Hats off to India for a convincing victory at Pindi!
I saw a definite plan of action for the first time since their arrival in Pakistan. It seems that they have reverted to the seven batsmen-four bowlers strategy, which had worked for them not too long ago.
They do not have a player who can play the role of a specialist fifth bowler all by himself at this stage, but their batting is awesome, and it is always a sensible idea to rely on your strengths.
As many as four Pakistani batsmen were run out. This apparent ‘lack of understanding and communication’ should be sorted out quickly. In fact, both sides need to work on their ground-fielding. It is primarily because of ordinary fielding that even a total in the region of 300 isn’t a safe proposition in contests between India and Pakistan. The teams have batted impressively, but fielded rather generously.
This is something that camps need to work on. They should emulate the Australian, New Zealanders and South Africans, who make their opponents slog for every run even if the target is less than 250.
The body language of the Indians was positive from ball one, and once the main bowlers had got the initial breakthroughs, it was always going to be difficult for the Pakistanis to bounce back. India were guilty of letting their opponents escape to 265 after having them 69-4 at one stage, but the smashing start provided by Virender Sehwag dissipated the tension, if any in the dressing-room.
Sehwag shouldn’t at any cost clutter his mind with too many thoughts. He should always go for his strokes, as attack leads to the destruction of the bowling side more often than not.
This brings me to a point I had made in my previous column. I believe it is imperative that Shahid Afridi open for Pakistan, for he can devastate the opposition as comprehensively as Sehwag.
If the strike bowlers are hammered in the early stages, the back up bowlers become nervous before bowling a single ball. We all know what Afridi can do in the initial overs, and Pakistani fans should hope that the team management remembers the remarkable things he has done at the top of the order.
