I had stated in my previous column that the Faisalabad wicket was looking even better than the one at Lahore, and I guess I wasn’t too far off the mark. The Faisalabad strip always looks like it is going to deteriorate, but it never does!
India deserve all the accolades for batting so well under pressure. The Dhoni-Pathan association brought back memories of the Mohali Test in last year’s series, wherein Abdul Razzaq and Kamran Akmal found themselves in a similar situation, and bailed their team out of trouble with a stirring partnership. Dhoni and Pathan would have lifted the morale of their teammates in much the same way as Razzaq and Akmal did at Mohali.
The Indian middle-order was clearly suffering from a lack of match-practice, and Pakistan had a real chance of assuming control of the Test, but they were undone by the brilliance of Dhoni and Pathan. The wicketkeeper-batsman played his strokes all over the ground, and the all-rounder too was quite splendid. I remember Irfan’s 49 at Lahore in the 2003-04 series. It was the first time he had demonstrated his batting capabilities, and everybody who watched him that day, including yours truly, was convinced that he could bat.
I am not sure whether the Pakistani players who played against him in that 2003-04 series were pleased to see him reaffirm his batting potential in the 2005-06 series! The home team’s only chance of winning this Test was by enforcing the follow-on. The Indians have batted themselves into a strong position by not only avoiding the follow-on, but also posting a first-innings lead. If Pakistan want a result in this game, they will have to score rapidly in the first session on the final day and set India a competitive target with about sixty overs left. India’s main priority will be to not concede too many runs. Whatever Pakistan does, the fact is that India will be comfortably placed, for the team that is chasing a target on the last day of a Test in “one-day” circumstances, always has the option of playing out time if they reckon that the runs are difficult to come by.
Having said that, I will be pleasantly surprised if Pakistan adopt a bold approach and set India a target that arouses the interest of the latter. Inzamam’s back problem and the illness of Shoaib Malik’s father are disturbing developments, for it means that the Pakistani camp would be undecided over the composition of the team on the eve of the Karachi Test. On the other hand, India have gained in confidence, and I reckon they will retain the XI that they deployed at Faisalabad.
There might be some grass on the wicket at Karachi’s National Stadium, where the third Test will be played. In fact, the Karachi conditions traditionally favor movement of the ball, with the breeze from the adjacent sea playing a part. It should be an interesting contest between two teams who have batted well, but bowled poorly so far.
The “blame-game” has started over the quality of pitches that were prepared for the first two Tests. Like all cricket lovers in Pakistan, I cannot understand why the hosts did not play to their strengths. Why they did not play the “home advantage” card by preparing wickets to suit their fast bowlers is a mystery. The concerned authorities in Pakistan can certainly prepare better wickets if they really want to. The least they can do is try.
