|
Looking
Ahead : The Grand Finale at Gaddafi Stadium,
Lahore
: A preview by Venkat |
In less than 24 hours from now, cricketing relations between India and Pakistan will take one step ahead, as both teams clash in the final match of the Samsung Cup ODI series at Lahore. Although India won the 4th match at the same venue in an unusually convincing fashion, going by the "tight" matches witnessed in this series, they will have to be on extreme guard as they are not only fighting for some points in the ICC ODI Championship Table or the Samsung Cup, but also in a bid to erase the tag of "chokers" that has been hanging on their neck ever since that debacle at the World Cup finals at Jo'burg.
India's batting seems to be doing fine for the finisher. Although VVS Laxman's inclusion still seems to be a debatable one, as he is the only one member of the batting order, who has not been in the kind of consistent form one usually associates with him. Tendulkar and Sehwag can be expected to give a sparkling start with Dravid restoring some sanity into the batting later on. Apart from these batsmen, the young turks Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif, who gave an impression of quality match winners, are also looking in great touch. Saurav Ganguly, also needs to sort out his touch, which he's seemed to have lost after that crisp 47 ball 45 at Karachi. I guess the only tampering that can be done with this World Class batting order is swap Badani for Laxman, who is just not coping up with the extra pace in the Pakistani Bowling attack. And of course, how can one forget some Pakistani bowlers, who turn up as batters for India by bowling some wides and no balls, or even for that matter, picking up wickets off no balls - they make India's unofficial no.8 in the batting order.
Surprisingly, India's bowling looked a bit more balanced and better than their Pakistani counterparts. The way India bowled in the first 15 overs of the match is for sure a positive from the previous game. I guess, a special mention of Murali Kartik should be made as he bowled a defensive yet attacking line to the Pakistani batsmen and conceded only 48 runs picking the wickets of Yasir Hameed and Younis Khan. Irfan Pathan and Laxmipathy Balaji seem to be improving by the minute. Although there is PLENTY to work on especially in the death overs. India conceded 87 runs, but one more postive is that they picked 5 wickets in that period, which automatically stems the flow of runs of the opposition. If they can restrict the runs scored during the last 10 to anywhere near 60-70, they have done their jobs well !
One area in which Pakistan looked slacky, was fielding. The Indians gave it their 100% and had more intensity and purpose in the job on hand. Apart from the skipper himself, who seems to have taken over from Nehra, the rest of the fielding seemed to be performing as a unit. I guess, credit must be given to Mohammad Kaif who took those 2 crucial catches of Malik and Razzaq, which easily saved 30 runs in the latter stage. I think India have been so far the better fielding side on show in the series and if they maintain the fielding standards they have done so far in the series, I guess the bowlers will feel a lot better and of course the Pakistani score will be skimmed down !
For me, the fate of the coin matters the least. Its again going to be the side on the day that plays supreme cricket that will have its hand on the coveted trophy. Playing under lights should not be a problem for the side batting 2nd, as the DEW factor comes into play and we saw the kind of problems it gave the Pakistani bowlers and fielders.
All in all, this match looks to be a cracker...without any doubts. This match will ensure the beginning of an era, where India and Pakistan will be normal sporting neighbours and play more often than they are at the moment ! Although I am not a spokesperson of the BCCI or the Cricket Team, my plea to all the ardent cricket fans on both sides of the border would be to take this contest as a game and not overreact as far as the result go ! This is the game where the true nature of the crowd comes into the picture ! May the game be played in the spirit of cricket and may the best team on the day win the Cup !
Top of the Page |
