The second Test is intriguingly poised. India took the psychological advantage on the third day by grabbing a slender first innings lead, the Pakistanis knocked the Indian openers quickly but then found ‘The Wall’ difficult to penetrate and the little champion adding yet another half century to his glittering career. The Indians batted with determination and good common sense to put up a challenging target for the Pakistanis to chase.
It was hardly surprising that Balaji was the one who broke through first thing in the morning for he was the only bowler who looked dangerous even during the long partnership between Younis Khan and Yousuf Youhana. His comeback from injury is really like a fairy tale, for if the order of Tests was reversed he may not have played at all. It was only because the first Test was at Mohali where there was a fair sprinkling of grass and so India went in with three new ball bowlers.
At Eden Gardens and at Bangalore they will go with two seamers and two spinners and so if the order of the Tests had been reverse then Balaji would be cooling his heels in the dressing room. Now he looks the one bowler capable of getting wickets with the new ball as well as old. He has given credit to Lillee for his comeback but no less responsible is T.A. Sekhar, who is the one who works with him round the year rather than the Australian, who makes periodic visits to India, which are more in the nature of publicity than anything concrete.
The turn that Kumble was getting and the uneven bounce that Harbhajan got means that batting on the last day is not going to be easy and that’s why India hold a slight edge after posting a good total for Pakistan to pursue.
Pakistan were in a position of strength at the end of the second day but as it so often happens in cricket, the pair of Younis and Youhana were just not able to recapture the fluency of the earlier day and with both Balaji and Pathan bowling a testing line on the off-stump the runs were not easy to come by.
Akmal found out how the game is a great leveler, for he was out for a duck after that superb century at Mohali, which saved Pakistani’s blushes.
So far in the Tests in Pakistan and the first one at Mohali what we had seen of Mohammad Sami was that he had a good run-up, some pace, good hair style and little else but he started India’s problems by yorking Gambhir and then fortuitously got Sehwag playing onto his stumps. “Virudada” had looked doing his demolition act again but it was not to be.
Dravid and Tendulkar steadied the innings and also counter attacked brilliantly. Dravid’s century in the first innings was a strokeful one and he is on course for another one in the same mould.
Tendulkar too was looking in ominous touch till Bucknor decided he had got a faint one to a short fizzer from Razzaq, who once again showed what a big heart he has got. There will be the usual debate about the decision but all those banging the drum against it would do well to remember what happened in the first Test at Mohali when the little champion got a big nick but got a reprieve.
Ganguly had a terrific chance to show his adoring home crowd those silken drives through the off-side and for Laxman too it was an opportunity to reclaim the Eden Gardens as his favorite ground. But they did not use it. Riveting cricket is still to come.
