Indians made heavy weather of an easy task
India and Pakistan have played a lot of exciting games in both versions of the game
Woorkheri Raman
24-Mar-2000
India and Pakistan have played a lot of exciting games in both
versions of the game. At the same time, both these teams can be as
unpredictable as the English weather. The talent in both the sides is
immense yet sometimes the scorecards suggest that both these teams
hardly play to their full potential. It was one of those kind of games
at Sharjah with India making heavy weather of chasing a low
score. Eventually the target was achieved after losing half the side,
which was not convincing by any standards.
Srinath, who has had very ordinary games on his return after a break
was left out, which would help him in sorting out his problems. The
decision deserves to be appreciated, as it is an indication that the
current form overrides either an individual?s reputation or past
deeds. One can only hope that this criterion is followed consistently
in order to produce the required results. Prasad replacing Srinath
provided the breakthrough by dismissing the dangerous Afridi while
Agarkar got rid of the talented Razzak. It has been a while since an
early breakthrough was achieved and the heartening thing is that the
initiative gained was not squandered away.
The young opener Imran Nazir played with pluck and in the company of
Inzamam looked like putting Pakistan in sight of a big total. He hit
Kumble over the top for boundaries with elan before his inexperience
led to his downfall when he played across the line to Joshi. Much
depended on Youhana and Inzamam but a comedy of errors resulted in
Youhana being adjudged run out. Yet another coincidence where Inzamam
was involved in a run out but at least on this occasion he was not at
fault. Robin Singh had Inzamam snapped smartly by Karim behind the
wicket who had a very good match.
The lower order did not offer many problems despite some conscious
effort by Moin Khan and Wasim Akram. The low total of Pakistan can
only be attributed to their under par batting and some very ordinary
running between the wickets.
Ganguly and Tendulkar had to get off to a decent start to ensure that
nothing untoward happened during the chase. Ganguly played a crisp
innings and the departure of both the openers in quick succession
provided a glimmer of hope to the Pakistanis. Dravid and Azharuddin
batted resolutely as the required rate was not a demanding
factor. Akhtar worked up real pace even on a slowish track but he was
negotiated safely by both Azharuddin and Dravid. Just as the match
was petering to a dull finish the Indians lost quick wickets to evoke
some interest in the proceedings.
The target was achieved much later than expected and also by a lesser
number of wickets. The trio of Akram, Akhtar and Younis tried very
hard and it was due to their efforts that the match lasted as long as
it did. The Indians will not grumble with the result but they have to
try and work out a formula to gain and maintain overall consistency.
This victory has given the Indians the advantage of knowing what is
required of them before they get into their next round of league
matches. It remains to be seen if Pakistan can make the tournament
wide open by winning against South Africa.