India’s triumph in the one-day series can be attributed to the fact that they have been playing splendidly as a team since the very start of the series. The Multan wicket was a bit of an unknown quantity as not many one-day games have been played on it.
As it turned out, it had something in it for the bowlers. India won the toss and had no hesitation in fielding first. The young bowlers in their squad exploited the strip well and bowled the ideal line-and-length. The Pakistani batsmen were made to commit mistakes, and there was never any doubt about the result once the hosts were bowled out for 161. A target of 162 was never going to bother a team that had chased totals in excess of 260 and 280 in previous matches.
India’s comeback reminded me of our own performance in the 1992 World Cup. We began that tournament pretty ordinarily, but struck form at just the right time. We clicked and peaked at the right time, and the same can be said about the current Indian team.
India deserve full marks for the way they have come back from the loss in the Test series. Their return to top form coincided with the infiltration of complacency in the Pakistani camp. The home team should have sensed danger in the first one-dayer at Peshawar itself, for remember, they did not win it convincingly. But they didn’t. They failed to evolve a strategy for the one-dayers and play according to it. On the other hand, India stuck to its tactic, which was to ‘beat with the bat’. Cricket is a sport in which one has to perform on the ground, and not on paper. Pakistan chose to bask in the glory of the Test series win and paid the price.
They were under tremendous pressure on the eve of the Multan game, for they were 1-2 down in the series. India didn’t give them a chance to hit back, and the negative body language of the Pakistani players was of no help.
The absence of Shoaib Akhtar and Shahid Afridi was certainly a big blow. But a team playing at the highest level of the game should be able to manage without its big guns. There is no excuse for getting overconfident and giving your opponents several openings, particularly at a stage when they are low on morale.
The Indians capitalized on every single opportunity that was given to them, and the consequence was a sensational turnaround.
India fielded brilliantly and the catching was impressive. Pakistan had a chance to put pressure on the visitors when they bagged a couple of early wickets, but the Indian middle-order steadied the ship superbly. What happens at Karachi in the final one-dayer is only of academic interest, for Pakistan have already lost the series. However, a consolation win will do their confidence no harm.
