The Hindu : Sport : Positive moves from Indians

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jan 29, 2006

Sport

Sport

Positive moves from Indians

Those responsible for the farce must be held accountable, writes Imran Khan

As both teams gear up for the series decider, there is no arguing the fact that the Pakistanis have played it all wrong. They chose to play on dead-as-dodo wickets when Shoaib Akhtar was at the peak of his form and when the team was buoyant after defeating a strong England.

Now, the supreme irony is that when a bouncy, green wicket has been made, the speedster is struggling with his ankle and his captain Inzamam-ul-Haq will also be carrying an injury. The hosts blundered big time by not playing to their strength in the first two Tests, and, might have to pay for it dearly. This is exactly what happened to India in 1989.

They played out four draws against us and lost the last Test and series at Bangalore where a fair turner had been prepared to assist the Indian spinners.

Good ploy

The Indians on the other hand have impressed me with their positive moves. They saw the signs in Lahore and wisely lessened the load on the bowlers by playing the extra seamer. Greg Chappell knows cricket at the highest level, and the positive aggressive signals coming from the Indian camp do have his contribution.

The decision to play five seamers was further vindicated by the way Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Irfan Pathan responded to a mini-crisis. More than Dhoni's strokeplay, it was his temperament that impressed me. He faced top-class pace bowling and some aggression from the Pakistanis with great maturity. It also helped that he was wonderfully complemented by Pathan, who showed that he has the potential to be a top-class all-rounder.

There is a talk of Harbhajan Singh being omitted from the playing eleven. That might not be such a good idea because the Karachi wicket has bounce and tends to spin on the last two days — conditions that are ideal for the off-spinner.

Karachi has always been a happy hunting ground for pace bowlers, and the sea breeze makes the ball swing considerably. However, the batsmen from both sides must be high on confidence.

Unless one team bowls exceptionally well, chances are this Test too might end in a stalemate. It also remains to be seen if the much-talked about grass is left on the wicket, because sometimes it tends to disappear on the morning of the Test. Moreover, Pakistan must shake off the county cricket safety first mindset if they want to win the series. They must play Rana instead of Abdul Razzaq, because he has the firepower and aggression to make a good bowling partner for Shoaib.

All eyes on Sachin

All eyes will be trained on Sachin Tendulkar as he gears up for a Test at the venue of his debut. Moin Khan has said the countdown to the end of Tendulkar's career has begun, and has accused him of shying away from Shoaib. I did not see Tendulkar's brief innings and would like to reserve judgment.

The fact that Tendulkar has had to bat only once in two Tests speaks volumes for the cricket we have seen so far. I once again repeat that an inquiry into the wickets in the first two Tests is required. Those who reduced a potentially thrilling series into a farce where Younis Khan opened the bowling must be held accountable.

(Gameplan)

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