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Looking Ahead: Pakistan in India 2004-05: 1st
Test at Mohali |
A Preview to the 1st Test at Mohali by Venkat
After a relatively mild
start to the year in International Cricket, its
time for some explosive, passionate and
gruelling cricket to be played between India and
Pakistan in various venues all across India.
Last year, cricket in general was used as a
medium to get some political and social messages
across the border, but this time around, all the
other "X" factors take a backseat, and cricket
takes center-stage, as these two cricket-loving
nations clash for the biggest honors.
Cricketfundas.com gives you an Exclusive Preview
to the First Test between India and Pakistan at
Mohali.
Pitch:
After hogging the headlines in almost all the
home test matches last year, the pitch at the
PCA Stadium in Mohali, has come under minimal
media scanner - barring the digging attempt by
the fundamentalist groups. The pitch is supposed
to be a typical Mohali wicket, with something
for everybody. The curator usually leaves some
grass on for the first two days, and it will be
interesting to see if the bowlers can bowl in
the right areas to exploit the same. There have
been speculations that the Pakistanis might just
have a crack at the Indian batting with three
seamers - Sami, Rana Naved and Khalil, and one
gets the feeling that the Indians may not be any
different. The toss will prove to be decisive,
with a certain amount of advantage guaranteed to
the team fielding first. But, matches in the
past here have been won by good cricket and not
tosses alone.
India:
The Indians will be eager to get themselves back
into business after a relatively long two month
lay-off. One of the better aspects, of this
break is that almost every player has got some
runs, form and domestic match practice behind
him before the crucial series against Pakistan.
This break has given the injury prone players
ample time to get back to full fitness and
position themselves better for the upcoming test
matches. It will also be interesting to see if
the rust of not playing enough international
matches affects the players, as its done in the
past.
One of the major disappointments in the last few
Test series that the Indians have played has
been the batting. But this time around, the
batsmen are looking more prepared and confident
having scored a good share of runs against
Bangladesh in the last series and in the
Domestic Season. Gautam Gambhir looks all set to
open the batting with Virender Sehwag, who is
perhaps the in-form batsman presently, after his
good string of scores in the Domestic
tournaments. The middle-order also looks in good
form with Laxman, Ganguly and Dravid among the
runs in the various domestic tournaments played.
Dinesh Kaarthick has been given yet another
chance to impress the selectors with both the
bat and behind the stumps, and it will be really
important for him to keep his calm in high
intensity situations. The bowling unit also
looks to be in good shape, thanks to the work of
the physios - Leipus and Gloster. All the five
pacemen in the squad are fit and fresh, and it
looks almost certain that a "Horses for Courses"
policy will determine which three fast bowlers
will play the game.
Anil Kumble, will play as the lone spinner and
it will be really fascinating to see how the
skipper uses him - as someone to attack or to
hold one end up? Harbhajan Singh, who recently
was cleared to play after an ICC Bowling Action
Review, must consider himself unlucky to miss
out playing against Pakistan on his home turf.
All in all, the Indians look the fitter and the
more eager unit, but on-field performance will
dictate the supremacy of proceedings.
Pakistan:
Having returned from a tough tour Down Under,
the series against India could not have come at
a better time for the Pakistanis. Although the
Pakistanis looked nowhere near the class and
might of the Australians, they had a few bright
spots to carry over to India. The Pakistanis
have come to India with what some pundits in
Pakistan termed as "the weakest Pakistan team"
since Fazal Mahmood's side that toured England
in 1958. And, the news of Shoaib Akhtar's
pullout has created some ripples within the
team, but it will be left to see how the team
bounces back from the absence of their premier
paceman.
Pakistan have been fortunate to get an early
taste of International Cricket, when they played
in Australia earlier this year. They will hope
that this international touch will help them
edge India in the series. But, their performance
in the tour game has not been up to the mark.
The batting still remains a problem area for
Pakistan even
though they have upcoming stars like Salman Butt
and Yasir Hameed. This is one area, where
inexperience translates into senseless batting
and if anything, Australia exploited this chink
in their armoury extremely well. It will be
extremely important for senior batsmen like
Inzamam, Youhana and Younis Khan to guide these
youngsters so that their batting doesn't let
them down. Kamran Akmal's excellence behind the
stumps will surely help Pakistan and if he can
contribute with some bonus runs, it will only
add to the misery of the Indians. The bowling
unit of Pakistan has looked relatively weaker
since Shoaib's pull out. Mohammad Sami is the
most likely candidate to lead the pace bowling
attack at Mohali, and will be supported by Rana
Naved Ul-Hasan and Mohammad Khalil. It will also
be interesting to see how Inzamam uses his trump
card Danish Kaneria in this match, as the pitch
will start turning since late Day 3 onto Day 4.
It will be left to see how these youngsters
respond to the faith shown on them by Inzamam in
what looks like a series, where they would start
as clear underdogs.
On the whole, the match hangs in balance, with
two equally matched teams fighting each other on
the field. It will be left to see if the
experience of the Indians or the exuberance of
the Pakistanis plays a key role in determining
the victory. It is also extremely important for
both the teams to make their intentions clear in
the First Test, as it will set the tone for the
series.
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