Inzamam ul-Haq would not have hoped for a better start to the Test series than what was provided to him by his top four batsmen. Only Salman Butt failed and he wasn’t out to a bowler, but run-out. Inzamam himself is yet to bat and with the kind of form he is in, India will be in for a long, long time unless the second new-ball does something more than it did on the first day. The pitch looks great for batting and all the talk about there being grassy pitch was seen as only bluff. Mind you, it’s understandable because Pakistan have a healthy respect for India’s new ball attack, especially for Pathan and were aware that too much grass might actually help India. By preparing a good pitch, the Pakistanis were only ensuring that there was no advantage given to India, for a dry pitch would play into the hands of Indian spinners.
India included both spinners and quite rightly too, for it makes sense to go in with bowlers who know how to take wickets in any kind of conditions. Experience would also have been a major factor in India opting for Ganguly over a regular opener. How much that works will be seen in the next few days but looking at the way the pitch is behaving, there should not be too many worries for the Indian batsmen.
Younis Khan seemed to continue from the last Test he played against India at Bangalore, where he scored a magnificent 267 in the first innings and almost got a century in the second innings. He is still there and looks set for another double century. He started watchfully and then blossomed out into playing some wonderful shots. His partnership with Mohammad Yousuf has put Pakistan in a position to dominate the game. The last couple of series against India have not been very productive for Yousuf and he looked determined to make up for that and looked keen to get to the three figure mark before the end of the day’s play, but will have to wait for it for the morrow. That gives India an opportunity too because they can play on the anxiety and make him play a hasty shot. Pathan can get the ball to swing in, for at the start of the innings, Yousuf can be a little lazy with his footwork and doesn’t quite move as much forward as he should.
India’s spinners found no joy whatsoever on this placid surface and there was very little deviation for them. Younis and Malik, at the start of the innings, used their feet very well and thus nullified the flight angles that the spinners were trying for. Yousuf too is a very good player of spin and when India resorted to the defensive tactics of bowling round the wicket, the batsmen were content to pad those deliveries away.
Lot of hard work is ahead for the Indians. Firstly they have to try and restrict Pakistan from getting to 500 plus and then apply themselves to ensure that they are able to match the Pakistani efforts. In a three-Test series, the side that wins the first Test is well-nigh impossible to beat, though like Pakistan showed they can come back and level the series. There are still fourteen days to go in the Tests and the first has been claimed by Pakistan. India need to put their thinking caps on to see that they are not left behind.
