Stargazing at Bangabandhu (12 March 1999)

12 March 1999

Stargazing at Bangabandhu

Zakaria Simon

Any big event, and the Test final at the Bangabandhu is no mean one, sends the adrenaline pumping to the extent of often bringing out the exceptional among men of premium quality. Dhaka and the world will be watching closely the events at the Bangabandhu National Stadium. And in the five days to come, one or two will emerge the better amongst the best. Both Pakistan and Sri Lanka house a number of world greats and also some stars that have just begun to twinkle. Only time will tell, which group will provide the star of the Dhaka Test. As an appetiser, we offer samplers from both sides; stars who have already made the grade.

In the game of cricket when the job is to score runs, Saeed Anwar's name can be found in the upper echelon of a list of batsmen who are best in doing so. The short and skinny Pakistan opener may not be an imposing figure but his occupancy of the crease means the scoreboard will find itself in motion. Once the Karachi-born left-hander gets going, runs seem very easy to come by. A sweet timer of the ball, Anwar has even command on both sides of the wicket and all the grace of a traditional left-hander. And after being in and out of the Pakistan team in the early days of his career, he has now become an indispensable member. His records testify to his talents. After an uncertain start to his career, Anwar has accumulated 3,027 runs from 68 innings in 40 Test matches at an average of 45.86. He also has eight centuries and 18 fifties under his belt. His highest score is 188 not out.

But over the years, Anwar, a national side member for almost a decade, has proven to be a player who performs his best only when in the right frame of mind.

Still, Anwar is the type of a batsman one would not hesitate spend money to watch and the followers of the game in this country would be expecting him to rise to the occasion.

"The fastest bowler in the world will be making his Test debut tomorrow", said the Pakistan captain about Shoaib Akhtar after the bowler was called up by the selectors for the second Test against West Indies at Rawalpindi in 1997. But the speedster could not do justice to his captain's comments then. And until the first match of the Asian Test Championship in Calcutta last month, his performance had been pretty ordinary in the international arena other than a five-wicket haul -- his best so far -- in South Africa against the hosts last year. However, in the Asian Test at Calcutta his two furious consecutive deliveries that uprooted the leg and middle stumps of Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, made him a hero overnight. Consequently, the Rawalpindi lad is being considered by many to be a decisive factor for his team in the final of the championship.

This 24-year-old paceman has an inherent capability to generate ferocious speed on par with the world's fastest. Moreover, to make himself more of a fast bowler he has already added variety in his deliveries and this adaptability has helped him to become a lethal bowler by now.

Young and brimming with zeal and talent, Dhaka could be a perfect place for Shoaib to reign in pace.

Born on the 27th of May in 1977, Mahela Jayawardena is in the genesis of his career. The Colombo-born batsman has so far played only eight Test matches and already entered a high society of batsmen by scoring a double century just in his seventh Test -- the second fixture of the Asian Test Championship in Colombo. The right-hander, who plays domestic cricket for Sinhalese Sports Club, made 694 runs from 12 innings at an average of 57.83 with two hundreds and four half-centuries.

But what the youngster showed during his 242 last month against India is that he has a strong approach towards the game and that again could serve the Sri Lankan purpose in this final.

Chaminda Vaas has in many ways been the architect-in-chief of Sri Lanka's recent upsurge in the international arena. His incisive left-arm pace bowling, which has invited comparisons with Wasim Akram, albeit somewhat prematurely, has given the Sri-Lankan attack the bite that was sorely missing previously. Vaas became the first Sri Lankan to take 10 wickets in a Test match in 1994-95, and at 25, a veteran of 27 Tests, he still thinks himself as a learner of the game. The Colombo-born player, who plays for Colts Cricket Club, has 84 wickets to his name at an average of 30.65 with one ten-wicket and four five-wicket hauls. His best figures are six for 87.

Vaas clearly has much to give to the future of Sri Lankan cricket and the Asian championship final here in Dhaka.

Source :: The Bangladesh Daily Star (https://www.dailystarnews.com)