Feb 24, 2006 12:09 AM
3822 Views
(Updated Feb 24, 2006 09:06 PM)
THE INDIAN REVENGE
Indian team was really at a bad state when they lost the Test series and a victory was a much needed one. They really deserve some applause for coming back from 0-1 to win the much awaited series by a convincing margin of 4-1. I was actually expecting a close series, with Pakistan having a better bowling, even with the absence of Shoaib Akhtar and also th batsmen in form, Inzamam, Yousuf, Younis, Afridi, Akmal - all performing too well in the test series.
The first match of the series really turned out to be thriller, with Pakistan getting to the huge target posted by India with ease, until some quick wickets went down. But as the match was going at a stage where any one could be the winner, the bad lights forced the implementation of the D/L method which means that Pakistan reached home with a win by seven runs to earn a much needed lead in the series.
But, the situation just changed from the second match till the end. Through out the series, we saw the chasing team dominating, but still all the Indian run chases were really marvellous. What we saw through out the series was Pakistan failing to live up to the expectations and giving up very easily. They may have started the series as favourites, but at the end, they turned out to be the losing side!
A COOL PERFORMANCE
The major difference between the two sides may be the performance of the main players. For India, Tendulkar had been playing some useful innings, even if he was never in the best of form, but he still managed to ride on his luck very well. Shewag's return back home nor Gambhir's failure to capitalize with his good starts create any problem as the Indian team had regained the much needed confidence.
Dravid also had a major role in stabilizing the innings as usual, but the star of the series without a doubt, was Yuvraj Singh who proved to be even more consistent than even the most trusted batsman, the wall himself. His fielding was as good as ever and without him and Dhoni, India would have never been in a position like this.
As long as Dhoni is concerned, his brutal power makes him the ultimate nightmare for the bowlers. His innings seems to be as long as his hair, and the way in which he destroyed the Pakistani bowling means one thing, Indians have a Gilchrist in the making, or may be something even better. But we will still have to wait till we see him in pitches which have got some real life in it! Even Suresh Raina and Irfan Pathan contributed to the score with ease.
Everything is almost right in the batting department, but the only problem that the Indian team is suffering came to be called the high quality fielder Mohammed Kaif. He has already managed to get two consecutive ducks, and a I do see a hatrick as an easy possibility. I wonder if some one can stay in the team for such a long time without playing any handy knock as a fielder only! He just seems to need a reason to get out. Well, did some one say that the team need performers?
The Indian bowling was somewhat weak, but all the five fast bowlers, Agarkar, Pathan, Zaheer, Sreesanth and RP Singh did some descent job. Pathanwas good, and Sreesanth who had some catches dropped in his bowling came back in the last One Day, picking up four precious wickets when the team needed them most. The spin department didn't have much to cheer about, without Harbhajan or Kumble, but Tendulkar managed to do some overs in the middle.
PAK SHIP SINKS
Pakistan's top order had been struggling through out the series. There were some cool shots played in the first match, and in the rest of the matches, they were just giving up too easily. The opening slot's confusion was not over when they lost wickets in a hurry, and the magic of Shahid Afridi didn't work this time.
Yousuf was not at all the real himself as he kept playing all the loose shots to go back to the pavilion. Younis Khan was in no way different except for the last match and Inzamam just didn't seem to know why he was there. Shoaib Malik was the one who gave the team something to cheer, with some beautiful innings which kept the Pakistan's hopes alive, atleast for some time.
Pakistan bowling was easy pickings without Shoaib Akhtar, while Sami's come back was the only thing that gave the team some confidence. Umar Gul and Naveed-Ul-Hassan kept on travelling to the boundary even if Asif found certain amount of confidence, but not enough to keep the Indian batsmen down. Their fielding seemed to show no confidence nor any kind of determination, and they kept on doing the sloppy work, letting the bowlers down with dropped catches and over throws as well as ridiculous misfields.
As they won without Tendulkar and Pathan in the final match quite easily(thanks again to Yuvraj and the Dhoni magic) Indians seems to be very well prepared for the next series against England, while the Pakistan team has all the trouble they can ever find. The big team just seemed to have made Inzamam speechless or may be even vice versa! They need to find a solution for all their problems if they are to do something in the upcoming World Cup. May be they can get some good talent from the World Cup winning Under-19 team or may be the return of the Rawalpindi Express itself can make the difference.
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