Pakistan: S. Butt, K. Akmal (wk), S. Malik, Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt.), Y. Youhana, A. Razzaq, S. Afridi, Naved-ul-Hasan, M. Sami, A. Khan, A. Kamal, M. Hafeez, S. Nazir, D. Kaneria, Iftikhar Anjum and Younis Khan.

Umpires: R. Koertzen & A.V. Jayaprakash. Third umpire: K. Hariharan. Match Referee: C. Broad.

Hours of play: 9 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. & 1.15 p.m. to 4.45 p.m.

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