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Looking Ahead: Let the Carnage Begin |
A Preview by
Venkat Ananth
After a fitting end to an enthralling and
intriguing three weeks of hard fought Test Match
cricket between India and Pakistan, its time for
some nerve-wrecking One-Day action between the
Asian Titans. The ODI Series in Pakistan
(Samsung Cup) in 2004 was basically the first
step towards normalizing cricket relations
between the two countries. And since then, when
it comes to one-day international cricket, both
countries have not looked back. After the
successful completion of the ODI series in
Pakistan, India and Pakistan have played four
other matches (3 in neutral venues and 1 at
Kolkata) of which Pakistan took all honours.
This time around, the series is well set up at
the backdrop of the fight and the confident
strides the Pakistanis put up during the Test
Series. With India in a not-so-mentionable ODI
form, this series might just about have come at
the right time for them to pull up their socks
for the rest of the season. Cricketfundas.com
gives its readers an exclusive preview to the
six-match One Day International series between
India and Pakistan.
Pitches:
Navjot Sidhu chooses to call them the
"sleeping beauty" - which by itself should give
us all a fair idea of what he means to say. The
wickets in India are basically belters and on
which batsmen can pouch runs at will and make
bowling attacks look feeble. Our mind must go
back to the game at Kolkata on November 13th,
where India made 292 batting first, and it was
chased with a considerable amount of ease by the
Pakistanis. With no day/night matches in this
series, the captains' pockets are safe and
hence, the dew factor won't come in way of some
exciting action. But, an early morning start
could mean some spirit for the bowlers to
exploit early on the wicket, and the team that
uses it to its advantage will take daily match
honours.
India:
 As
mentioned earlier, India have been going through
a forgettable patch in One-Day cricket since the
Asia Cup. But, this is an opportunity they would
not want to miss as finding decent form in this
series could mean better times in the days and
months ahead. India's recent one-day woes have
basically been attributed to lack of runs from
the batsmen. But as time has passed on since
last year, the tides have fairly swung. Some of
the batsmen are in fine form and will be all set
to take on the not-so-fiery Pakistani bowling
attack. Virender Sehwag's bat looks broader than
ever for the opposition, as nothing but runs
have begun flowing. But there is something
Pakistan can look to exploit. Sehwag scored over
1000 runs in Tests last year, but has
unfortunately failed to make an expected impact
in the shorter version. It would be really
interesting to see if Sachin Tendulkar returns
to his normal best, as some flashes were seen in
Bangladesh. Saurav Ganguly's recent Test
performances have put his place under the
microscope of the public and it will be pressure
cooker time for Dada to deliver, possibly a make
or break series for him. Rahul Dravid's back
will not bear the burden of the gloves, and
Mahendra Singh Dhoni looks to take over and try
and settle a place for him in the team. For
once, the Indian bowling looks a lifeless unit,
with the
 exception
being Lakshmipathy Balaji and Harbhajan Singh.
Irfan Pathan has shown little form and has
looked ordinary thus far in the Tests, and
expectations from the youngster will be reaching
the mercuric level, as he takes the field to
take the new ball. The flashless fielding of the
Indians in the tests looks to be shielded by the
inclusion of One-Day regulars Mohammad Kaif and
Yuvraj Singh, who are also in good form. The
onus will be on the Indians to deliver. It looks
tough for us to call them favourites or
underdogs, but what looks certain is that the
team is ready to give it all in John Wright's
penultimate series in-charge of India.
Pakistan:
 Pakistan
are one of those teams to have experienced the
shorter version of the game this year during the
VB Series in Australia. Their performance in the
triangular was satisfactory or average to say
the least. But, as experts would say - a tour of
Australia always toughens a cricket side up and
the Indians were at the receiving end of that
toughness, as they skimmed through the
world-class batting line up at Bangalore in the
third test. After enjoying considerable success
over their counterparts last year, winning 6 out
of the 9 encounters, Pakistan surely go in as
favourites to extend this margin. Salman Butt
and Shoaib Malik look in good touch with the
bat, as they toyed around with the India A
bowling at Hyderabad. It will be interesting to
see if the team would send Kamran Akmal at the
top, following success in Australia. The middle
order looks stable with Inzamam, Youhana and
Younis Khan and expect some fireworks with the
two dazzlers lower down - Abdul Razzaq and
Shahid Afridi. The bowling is the department,
Pakistan are looking weaker than usual. The lack
of sting is clearly seen and will be left to see
if this hurts them in the end. Mohammad Sami
worked up some pace at Bangalore and with guys
like Danish Kane ria
and Arshad Khan around, scoring for the Indians
wont be a piece of cake. The prospects of a
Pakistani series win looks a bit on the higher
side, but what is important in India-Pakistan
one-dayers is that the past matters least, and
the day defines defeat or success. Bob Woolmer's
magic wand has surely worked against India last
year, but the challenge before him and his boys
would be to repeat it with consistency and
professionalism. Will they, Won't they? The
matches might just have the solution.
Yes folks, this series looks to be a carnival
and as a fence-sitter, it seems too close to
call. With the extra ODI being played, who
knows, this series may end up being tied at 3
games each. But, other than the way the game is
being played between these two countries, what
is up for grabs for spectators and cricket fans
is some exciting, enthralling, nerve-wrecking
and above all top class cricket.
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