Sport

Opportunity for Pakistan to level series

—Photo: K.R. Deepak

TRUMP CARD: Pakistan will rely on Danish Kaneria to deliver the goods in the final Test against India.

India comes to Bangalore with a 1-0 lead, and it would be tempting for Anil Kumble to play it safe in this final Test. It is now beset with serious injury problems, with both Zaheer Khan and Munaf Patel out of the side through injury, so a safety-first policy would be tempting.

However, it has been seen that whenever a team does take a safety-first policy, it almost invariably loses. India just has to remember the 2005 series, which was finally squared by the Pakistan team in Bangalore. Kumble must therefore keep his team keyed up for this game, and tell his players that they must play for a win.

ForPakistan, these injuries present a great opportunity to do well in a venue it has traditionally enjoyed playing at. It would be happy with the way it performed in Kolkata. Pakistan’s batting looked pretty assured as it escaped from dangerous positions in both innings. This would give the batsmen some confidence and if they put up a good show, it will be up to the bowlers to do the rest.

True, the Indian batting looks extremely strong at the moment, and taking 20 wickets would be difficult on a traditional sub-continent wicket. The absence of Mohammed Asif and Umar Gul really struck a body blow to Pakistan’s chances in this series, and the remaining bowlers have only impressed in patches.

I had mentioned in my last article that it all depends on how Shoaib Akhtar performs. However, he is not as consistently quick as he used to be a couple of years ago, so he too would need some assistance from the wicket to do well. He has shown flashes of what he is capable of in both the Tests, particularly in Delhi, but he needs to lift his performance if he wants to make an impact on the result of the series.

Sohail Tanvir is improving, and the Kolkata experience of bowling on a dead wicket against a class batting side was a baptism that he needed. The visitor will be worried by the performance of Danish Kaneria, who has all the guile and repertoire to be a class leg-spinner, but seems to be lacking in temperament. Bangalore has traditionally been a spinner’s wicket, and for his team to do well in this Test, Kaneria will have to improve on this temperament.

In such a scenario, it would have been great to see Shahid Afridi being brought back to India for the last Test. I wish the selectors showed some more innovation and flexibility, because we used to ask for players to be sent in all the time when I was captain. I remember asking for Iqbal Qasim for the Bangalore Test in 1987, and he won us the game. Afridi is not only a destructive batsman, but he also has the ability to get breakthroughs, and would have complemented Kaneria as well. Younis Khan is a fearless character, and after his good show in Kolkata, he will have the confidence to take more risks.

For the Indians, the trump cards are without doubt Kumble and Harbhajan Singh. They were impressive in the last two Tests, but they too would be hoping for some pace off the wicket, which was missing in Kolkata.

Injuries seem to be crippling almost all sides in world cricket. For instance, Shane Bond’s unavailability meant that South Africa beat New Zealand resoundingly in the recently concluded series. Pakistan is constantly struggling with this problem, as is England and now India too seems to have the same problem. The amount of one-day cricket is at the core of this matter, and if the administrators don’t find a solution, fast bowlers, who are already an endangered species in world cricket, will become extinct. A less punishing schedule and a larger pool of bowlers will be required if world cricket wants to improve the falling standards in pace bowling.

(Gameplan)

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