Pakistan made the most of their luck with the toss and made mincemeat of the Indian bowling on a flat track. I was quite surprised with the wicket, because I felt that it could have been a little greener, considering the successes of the Pakistani quick bowlers in recent times. I was also surprised by the reluctance of the Indians to go on the defensive even when their opponents were on top. You cannot attack all the time in cricket. If things are not going your way, it makes sense to defend and frustrate the batsmen into making mistakes, and you can return to your offensive ways after dismissing them. It is critical for an under-the-pump bowling side to bowl on one side of the stumps and place the field accordingly. Kumble and Harbhajan bowled poorly, and they could have done much better, for there was certainly some turn in the pitch. All four Pakistani centurions capitalized on the confidence gained through their successes against Indian bowlers in the recent past.
I remember being criticized for a statement I was supposed to have made two years ago, about there being Irfan Pathan in every street in Pakistan. I would like to clarify once again that I had never said anything of the sort. What I had actually stated was that it wasn’t easy to become an all-time great overnight. Irfan is a talented young bowler and will surely go places, but it is important that he has good support at the other end.
He will improve by leaps and bounds if he gets a potent partner. On the other hand, he will suffer if he is left to fight a lone battle. I thought India erred by not picking Zaheer Khan, for he is a wicket-taking bowler, and certainly more capable of troubling opposition batsmen on a flat track than Ajit Agarkar.
I have to say that I am shocked with the happenings in the Indian camp on the first morning of the match. I fail to understand how a team can be indecisive about the crucial opening slot till the very beginning of a series as significant as the ongoing one. The Indian team had spent over a week in Pakistan prior to the first Test, during which they played a practice match in which all the leading batsmen got a workout. I suppose they must have had a meeting on the eve of the first Test as well. My question is — what was discussed during the practice match and the pre-Test meeting? It does appear that certain things weren’t discussed! One of the unwritten rules of Test cricket is that you have to be clear-minded on aspects like your side’s strategy and your own position in the batting order well before the match begins. A development as disturbing as the one witnessed by TV viewers on the first morning will only have a detrimental effect on a team. I hope the BCCI takes proper cognizance of the matter.
I am not too happy with Rahul Dravid opening the innings. Opening is a specialist’s job, and India cannot afford to expose the pillar of their side in an unfamiliar role. I remember insisting on opening the batting on several occasions during my playing career, only for my captains to turn me down on the grounds that the team would suffer if I were to fall early. I can understand fiddling with the opening slot if there is a specific target in sight, like in the 1982 Lord’s Test, when we needed to score at almost a run-a-ball to win on the final evening. Imran promoted me to open with Mohsin Khan, and we did the job without losing a wicket.
India will be under pressure on day three, although they have an impressive batting line-up, and have raised the fifty with no wickets down. One gets the feeling that Pakistan’s only chance of winning this match is to prevent the Indians from avoiding the follow-on. However, we all know that remarkably strange things can happen in the game of cricket.
