Playing cricket at this time of the year in the northern part of India as well as Pakistan is always going to be a dicey proposition because of the weather. It’s virtually impossible to get a full day’s play, for either the start will be delayed because of fog and mist, or the play will finish early due to the light deteriorating fast. That’s why, the BCCI took a decision a few years back not to have matches in the north of India between 1st December to the end of January when winter is at its peak and matches can be decided by who wins the toss. There’s also the possibility of some showers and that’s how a Sunday crowd was deprived of getting some good cricket action at Lahore, where the conditions are pretty similar to that of Delhi and the north of India. Whatever little action that took place showed a player, who is used to playing in these conditions.
Virender Sehwag takes the Pakistani attack apart as only he can, as he closed on yet another hundred against his favorite attack. Pakistani bowlers bowl at just the speed that Sehwag likes and where he does not have to bother too much about footwork and more importantly does not have to reduce his bat speed. Akthar and company gave him the right length and width that he likes, as he cut above the slips or fiercely past point to pick up his boundaries, even with fielders protecting the area he was still able to beat them and the fast outfield helped him too. He likes a bit of solidity at the other end and that was provided by Rahul Dravid, the skipper. In fact, who better to lay the anchor at one end while Sehwag blazes away at the other side. Not that Dravid missed out on the scoring opportunities but he will be the first to admit that he won’t be able to play some of the shots that “Viru” does. For that matter, Sehwag wont be able to get up on his toes and make the rising ball drop dead at the feet like Dravid did so brilliantly at the start of the Indian innings.
Akthar was charged up and was steaming in, but there was little in the pitch for him too, as the Indian bowlers had found out over the first two days of play. Both Kumble and Harbhajan did get a bit of turn, which does indicate that Kaneria will have a role to play, that is, if he is able to grip the ball in the wintry weather of Lahore. Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik also may get to roll their arms over but the way the pitch is playing, it does not look as if it’s going to be a memorable Test match for the bowlers.
All that remains in the next two days will be, for both teams to try and get some sort of moral victory by taking the lead. If India can close in on to the Pakistan total then they will feel a lot more confident for the next two Tests but sadly the weather may have the last laugh in this Test.
