The imposition of emergency in Pakistan may well turn out to be the biggest stressbuster for the visiting team, as they take on archrivals India in a one-day series as well as three Tests over the next few weeks starting today.
It has been seen in the past that whenever the team does badly against India and returns home, it gets a terrible reception from the crowds, who are incensed that they have been let down by their players, and are looking to find more than the odd scapegoat. What the emergency will do is limit the number of people around sensitive areas like airports, and so if the team does lose to India this time round, they will be spared the barbs and taunts that will greet them on their arrival from India. The pressure of losing to India will thus not be there as in the past, and the players won’t have to worry too much about the repercussions of the loss.
The teams look evenly matched, though Pakistan are probably going to miss Inzamam ul-Haq. Though Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf are in good form, the others have struggled against the none-too hostile attack of South Africa. They are still looking for a stable opening pair, and have also not yet found an all-rounder who can take the game away from the opposition, like Abdul Razzaq used to with both bat and ball. The bowling appears to have a bit more teeth with the return of Shoaib Akhtar, but whether the teeth are false or real will be seen in the next few days. The Pakistanis are also without a top-class spinner who can not only take wickets, but also keep the batsmen quiet in the middle overs. The fielding also has not been up to scratch in recent matches, and so the Pakistanis will have to play well above themselves to get the better of the Indians.
The Indians have not helped themselves by indulging in some pretty ordinary practice sessions, but perhaps they feel that with the amount of cricket they have played, they don’t need too much net practice. Some players need to be in the groove a bit more than the others, so there cannot be a generalization of having a hit or not having anything to do with bat and ball for a few days. It is here that the seniors need to lead and show the others how and why they have been able to perform at the level they have been doing for so long. Tendulkar for example hardly bats with his pads on in the nets on the morning of a game, preferring to have someone throw down balls at him from 15 yards or so instead, while Ganguly and Dravid love to feel the ball on their bats. The approach is thus different, but the attitude is the same; of going out in the middle with a burning desire to give it their best.
Dhoni has displayed a remarkable understanding of the psyche of the players under him, and his calmness in tense situations is truly reassuring not just to his teammates, but also those who follow and support the Indian team. He has an abundance of riches as far as the opening spots are concerned, and picking the right combo may cause him more tension than actually playing in the middle. Still, it is the kind of tension any captain would prefer, rather than the other way around. The Indian captain will have another ‘pleasant’ headache when he decides on the seamer to be left out. Irfan Pathan’s return to the team has certainly increased the depth of the batting and provided more options to pick the other bowlers in the team.
All in all, it is better to be Mahendra Singh Dhoni than Shoaib Malik on the eve of what promises to be a close series.
