Expert comments, and licking fingers

Until the end of the Indian tour of Pakistan, we will be running a daily Paper Round of what newspapers in India and Pakistan, and from around the world, are saying about this series. This is what the media had to report today:

A spate of expert comments filled the news following India's victory in the final one-dayer. Sunil Gavaskar believed Inzamam-ul-Haq made the wrong decision at the toss, Rashid Latif put the Indian victory down to discipline, Ravi Shastri held the youngsters in high esteem, and Wasim Akram thought the Man-of-the-Match award should have gone to a bowler.

Hindustan Times quoted Gavaskar as saying, "He [Inzamam] did not help his side's cause by opting to field in what was the series-deciding game. The pressure would be the greatest even to chase a modest total, leave aside the almost-300 posted by India." Gavaskar commended the team's determination, and attributed its success to its focus. "When all eleven have a single-mindedness that this team showed, then success is not too far away. The effort-level was noteworthy for its fierce desire to win and that was infectious."

Latif added to Gavaskar's comment about discipline: "India were the deserving winners of the one-day series because they had better discipline than their hosts. One-day cricket is all about sticking to the basics and attending to those little details which make a huge difference in the end." Cricket365 reported that Latif had special praise for Irfan Pathan, who took 3 for 32 on a flat pitch. "The youngster has attitude and oodles of confidence, which is surprising for a cricketer as young as Irfan. It was his spell that broke the back of Pakistan's innings. It was an eminently chaseable total under lights, but Irfan inflicted so enormous a damage on Pakistan's innings that it never recovered."

Which was why Akram was shocked when Pathan did not win the match award. "The phrase [Man-of-the-Match] has to be re-emphasised," Wasim wrote in The Times of India. "How can a bowler who has taken 3 for 32 on a flat batting track, in a winning performance, not be awarded the Man-of-the-Match? 3 for 30-odd is equal to 150 runs on a flat track. I am not saying this because I was a bowler, but there has to be some thinking required." Wasim reckoned that Pakistan's body-language revealed the pressure they were under. "I saw the pressure on the Pakistan team after the fourth match. They had the matchfixing burden on them and they had to play with that pressure. Being part of the Pakistan team for so many years, I know that their body language was not 100 per cent."

Also writing in The Times of India, Shastri commended the young players in the Indian squad for rising to the occasion. "Yuvraj [Singh] has made the graduation from one-day cricket to Test cricket in style, [Mohammad] Kaif has reinforced his worth, while Irfan and [Lakshmipathy] Balaji have shown that they have come of age. India's performance was particularly impressive considering that three of the main bowlers - [Anil] Kumble, [Ajit] Agarkar and Harbhajan [Singh] - were not on tour." He mentioned Sachin Tendulkar's catch to dismiss Inzamam, and fired a parting shot at Javed Miandad. "That [catch] effectively blacked out Pakistan's prospects of winning the match, though the damage had been done much earlier by Pathan's three wickets ... Javed Miandad had snubbed the bowling by claiming that `Pathans are found in every gully' in his country.

"That may be," Shastri wrote, "but you also have to find the right one."

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The seven-star treatment just doesn't end. The Indian Express has reported that an elite chef has been flown from Muscat, Oman, to the Indian team hotel in Multan. Aamir George, who specialises in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food, is a reputed chef who served the Indian team during their tour of Pakistan in 1989. "I have been in the business for 15 years and would do my best to give the best food to the Indian players," George said. "I know Indians are inclined more towards vegetables and my speciality is the dosa, and hope they would like my dishes. I have made my chart for the next six-seven days and hope that they will lick their fingers."

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After a one-day series in which 2963 were scored, Inzamam-ul-Haq has called for more sporting wickets, The Indian Express has reported. "There should be something for the bowlers. Bowlers must get help from the wickets instead of batsmen dominating for the full five days," Inzamam said. "It's good for international cricket that result-oriented wickets should be prepared for Test matches and I hope this wicket will produce a result."

But he admitted that the bowlers needed to address the problem of wides and no-balls by themselves. "We can only rectify the bowlers' shortcomings in the nets and we give special attention to no-balls and wides during training. But when they play in the middle, they have to do it themselves."

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Inzamam's last two Tests at his home ground in Multan were productive ones, with hundreds that helped Pakistan win matches against Bangladesh - and he's hoping to score big yet again. AFP reported Inzamam as saying, "It is always a special motivation while playing before my own people, and this is a very special occasion. Probably the pressure is a bit more because the people expect a lot from me, but that will always keep me on my toes. I will be very happy if I can get runs here and inspire my team to win.

"India may have gained the edge by winning the one-dayers, but I am confident we can regroup and stage a comeback in the Tests. My two Test hundreds in Multan against Bangladesh helped Pakistan win both times, and I hope the same will be repeated against India."