A spirited comeback

From the depths of despair, India staged a spirited comeback, defeating arch-rival Pakistan in the second game of the Coca-Cola Cup in Sharjah. It was a much needed victory.

Things did not go too well for Sourav Ganguly's men against South Africa, and had the Indians suffered another defeat, they would have been under immense pressure, having to win all their remaining encounters.

All credit to the bowlers who performed a marvellous job, bowling out Pakistan under 150. They picked wickets at regular intervals, not allowing any partnerships to build.

This is vital in any form of cricket, but more so in the one-day variety since the restriction on the number of overs does not allow the opposing team too many opportunities to bounce back. Ajit Agarkar and Venkatesh Prasad, able to achieve appreciable movement, both in the air and off the seam, provided the early dents by removing the dangerous Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq. India was on course.

And just when Inzamam-ul-Haq and Yusuf Youhana, both batting sensibly, looked set for a big stand, Pakistan suffered a twin blow. First Youhana was run-out following a terrible mix-up, and off the very next ball, Inzamam departed, edging Robin Singh to 'keeper Saba Karim, who had a hand in the earlier dismissal too. Setbacks from which Pakistan could not recover really.

It was a refreshing sight to watch the Indian bowlers dominate the proceedings, especially because it has been quite some time since they last won a match for the country. Pakistan is hard to beat in Sharjah, but this was clearly India's day.

Chasing a low total can be tricky if wickets are lost early and the loss of Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly in the initial overs must have created some tension in the Indian dressing room. But Mohammed Azharuddin, who walked in after Tendulkar was adjudged leg-before, steadied the innings. Azhar, who has come up with several similar knocks for India when the chips are down, used all his experience to slowly but surely wrest the initiative from Pakistan.

Pakistan has been under pressure of late, following defeats against Australia (away) and Sri Lanka (home). The lack of stability in the game's administrative set-up, shrouded in politics, has done a lot of harm to cricket there.

During the last 12 months, one has seen players, captains and coaches, being dumped without any reason. These needless changes have taken their toll on the team. There is also plenty of distrust among the players and at times, it is quite remarkable how they forget their differences and function as a winning unit.

Coming back to the Indians, they should ensure that batting and bowling complement each other in the remaining matches. They have done well to put Pakistan in a spot, but there is some way to go yet. Consistency is the key word.

www.krishsrikkanth.com

By K. SRIKKANTH

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