AMSTERDAM, 21 August 2004 — India and Pakistan, the subcontinent’s cricketing giants clash today in the curtain rasier to the Videocon Cup, the tri-nations one-day series that promises to be a tournament to remember.
World champions Australia complete the line-up and the teams play one another on a league basis in the initial stage of the competition.
The top two teams in the league clash in the final to decide the champions. Like any other India-Pakistan match, this one is going to be hard-fought till the bitter end, albeit at the unlikely setting of the VRA cricket ground at suburban Amstelveen here.
The Indian team was dealt a severe blow when master batsman Sachin Tendulkar was ruled out of the match with a tennis elbow. His place in the squad is likely to go to Rohan Gavaskar. The Indian was already beset with illness worries before this crucial blow.
Left-arm medium pacer Ashish Nehra and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh are both down with viral fewer, thus completely depleting the Indian side and restricting skipper Saurav Ganguly’s options.
His Pakistani counterpart Inzamam ul-Haq was hopeful of a good showing from his bowlers.
“We showed in the Asia Cup in Colombo that our bowlers could contain the mighty Indian batting line-up. This was in contrast to how they bowled in the home series against India,” Inzamam said.
“This is not the ideal ground for two top teams in the world but whenever Pakistan and India meet, the match assumes added importance. So tomorrow it is going to be a battle between India’s batsmen and our bowlers,” he added.
Pakistan have been bolstered by the inclusion of dashing all-rounder Shahid Afridi. He has been in and out of the team due to lack of consistency. But coach Bob Woolmer has said that he wants to use Afridi strategically during the competition to get the best out of the talented all-rounder. Woolmer has done wonders to the career of all-rounder Shoaib Malik by introducing him as a pinch-hitter in the Asia Cup.
Malik proved to be the revelation of the tournament doing well both with bat and ball. Afridi may also solve the opening pair problem of Pakistan. Yasser Hamid and Imran Nazir failed to inspire the team in the Asia Cup resulting in Imran Nazir being dropped.
Pakistan have a formidable attack led by Rawalpindi Express Shoaib Akhtar and consisting of Mohammed Sami, Shabbir Ahmed, Abdur Razzaq and Shoaib Malik.
Afridi’s leg-spin will be an added bonus. With Tendulkar out and V.V.S. Laxman struggling to get into top form due to a knee injury, the Indian batting does not appear quite as formidable.
Indian coach John Wright thinks it is going to be a close match. “It is going to be an India-Pakistan match and I don’t see any reduction in intensity. Nobody is going to take it lightly,” Wright said. He feels the first 15 overs will be crucial.
“The first 15 overs are going to be crucial for our batting. In the Asia Cup our batsmen did not fully utilize the batting restrictions in the first 15 minutes. We are not going to repeat that mistake,” Wright said.
Despite the absence of Nehra and Harbhajan, India still have a well-balanced attack. The return of Ajit Agarkar has strengthened the pace attack and he can combine with the promising Irfan Pathan to cause a few worries to the opposing batsmen. He can also throw his bat around at the death to add some valuable runs.
Lakshmipathy Balaji is likely to be part of the three-pronged Indian pace attack. A lot depends upon how veteran leg-spinner Anil Kumble adjusts to the conditions.
But the spin department has seen Virender Sehwag making useful contribution. With Tendulkar out, Sehwag may be asked to bowl more than his usual share.
Rahul Dravid must continue to keep wickets, at least in this tournament. Newcomer Dinesh Karthik will have to wait for his break. Despite all their problems, India are still a formidable side. It is going to be an absorbing contest and the short boundaries are likely to make it a high-scoring one at that.
