In 1976, Yograj Singh Bundhel was considered by many in the North of India to be a better prospect than Kapil Dev Nikhanj. Both came from Chandigarh, practiced together and had a healthy competition between each other. So highly rated was Yograj that Dilip Vengsarkar picked him to play ahead of Kapil in the three-day game against the touring England team. Fate does have its own reasons and while Kapil went on to become the greatest cricketer the country has produced, Yogi played just one Test and faded away from the cricket scene. He was determined however, to see his unfulfilled dreams being realized by his son Yuvraj and when the young man got the single to get to his first Test century, the burly, hard-looking but soft-hearted Yograj would no doubt have shed a tear or two. It wasn’t just that his beloved son had got a Test century but it was also a ton that came when India needed it most.
Not for one moment is one taking credit away from Shabnam, the mother who brought the young man up and encouraged him too. To all those of Yograj’s teammates, who saw Yuvraj as a toddler and who have seen him grow up to be a strapping young athlete, it is a special pleasure to see his success, as indeed it is to see the success of other sons of former teammates and colleagues. But for Yuvraj’s stroke-filled innings and his hundred-plus partnership with Irfan Pathan, India would have been hard-pressed to get to 200. Pathan showed as much resoluteness as his senior partner and once again, some pretty unimaginative captaincy by Inzamam ul-Haq helped the duo not only to survive but also to prosper. The bowling also looked listless, especially Shoaib Akhtar, who often bowled with a short run-up as if carrying an injury. The other quick Mohammad Sami also got carried away by the grass on the pitch and bowled far too wide to be effective.
The width was capitalized upon by Sehwag who carved his way to a quick 39 and when the medium-paced Umar Gul got his line right, he picked wickets. It was a matter of putting the ball in the right place and Gul certainly did that and was rewarded with a five-wicket haul.
He showed good variation in the way he got Sehwag and Tendulkar out with deliveries that left the opener and one that swung in to the little champion. Dravid was out to an uncharacteristic shot, playing away from his body and one thought that Laxman had eliminated the shot from the Australia tour where he had so much success. At this stage, if Akhtar had bowled even half as well as he has a reputation for, then India would have struggled, but he was off-color and India got more runs than Inzamam ul-Haq would have liked.
The ball did swing for the Indians too, but their radar was not quite working and the openers were able to see the early danger off. Balaji showed with the dismissal of Taufeeq Umar that if India bowl a good line, they can also trouble the Pakistani batsmen. At the moment though, Pakistan will feel that they have had the better start to this Test match.
