Sep 29 2009
Pakistan’s Great Escape in Indian Victory!!!
No contest between India and Pakistan can go without controversy or some stomach churning action. The recently concluded three Test series in India had many a contentious tale to tell. Yet every tour diary told a common story of how India could have won it all, or conversely, how Pakistan saved themselves the blushes on every such occasion.
Delhi Revisited
The last time Anil Kumble tasted sweet success against Pakistan at the Ferozshah Kotla in New Delhi, he equaled Jim Laker’s feat of all ten wickets in a single innings (Laker having done it twice of course). This time round Kumble savoured the victory in a role he thought had eluded him. Anointed skipper for a volatile series against Pakistan, Kumble brought his grit, aggression and steadfast perseverance to the fore and was aptly named the ‘man of the match’.
Pakistan were hurtling towards a largely self-inflicted first innings sabotage before the guile of Misbah-ul Haq and the determination of Mohammad Sami salvaged what was otherwise a rather shambolic affair. The weight of their partnership of 87 for the ninth wicket was felt when India found themselves struggling at eighty-eight for four. Vintage V.V.S. Laxman and ‘man of the moment’ Mahendra Singh Dhoni built on a 115 run alliance to give India a slender lead.
Pakistan would feel they lost the match and the series when they failed to capitalize on their start in the second innings and lost their last five wickets for a mere thirty-four runs. Kumble though was having a whale of a time scalping wickets and leading India to a winning position. It gave India a modest target to chase and left Pakistan feeling rather hollow considering their efforts.
Kolkata’s sweet for Jaffer
India were savouring the delicacies at Eden Garden with Wasim Jaffer standing tall and proud on the back of a stupendous double century that also got India off in the right direction in the second Test. But the centurions would keep coming in the form of the veteran brigade of home boy Sourav Ganguly and V.V.S Laxman.
616 runs seemed like a lot to play with and it appeared that way as Pakistan’s top order succumbed under the weight of it at five for 150. But dire situations for Pakistan have only meant one thing in this series. It was time for Misbah. And he did not disappoint. He had a batsman alongside him who has faced much criticism for his wavering form in recent times.
Misbah’s resurrection in the Pakistan side seemed to buoy Kamran Akmal as well. The duo destroyed India’s hopes of closing the match without having to bat again. More importantly, with their 207 run dalliance and Sami’s partnership with Misbah accounting to ninety-one, Pakistan consumed enough time and runs for India to re-engage their efforts once again. Harbhajan Singh’s five-fer was noteworthy, but not from the point of view of the initiative having already been conceded.
But Pakistan were not out of the woods. It took the enormous experience of the two Y’s, especially a stellar century from stand-in skipper, Younus Khan, to bide time on the fifth day before Pakistan sailed to safety. A century for Akmal, Misbah’s well earned unbeaten 161, and a draw for India quickly evaporated the effervescence of Jaffer’s sublime stamp on the match. Pakistan, and Misbah in particular, stole the thunder from India. Of that, there was no doubt.
Ganguly, south paws take over Bangalore
Pakistan may have felt exhilarated with another opportunity to even the series. But it was India feeling like they had lost something when the Test ended on the fifth and final day at Bangalore. There had to be one winner, provided the intent to win was clearly stated. India had to decide between going for a thumping 2-0 victory or staying sedately content with the lone victory in the first Test.
However, neither option would prove an easy proposition. Perhaps in keeping with their gutsy save from the previous game, Pakistan unleashed their first salvo by having India stranded and looking sheepish at sixty-one for four. It was thanks largely due to a young fast bowler who was disdainfully dismissed as not fit for the Test version. How Yasir Arafat proved them all wrong!
On debut Arafat grabbed the rare opportunity with both hands for his first five-fer and one that certainly sent the Indian think tank reeling, having slipped into complacency. But India have proved roaring lions on their own pitches. Ganguly continued where he left off in the previous Test, only this time he did one better. By notching his maiden Test double century, Ganguly belonged to an elite group of his own as India’s highest scoring left hander at 239.
But in that face saving effort, he was joined by another young man whose form merited a place but fate denied. That was until this Test that saw both, Sachin Tendulkar and Dhoni, sit out with injury concerns. Yuvraj Singh posed a dramatic comeback with Ganguly to get India back on track with a whopping 300 run partnership. Initiative changed hands yet again that day.
The second day was not without its milestone moments as yet another left hander, Irfan Pathan, yet again reminded all of his all-rounder skills with a well earned century, and one that would have had the selectors a re-think, even if Irfan the bowler had not quite staged the comeback expected of his caliber. But India had other things to worry about.
Who else would stand between mediocre and outstanding but Misbah? Alongside his partner-in-crime from the second Test, Misbah and Akmal put on another 144 stiff runs for the sixth wicket. But if there was a ray of hope for India, it came in the form of Ishant Sharma, who exactly a year ago, was called up only to be quickly put on hold to join the team in South Africa. This time he made the most of his outing with a five wicket haul on debut, joining his counterpart Arafat.
With the runs all but leaked away, India relied on Ganguly’s ninety-one and Dinesh Karthik’s struggling for form for a half-century to give India runs aplenty in the kitty. But in a controversial move that will be debated for some time to come, India had in hindsight sat too long on the decision to declare and ended up paying the price for playing too safe.
Draw was the chant on most lips with two days still remaining in the Test. However, time taught a valuable lesson as Pakistan suddenly lost sight of their goal in the session after tea and stared down a barrel with plenty of overs yet to be bowled and just three wickets in hand. Light however would not favour India, thereby robbing India and Kumble of majestic glory.
Misbah matters, Akhtar falters
Shoaib Akhtar picked up the four wickets to fall in the second innings of the now deciding match of the series. But the Indian players were well set and there was little to back him to create a further dent to the Indian chase. But the next two Tests proved a rather turbulent time when Akhtar disappeared often from the field and incurred the wrath of the likes of Imran Khan.
However, in Akhtar’s defense, it should have been a no-brainer not to play him in the second Test, especially after being hospitalized with high fever and expected to recover overnight. With the series hanging delicately in the balance, perhaps the selectors felt they had little choice but to play their star player in the absence of timely replacements, again a matter of consternation. In the third and final Test, Akhtar left the field on the first day itself and for Pakistan’s case, his back injury proved less serious than earlier feared.
Considering how much of a factor Misbah proved to be in the series, perhaps the blame should be placed equally on the top order batsmen who failed to use the docile pitches in making a greater case for Pakistan’s cause.
Spin-not for sub continent?
While the pitches have become cause for contention for in their inability to stem the rather lopsided flow of runs, two bowlers in particular faced uncertain moments. While Harbhajan Singh may claim wickets, he has looked a pale shadow of himself and with Kumble in the prominence; his efforts have looked far less impressive than what one would expect playing in sub continent conditions.
But where Harbhajan may have received a fortunate reprieve, his counterpart may be less lucky. Pakistan’s ardent fans and ex-cricketers have called for Danesh Kaneria’s head, accusing him of letting down the support effort for the pace men. Kaneria though felt let down by the quality of pitches, claiming it was the lack of bounce that did him in, as it purportedly did Harbhajan for much of the series. The rest of the world, at least the one that will decide his feat, may not concede an acquittal. The axe has been hanging on Kaneria for some time now. Ironical then that he has claimed the most wickets in the series, precisely twelve, and yet failed to impact the men or the matches.
Mallik- a non-issue?
But Kaneria was not the only one staring down the barrel. It was the Pakistan captain, no other, who seemed done for. An injury forced him out of the second Test and kept him out of the final Test as well. While it did not dramatically change fortunes for Pakistan, it nearly put paid to Mallik’s career. Younus Khan proved a reluctant skipper in the second Test and while his ingenuity saved Pakistan in that game, he was himself at the heart of turbulence ahead of the third Test at Bangalore.
Annoyed at his exclusion in picking the team for the second Test, Younus stepped down as stand-in skipper before he was pulled back in. However, the events in the series seemed to have warmed his heart to the skipper’s role and hinted at his being ready to take on the role on a longer basis provided he had a few matters sorted out with the selectors. Shoaib Mallik , on the other hand, would have had a few jitters of his own. Having come in for scathing criticism from all and sundry for what seemed his inability to motivate and inspire the team and show more authority on the field, Mallik would be grateful to know he still has the faith of the selectors.
India’s loss or Pakistan’s save?
The jury is still out on the issue of whether to standardize the pitches world wide or leave some things to the natural environs and let variety be the spice of the game. The same could be said of the series. India seemed to have the upper hand in each of the three games. And yet somehow Pakistan scripted a Bollywood style save, to come away with some extent of dignity they showed little worthiness for. It must be some cause for concern that on the same docile pitches, India was able to set Pakistan on the back foot but struggled on practically every occasion to dislodge Misbah and the tail that had a telling effect on the margin by which India won the series.
Credit should not be taken away from India. Their batsmen used the opportunities and their bowlers did well, even if only in patches. Kumble did a good job on his first assignment and if mistakes like those of declaration in the final Test happen, leeway must be accorded as is to any new captain, however experienced a player he may be. The 1-0 score line meant India had sealed a victory against Pakistan on home soil in twenty-seven years. Viewed from Kumble’s sharp, engaging eyes, that was all that mattered!
