da bet vitoria： Pakistan’s tour to India this year has a lot to live up to, and itisn’t just cricket that is in the spotlight
da realbet： Series Preview by Amit Varma02-Mar-2005
“So where was he really from? Nationality didn’t matter.”© Getty Images
Pakistan’s tour to India this year has a lot to live up to, and itisn’t just cricket that is in the spotlight. Last year more than 8000Indians crossed the border, and were greetedrapturously. The entire tour was played in a warm haze ofaffection, and one of the popular photographs the press kept showingwas of a fan with one half of his face painted with a Pakistani flag,and the other half Indian. So where was he really from? Nationalitydidn’t matter.The Chandigarh administration, preparing for the Test at adjoiningMohali, has reportedly asked the residents of the city to accommodateas many guests from Pakistan as they can in their homes. Over 10,000visas are expectedto be disbursed, and the city’s hotels are full. Cityfolk haveresponded with enthusiasm. Theworry about whether the Indian people will reciprocate the welcomeof last year seems misplaced.And then there is the cricket. Both teams haven’t had the easiest ofjourneys since their last encounter, but are well placed to come backstrongly in this series. India-Pakistan encounters are showcaseevents, the highlight of the careers of players who do well in these.There will be no lack of intensity.
Sourav Ganguly and John Wright, an unlikely but effective combination© Getty Images
Assessing India: Fighting to regain lost ground
India, resplendent in the glow of that series win against Pakistan,stumbled through the first half of the next season as if they had beenplaced in a time machine and the years had rolled back. The passionthat Sourav Ganguly had inspired, the discipline that John Wright hadinculcated, both seemed missing in action, though the men themselveswere there, one frustrated, the other forlorn.India lost to Australia without putting up the fight you’d expectafter their drawn away series a few months earlier. They then beatSouth Africa at home, and rolled over Bangladesh. But all wasn’t well,and murmurs grew that the series against Pakistan would be Wright’slast as a coach. At the same time, there were whispers about Ganguly’splace in the Test side, though he was, by virtue of being captain,secure for the moment. Rahul Dravid led India A to awin in the Challenger Trophy, and his captaincy was calmand assured. There’s a lot at stake in this series, and when Gangulysays “The worst is over,” as he did in arecent interview to Wisden Asia Cricket, he is reassuringhimself as much as us.Like Pakistan, India have suffered from frequent injuries to theirfast bowlers. Lakshmipathy Balaji got injured soon after his inspiredperformance against Pakistan last year, and hasn’t been the samesince. Ashish Nehra stumbles in and out of fitness, like a childdiscovering the joys of the revolving door of a hotel entrance. ZaheerKhan came back to fitness against Australia, but continues to bemarked “Fragile: Handle With Care”. (And “This Side Up”? Nah.) IrfanPathan, the most promising of India’s new-ball bowlers, has also hadhis niggles, and will be the man India most need fit.And then, there’s the batting line-up. Sachin Tendulkar’s elbow is nowreportedly well enough for him to play, and if it does threaten toaffect his career, as has been reported in some sources, he willapproach this series with a special urgency. When great players playfor posterity, the plebians should watch out. Or simply watch.There is a healthy competition for middle-order places, althoughMohammad Kaif, after his battling performances against Australia,should have been picked ahead of Yuvraj Singh in the squad. They areboth talented players – though never again should Yuvraj be made toopen in a Test – and should fitness or form desert an incumbent, arecapable of cementing a place for themselves in the side.India’s spinners could well be the difference between the sides. AnilKumble was India’s biggest matchwinner through the 90s – albiet athome – while Harbhajan Singh promised to be a star of equal magnitudewhen he won India the 2001 series against Australia. The two haven’tbowled together much at home, and haven’t been the lethal pair thatone would expect of them. But they are fresh and match-fit, and eagerto make sure that India doesn’t play with three fast bowlers for awhile yet. But what if there is grass on the Mohali pitch?
Bob Woolmer must bind the Pakistan team into a fighting unit © Getty Images
Assessing Pakistan: On the riseOne of the key elements in building a strong team is solidarity,selflessness. Australia know this, and South Africa embodied it aswell, in the years when Hansie Cronje was captain and Bob Woolmer wascoach. Their team began to disintegrate after Cronjegate, and Woolmerhas been with Pakistan for a year now, trying to make a team out of acollection of individuals. In that context, it might actually be toPakistan’s advantage that Shoaib Akhtar will not be in the dressingroom. Akhtar is a potent fast bowler, no doubt, but his braggadocioand arrogance is bad for team spirit.Following Pakistan cricket is a bittersweet experience: time andagain, talented young men with great gifts walk out into the sunshine;and each time, they disappear after a few moments of lustre. Pakistancricket is a macho entity, it does not nurture. Make that the pasttense; Woolmer is here.Pakistan’s young talents, the likes of Yasir Hameed, Salman Butt andAsim Kamal, have clearly been given space to grow under Woolmer, andthe team suddenly does not seem as mercurial as before. They did losetheir recent Test series against Australia heavily, but which side,leave alone one as young as this one, doesn’t lose to those fellas?Their talent is unquestionable, and they have just the right man ascoach to nurture that talent.Pakistan’s fast-bowling line-up, normally their strength, is a littlebare this time. Shoaib is absent, and Umar Gul and Shabbir Ahmed aremissing. Mohammad Sami has disappointed of late, but has the abilityto turn a game around in a session, while Rana Naved-ul-Hasan bowledwell in the limited opportunities he got in Australia. Pakistan’s mainbowler, though, will be Danish Kaneria, who was their top wicket-takeragainst Australia, and should be even more potent on Indian pitches.The Pakistan middle order, consisting of Younis Khan, Inzamam-ul-Haqand Yousuf Youhana, is as solid as the openers (Hameed, Butt andTaufeeq Umar) are promising. Inzamam’s calm and dignified demeanourmakes him the right man to lead Pakistan at such a crucial phase intheir cricket, and when he has enough of it, Pakistan will have aready replacement, for they are groominga successor. Pakistan’s eye, already, is on the future. That augurswell for the present.Amit Varma is contributing editor of Cricinfo. He writes theindependent blogs, IndiaUncut and The MiddleStage.
