17 April 2005	Sunday	07 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1426

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NEW DELHI, April 16: When Pakistan step out onto the Feroze Shah Kotla ground on Sunday to take on India, with a 3-2 lead in the six-match One-day International series, it will mark the culmination of one of their most gruelling, yet satisfying tours in recent times.

And given the resolve, the sheer force of will with which they have imposed themselves on the ODIs, a remarkable series win is tangibly within grasp for Inzamamul Haq’s men.

Inzamam, in ponderous mood on Saturday, reflected: “The boys have worked very hard. After losing the second Test we came back and did the same in the one-dayers. The boys worked hard for this.

“The boys have learnt many things here. We did not start too well, but the boys worked hard and day-by-day our performances improved.”

Although unlike India, almost everyone has contributed, no one has exemplified that graft more than Rana Navedul Hasan. Endowed with lesser gifts of fast bowlers past, Naved is an unlikely Pakistani spearhead and has emerged not only as the leading wicket-taker by some distance (with 14 wickets), he has also troubled the formidable Indian top order consistently, dismissing Virender Sehwag three times and Sachin Tendulkar twice.

Kanpur was typical; Naved’s seven overs burst to begin were as crucial as Shahid Afridi’s opening overs salvo with the willow, yet his efforts are unlikely to be remembered with the same awe.

Rahul Dravid, captain in Saurav Ganguly’s continued absence, is among those who have noticed.

“He has bowled well in the one-day series because he has put the ball in the right areas and bowled good outswing, and has been able to return later and bowl reverse-swing and put yorkers in the right area. The success that he has had means that they haven’t missed Shoaib Akhtar. The key is that if we can see through his initial spell, we can put up a big score.”

And even that, with Afridi boisterously lurking, might not be safe.

“In the last game, the difference between the two sides was Afridi’s knock. So the guys know that if we can get Afridi early or put up a good score on the board, there’s not much to choose between the sides,” Dravid said.

But chaos and uncertainty surround this game. Amidst reports that the revamping of the stadium may not be complete, ticketing problems and the attendance, among other dignitaries, of President Pervez Musharraf and Indian PM Manmohan Singh and the ensuing security tangles that entails, the state of the pitch evokes greatest ambiguity.

Quite simply, nobody knows how it will play, given that it is freshly laid. Neither captain had seen it so team compositions and strategies remained undecided, although not many changes are expected.

Mohammad Sami, who has matured as the tour has progressed, missed Kanpur with a toe injury and although he still isn’t match fit, Inzamam was unwilling to rule him out.

The match also marks the end of John Wright’s tenure as Indian coach, after nearly five years in charge. Along with Ganguly, he has been widely credited for India’s transformation since from a timid side heavily reliant on individuals to arguably, one of the stronger teams in world cricket, and the only team to even remotely test Australia consistently.

Bob Woolmer arrived last year in comparable circumstances and, on this tour in particular, there has been a discernible improvement from the rabble of last year. If Pakistan fails to win, there will be little disgrace, given their resources. But if they do triumph it could spark a revival to parallel India’s.

Teams (from):

INDIA: Rahul Dravid (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Mahendra Dhoni, Sridharan Sriram, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Harbhajan Singh, Murali Kartik, Anil Kumble, Zaheer Khan, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Ashish Nehra, Ajit Agarkar, Dinesh Mongia.

PAKISTAN: Inzamamul Haq (captain), Salman Butt, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Yousuf Youhana, Younis Khan, Abdul Razzaq, Kamran Akmal, Rana Navedul Hasan, Mohammad Sami, Danish Kaneria, Arshad Khan, Rao Iftikhar, Asim Kamal, Mohammad Hafeez, Shahid Nazir.