If one was to put a positive spin on the first day's play, one would say that it was engrossing cricket but it would not conceal the fact that India ended it on a higher note. A total of 224 is a poor score and the only consolation we can draw is it could have been worse.
India has scored 23 cautious runs for the first-ball dismissal of Virender Sehwag by Shoaib Akhtar. Unless Pakistan can bring the same intensity it brought into the 15 overs it bowled and keep it, there is too much depth in India's batting and Pakistan was badly let down by its top and middle order.
What does one make of the wicket? It was not an easy one but most of the gremlins were in the mind and Saurav Ganguly's decision to put Pakistan in was a psychological first-strike. Pakistan could have countered it with seeing off the first session with minimum damage. Instead it lost four wickets for 96 at lunch.
The Indian bowlers swung the ball and for this the atmosphere was to blame and not the wicket. The ball moved in the air and there was virtually no lateral movement.
In a nutshell, there was no spine in the batting and Yasir Hameed's dismissal was a case in point. He had no business to go chasing a swinging delivery that the wicket-keeper would have taken nearer first slip had it been left alone.
In the circumstances of the innings, Pakistan had lost both its openers, it was a luxury Pakistan could not afford. Yasir's was the most glaring offence. All the others, including Inzamamul Haq, betrayed a certain nervousness. The batsmen had psyched themselves out.
At the toss, Inzamam had shown his disappointment at losing it and had said he too would have preferred to field. It was sending the wrong message to his dressing-room.
In his tea-time comments, Bishen Singh Bedi made a sharp observation. He said that the Pakistan batsmen were not mentally prepared for batting first. It was no surprise that when Lakshmipathy Balaji sent Shoaib Akhtar's off stump cartwheeling, Pakistan was 137 for eight.
It was at this point that Mohammad Sami decided that he would show his more recognised batsmen how to bat on this wicket. The arrival at the crease of Fazle Akbar provided much mirth to the commentators, one of them called it "comic relief" and another said that he didn't know which part of the bat to use, or words to this jovial effect.
The last laugh would belong to Fazle Akbar for he stayed with Sami and they put on 70 runs. I don't think the Indian bowlers found anything funny about this partnership. It was gutsy as it was spirited and it lifted the morale of the Pakistan supporters.
At last, one felt, the fight had returned to the Pakistan team. Even Danish Kaneria put a high price on his wicket. It was Sami who was run out from a direct hit by Irfan Pathan when he was pinching a single to go from 49 to 50.
It had been a wonderful innings to watch. He took quite a few blows but his head remained unbowed. His innings, obviously, served as a tonic in the Pakistan dressing room for the team came on to field, all fired up.
Sehwag's dismissal to a catch brilliantly taken by Yasir Hameed after juggling with the ball brought high drama. Pakistan bowled with purpose and accuracy but the Indians had closed shop and batted out the time, 23 from 15 overs.
It may not be an ideal wicket but it's not a tricky one. It's going to be tough but, as they, there's still a lot of cricket to be played. Who knows that the bowlers could strike early and even up things a little?
If it was anyone's day, it was Sami's for Pakistan and Balaji's for India. Balaji's cheerfulness is infectious. The public have taken to him, and, unlikely as it seems, he has become the poster-boy for India and not India's super-stars. Do television commercials beckon him?
