Lahore Test, 2006: 2nd day preview

After a hopelessly one-sided Test-One-Day-One, Indian backs are nearing the wall and The Wall is undergoing a crushing test of limit. If I must mention the scoreline, -------- India in Pakistan, 2005-06, 1st Test Pakistan v India Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore Day 1: Pakistan 326/2 (Younis Khan 147*, Mohammad Yousuf 95*; 85 overs) ------------

Let’s get down to foreseeing Day 2 straightaway.

Indian Team, plan A: Fire all guns at the overnight batsmen, shut the Pakistani run-machinery down by 450 and later allow themselves to sleepwalk for 50 overs to a sizeable score on a familiar sub-continent pitch at its best. Mantra for the Indian bowlers: Stop straying and start preying (other alternative should be praying).

India’s Plan B (after the ammunition is spent): Restrict the Pakistani session scoring rates to less than 3 runs an over through frequent bowling / fielding changes and strike a balance between the sword and the shield while snaring acceleration-happy Pakistanis into a brake failure. Aim will be to have as few runs to show against the “Pakistani 1st innings total” column as possible when India are finally put in to face the Paki pace for an hour or so at the end of 2nd day.

Pakistan Team plan: No A, B or C here. Bob will instruct his wards to let the leather go off the 2nd new ball before Inzamam-Afridi-Akmal go for the leather to rattle up as many and as quickly as possible. Not to forget the small matter of inviting Shoaib, Sami & co. for an end-of-day ‘help yourself’ dinner of the dazed Indian top order.

Indian Coach’s plan: Greg needs to pep up players’ morale by citing stories of Indian fightback in 2 successive Test matches against another formidable opponent at their own Gabba and Adelaide Oval a few years back. He should remember them vividly, as he was personally coaching someone then…..

Pakistani coach’s plan: To continue his search for caddies who can really pretend a genuine love for his golf. Not much else to do tomorrow, really.

Interesting points to ponder: Sehwag’s SirDonic batting average in 1st innings of Tests and record against Pakistan, Rahul’s batting horrors in 5-dayers as skipper and opener, Ganguly’s one-innings career exposure to opening, Laxman’s reassuring stability and Yuvraj’s yet-untested brilliance of late, Shoaib’s extraordinarily understated menace from the last series he played, Kaneria’s baffling dominance of India’s spinner-scalpers in the 2005 head-to-head between these 2 sides, and ……I must be missing a mention of some point.

Sachin Tendulkar, perhaps. And his so-far-thankful record against the nation that initiated him to Test cricket.

Preview is over. Now comes the specialist part: The prediction.

If Rahul (or Pathan) opens with Sehwag in the crucial 1st innings, India are going to post a good reply. They may hang on for a draw - even a narrow win if Pakistan are a bit casual in their 2nd hit (remember the 1st Test between England and Pakistan, or Adelaide 2003?).

But in the event of Sehwag being seen stretching and hopping his way to the crease to face a shining red cherry late into tomorrow afternoon accompanied by his 1st Test skipper, we may as well congratulate Pakistan!

Unfair though the assertion may be on the Bengal tiger who never says die (or for that matter Yuvraj Singh), opening the innings against a decent bowling attack will forever be as far removed from lower middle order batting as opening a beehive is from sipping the honey.

Simply put, the result hereon largely depends on the 1st innings response from the Indian top three. Pretty simple game this, you must have read somewhere earlier.