No security for the bowlers

And the show moves on to the second destination where more column inches will be spent on security than cricket. The Arbab Niaz Stadium in Peshawar will decide which team takes the lead in this five-match series that is deadlocked at 1-1 after two close, high-scoring matches.

Peshawar conjures up images of bazaars, carpets and of course Afghan connections. It's a bustling, crowded mini-city, complete with Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried Chicken, four-wheel drive Landrovers and mobile phone towers. And it's hot. At half past noon it was a touch under 40 degrees centigrade.

India's players had always planned to spend as little time here as possible and they flew in just before noon on the day before the match. One key difference in the security levels between Peshawar and the rest of Pakistan is that no-one here seems to bother with pistols - the smallest gun around seems to be a double-bore pump action shotgun, and AK 47s are the rule rather than the exception.

In some ways, the complete lack of time and freedom to explore the place will help the Indian team concentrate on the task at hand. They need to tighten up their bowling in the face of some fine hitting on tracks that are such featherbeds, an insomniac would drop off to sleep. They need to make sure they are at the top of their fitness, so that they can hang on to every half-chance and chase down every ball even in trying conditions. As for the batting, they need to continue doing what they have done so far, just do it better.

Ashish Nehra's injury means that Lakshmipathy Balaji stays in the side despite going for 103 runs in 16 overs. Amit Bhandari, Nehra's replacement, is expected to join the team before the last two games in Lahore and it is difficult to see the Indians going into the third one-dayer with two spinners for the simple reason that the ground is a small one. The longest boundaries are barely 65 yards and this means that batsmen will be able to clear the ropes even if they don't hit the ball perfectly. Not that too many deliveries have missed the middle of the bat in this series. "There will be absolutely no margin of effort for the bowlers," agreed Sourav Ganguly. "The wickets so far have been outstanding, and the trend in one-day internationals these days is to make them as bare as possible."

Pakistan's team in the second one-dayer was bolstered by the return of Shahid Afridi, who contributed with the ball after slamming a 58-ball 80. For the third one-dayer, Taufeeq Umar, another attacking batsman, returns to the fold, but is unlikely to make the final cut. The Pakistan bowling line-up is as strong as ever. Shoaib Akhtar, Shabbir Ahmed and Mohammed Sami showed in the last game that they have the pace required to get away with bowling just short of a good length.

It is this fast bowling strength that will pose a tantalising question to Inzamam-ul-Haq. The pitch, though flat, has a green hue to it. If the conditions are overcast and cool, there might be some benefit to be reaped in bowling first. That, however, is not an option Ganguly will be considering, after the manner in which his bowling attack has been battered in the first two matches. In short, expect a run-fest, but hope for something less brutal on the bowlers.

Pakistan (likely) 1 Shahid Afridi, 2 Yasir Hameed, 3 Yousuf Youhana, 4 Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), 5 Younis Khan, 6 Abdul Razzaq, 7 Moin Khan (wk), 8 Shoaib Malik, 9 Shoaib Akhtar, 10 Mohammed Sami, 11 Shabbir Ahmed.

India (likely) 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 VVS Laxman, 4 Sourav Ganguly (capt), 5 Rahul Dravid (wk), 6 Yuvraj Singh, 7 Mohammed Kaif, 8 Ramesh Powar, 9 Irfan Pathan, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Lakshmipathy Balaji.