Six months ago, India and Pakistan were coming to terms with their early World Cup exits. All seemed to have been forgotten when, a little over a month ago, they battled for the World Twenty20 title. Then Australia came to India and South Africa to Pakistan. And both sides are back to learning from their mistakes. It's these glorious cycles that grips both nations.
Surely it allows the teams to understand each other, as evinced by the camaraderie this evening. Once both sides finished warming up, Harbhajan Singh and Shoaib Akhtar, standing close to the pitch for close to 20 minutes, seemed to be discussing life, the universe and everything. Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Yousuf greeted each other like long, lost brothers. And Sourav Ganguly couldn't get enough of watching Sohail Tanvir's wrong-footed action. Such dosti.
Geoff Lawson recently said that an India-Pakistan series is "bigger than the Ashes" but Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Shoaib Malik, the captains in charge, claimed otherwise. "It's like playing any other team," Dhoni said casually. "Maybe for you guys [the media] it's bigger than the Ashes. But personally it doesn't matter if it's Australia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Zimbabwe or any other team. Also, we've played against Pakistan a lot recently. It eases the pressure."
Team talk
Sreesanth, while bowling at the nets in the eastern side of the ground, came perilously close to making news. A swinging yorker crashed into Sourav Ganguly's right ankle and had him hobbling. A quick spray and a ginger massage later, Ganguly was smiling again, going on to have a bowl.
If he plays, which he should, the problem could arise at No.3. Gautam Gambhir or Virender Sehwag? Recent form points to Gambhir, past record to Sehwag. Dhoni said it was a toss-up between the two, adding that Sehwag, despite losing his father a few days back, was in "good nick".
The short square boundaries could dissuade India from playing two spinners, though the pitch could aid turn later on. "This is one of the grounds where we could have extended the boundary ropes," Dhoni said. "It's quite a small ground, and both sides have spinners who will have a big impact on the game. Definitely they will suffer a bit if it turns out to be a flat wicket. A 60-65 yard outfield is worrying for bowlers."
Pakistan, though, might go with two spinners irrespective - both Abdur Rehman and Shahid Afridi troubled South Africa recently. "I don't think our spinners will struggle in these type of grounds," Malik said. "We had tried different combinations in the series against South Africa, and that was partly keeping the series against India in mind," said Malik. "Now, we have an idea about the combination and I am confident that we have players for every role."
No politics, please Pakistan's media manager Ahsan Malik made it clear that the political situation back home wasn't going to affect the series. "We are here to play cricket and the team is focussing only on that." He also requested that the Pakistan captain be questioned only on cricketing matters. Dhoni didn't say much except, "How the players handle it is up to how mentally tough they are. I am only looking forward to the cricket."
Dewy start The sun went down at around 4:40 pm on match eve and it's prompted the two teams to agree to an 8:30 am start. "The first hour is crucial" is normally brushed aside as a plain cricketing cliché but it's of significance here. Eight of the eleven games here have seen captains inserting the opposition (including the previous completed match here, when Australia were reduced to 61 for 4 before Michael Bevan undertook his customary rescue mission.
Anticipation unlimited Hardly has one commented about the chaos at the Nehru Stadium in Guwahati, what with fans clamouring for autographs and thousands of security men for space, than a seasoned observer points out: "Wait for tomorrow. You haven't seen anything yet." If we go entirely by captain talk, this is another run-of-the-mill series. No frills, no hype, no anticipation. But one sight of the stadium and you're convinced that's plain claptrap. Expect the pleasantries to be left back in the hotel rooms. India v Pakistan doesn't come with as feverish an edge as ten years earlier but it's not all about dosti either.
Teams (probable) India 1 Sachin Tendulkar, 2 Sourav Ganguly, 3 Virender Sehwag, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt & wk), 6 Robin Uthappa, 7 Irfan Pathan, 8 Murali Kartik, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Sreesanth.
Bazigaar
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like i said kamran akmal ko nikal do team se bahir
Pathan to Kamran Akmal, OUT, Pathan strikes! The ball was pitched on off stump and it bent back into Akmal who tried to pull, the ball wasn't that short and it came slowly off the pitch, completely beating Akmal, he got hit on the pad in front of off and middle and Gould sends him on his way Kamran Akmal lbw b Pathan 12 (30b 2x4 0x6) SR: 40.00
Bazigaar
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17.5 Harbhajan Singh to Salman Butt, OUT, an awful mix-up and Butt has to go, Butt tried to close the face of the bat and play the ball on the leg side, the leading edge rolled towards extra cover, Butt set off for the single but Younis sent him back, Yuvraj had moved quickly to his left from cover and picked the ball up with one hand and threw it back to Dhoni who broke the stumps with Butt well short, big wicket for India
Bazigaar
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from here...i doubt if pak can win the match...unless one of younis or yousaf play a play innning and play fast plus a good support from the middle order...
or maybe pak bowlers can do a wonderful job
pak have to win the first match to get the upper hand
Bazigaar
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29.5 Harbhajan Singh to Younis Khan, OUT Younis Khan c Pathan b Harbhajan Singh 25 (60b 0x4 0x6) SR: 41.66
haan good..afridi in...time to smack spinners ...i hope abhi pak ka run rate will go up...
Younis really struggled during his 25 off 60 balls. Pakistan have lost their momentum completely against the spinners. It's been an age since the last boundary. Shahid Afridi comes in to inject some energy into the innings.
India had the best of Pakistan in a turgid contest on a slightly demanding pitch, restricting them to 239 and then knocking off the runs through a string of contributions from the top order, winning with five wickets in hand. It was not the most spectacular cricket, but it was sensible from India and perhaps a touch too circumspect from Pakistan, whose batsmen did not do enough, and whose bowlers were committed and disciplined but rarely penetrative.
When Shoaib Malik won the toss and chose to bat it appeared to be a sound decision, given that the pitch was dry, on the slower side, and threatened to break up in the second half. And when Salman Butt and Kamran Akmal got off to a breezy start, it appeared that India would have their work cut out. Akmal square drove crisply for boundaries when he was offered width and Butt used his wrists to guide the ball into gaps with excellent timing.
The fall of Akmal's wicket, however, when he was declared lbw to an Irfan Pathan ball that pitched outside leg, changed the complexion of the innings. Younis Khan was uncomfortable batting on this pitch - with the ball not coming on truly - and grew increasingly disturbed as India's spinners checked the flow of runs.
Soon after reaching a well-paced half-century, Butt did himself no favours when he charged down the pitch after the ball speared off the leading edge towards cover, only to be sent back by his partner and run out. At least while Butt was at the crease runs came from one end, but with Mohammad Yousuf joining Younis the runs just dried up.
The singles came easily enough, with Yousuf knocking the ball away into the leg side with soft hands, but Younis' frustration reached such proportions, especially after sweeps and reverse-sweeps failed, that he holed out to long-on for a 58-ball 25. For a painful 22.5 overs Pakistan could not manufacture a single boundary, and this might have prompted Malik to promote Shahid Afridi up the order.
Even Afridi could not plunder as he would've liked and though he managed a front-foot pull over long-on, his 31 off 32 balls before being smartly stumped as he charged down the pitch to Sachin Tendulkar was a bit short of what Pakistan needed. Malik then added to the pressure, heaving a leg-stump full-toss straight down midwicket's throat.
Fortunately for Pakistan, while wickets fell at one end, Yousuf had crept to his half-century and with about five overs to go took it upon himself to increase the tempo. He paddle swept Pathan fine and then drove RP Singh inside-out over cover. The late charge took Yousuf to an unbeaten 83, off an acceptable 88 balls, and Pakistan to 239 for 7 from 50 overs.
With probing bowling and tight fielding Pakistan might well have given India a serious run for their money chasing 240, but instead they bowled without much purpose and out-did India in the poor fielding standings to let the game slip out of their hands. At no point in the course of the chase were India under serious pressure, and Pakistan were waiting for an India collapse that never came.
Shoaib Akhtar gave Pakistan some hope early on when he trapped Tendulkar in front with a slower ball, with only 14 on the board. But Sourav Ganguly and Gautam Gambhir then added 82 for the third wicket to take India towards safety. Neither Ganguly nor Gambhir was in total control at the crease, with some streaky strokes eluding the fielders, but when the opportunity was there to score both batsmen backed their instincts and it paid off.
Ganguly was quick to go after anything that was a bit wide, slanting and angling his bat to get the ball through cover point and third man. Gambhir opened the face of his bat so much that he edged between keeper and slip twice consecutively, but was undeterred. Once the ball lost its hardness and Shoaib gave way to less pacy bowlers, Gambhir knuckled down and cover drove with confidence. His timing and placement were excellent, and the ball went along the ground more often than not.
It was against the run of play that India lost their next two wickets. Ganguly played one down to fine leg and headed for a single that Gambhir did not want, and could not turn around and regain his crease in time. Ganguly had made 39 but looked good for more. Gambhir too should have got more than the 44 he managed, but failed to pick an offbreak from Shahid Afridi and was bowled round his legs.
Then came another partnership, of 105, between India's captain and vice-captain and this all but sealed the deal. Mahendra Singh Dhoni had come out in the mood to give the ball a thrash, sluggish pitch notwithstanding, and he succeeded. There were some streaky boundaries, but for the best part the ball boomed off the middle of the bat and there was not much Pakistan's bowlers could do. He found an excellent ally in Yuvraj Singh, who hit the ball as hard as anyone, and looked to be positive against the spinners and the quick men.
Both Yuvraj and Dhoni reached the half-century mark, and with only 22 needed for victory Pakistan broke the partnership. Yuvraj (58) slog-swept Abdur Rahman, the left-arm spinner, but did not quite get hold of the ball and failed to clear Afridi in the deep. Soon after, Dhoni (63) flashed at Shoaib, who returned to the attack in the 45th over, and India wobbled at the doorstep of victory. Only 15 were needed for victory at that stage, and you wondered why Malik had not re-introduced Shoaib earlier. Robin Uthappa and Pathan knocked off the remaining runs and the five-wicket win gave India a 1-0 lead in this five-match series.
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Bazigaar said:
pak needs to get rid of kamran akmal... younis khan just had a bad game..i am sure he will come out good in next one...
mujay yeh pata nhi yeh comment kyon sunnanaa par raha hai mujay
yeh Pakistani Cap MALIK shaib ko cahye us ko aik jagaah batay keh AKMAL ko kya karna hai kabhi us ko JUMP laga kar upper kabhi neechay
ab last night woh Open howa hai
hum sab ko pata hai woh Hard hiiter hai hits kar sakta hai likun us ko aysay send kartay hain kabhi upper just roko aur kabhi bilkul he neechay jab Pakistani team FULL dabaooo main ai hoti hai us wakat bhi us ko rokne ke liye send kar daytay hain
aur rahi bat Younas Khan ki jahan tak mera yakeen hai us ko ODI main cahcne milna he nhi cahye sara presure to ata he us ki waja say hai pahli 20 balls to woh bas jump he laga kar khelta hai last night ab dekh lo jump jump jump aur jab hit ki to out hoo gaya
Misbah-ul-Haq us ko opper lay ain kyon keh woh finsher nhi hai to woh opper umed hai chal jay ab last night aik bar pahir Afridi ko opper send kar diya MALIK waysay to kud ata hai last night kyon nhi us Afridi ko bayjh diya rokne ke liye
aur Bowling main aik kehtay hain AFRIDI as a bowler khelta hai to REHMAN ko kehlane ki kya zaroorat hai???? us ki jagah par aik alrounder hona cahye FAWAD ALAM or RAZZAQ ko lay aain or aik aur batsman dal lain IMRAN NAZIR baytha hai
or Tanveer ko lay ain itna hai shooq hai kam iz kam woh hits to kar layta hai
he was good captain..
