It is sure turning out to be the ‘Garden of Eden’ for batsmen in Kolkata. The top-order Pakistani batsmen may differ with that view, but if they have a good hard look at themselves and their dismissals, they will agree that if they had shown a bit more application, they too would have boosted their run-tallies on this pitch. Misbah-ul-Haq and Kamran Akmal certainly applied themselves and showed that there was little to worry about on this pitch. Sure, there would be the odd ball that did a bit more than a batsman expects, and that can happen on any pitch, but to be focused and not complacent allows a batsman to have an answer for such unexpected behavior.
Misbah has finally crossed the barrier that was looking insurmountable all this while, in getting to a century after a good start, and Pakistan will be hoping that he will now also be a finisher by ensuring that the follow-on is saved and imminent defeat put off altogether, or to another day. The match is far from over, and there can be a twist and surprise in store, and if India want to finish off the series here, then they will have to take all their half-chances in the field, for that’s the one sure way they can do the impossible and win from this position. In the Delhi Test, Mohammad Sami thwarted them, and they need to get him out early, for though he is not a regular batsman like Jason Gillespie of Australia, he is a stubborn batsman who plays within his limitations and sells his wicket dearly. The belligerent innings from Akmal certainly saved the blushes for the Pakistanis, and he may have also saved his place in the team with that display. It’s the second time he has come to their rescue against India with a century innings, the last time being in Mohali a couple of years back.
He likes to play the cut or slash shot a bit uppishly, and India missed Yuvraj’s speciality at the point situation where the shot is catchable. He also takes the challenge of the short ball, and so maybe there should have been more agile fielders at the deep fine-leg position. These are small matters, but crucial ones if a team finds the pitch not helpful to them. All the planning can come to nought if the fielder is not in the right position and more importantly, the right fielder in that position. The forward short-leg position is one such, and after Jaffer dropped a catch in the Delhi Test, Karthik found himself in that territory here, and it may also be because with that classic double ton, Jaffer earned the luxury of standing somewhere else.
Harbhajan was the pick of the bowlers, as he invariably is at the Eden Gardens, and it will have to be the combo of his off-spin and the captain’s leg-spin that will have to do the magic that will take India to Bangalore with the series already in the bag.
