THROUGH THE COVERS: It’s time to let your hair down
By Zaheer Abbas
TO come back from 0-2 behind and clinch it 4-2 takes a lot of doing, and, for having done that, the team deserves unqualified praise. This is a rare moment of sheer luxury and fun that has come the way of Pakistani cricket lovers in a long time, and it is time to let one’s hair down and revel in its true spirit.
At the time of the team’s departure to India, I had commented that by the looks of things, the series would most probably be between two underdogs, with no clear favourites in terms of competence and skills. I had said that in view of the recent performances of the two teams on the international stage. Pakistan had just returned from a 0-3 whitewash from Australia, and India had been playing below-par for the last several months. In fact, they had been downhill ever since their triumphant tour to Pakistan.
As it turned out, no single side could master the other with credible authority. India clearly turned out to be the weaker of the two sides, as it struggled — in fact, failed — to carry its advantage home both in the Test series and the One Day encounters. In the first Test, everything was there for the Indians to make it 1-0 on the last day, but it failed to force its way in the face of stiff and remarkable resistance put up by Abdul Razzaq and Kamran Akmal.
After winning the second Test, Indian again failed to hold on to its lead and allowed Pakistan to score a dramatic win when it could, and should, have easily saved it in view of the batting lineup it has on paper.
The pattern was repeated once the One Day part of the tour got under way. After securing a highly comfortable 2-0 cushion after the first two games, it again allowed the Pakistanis to come from behind and not just level it at 2-2 after four, but also to make it 4-2 after six.
The pattern of the series suggests that more often than not, it was Indian brittleness and fragility than Pakistani brilliance and competence that decided the outcome. That, of course, takes nothing away from the Pakistani effort at all. If a batsman receives a bad ball, he still has to play it properly and in the gap to earn rewards. The same was the case with Pakistan. It got an Indian team on the downhill slope, but the unit was diligent enough to nail it down when it mattered. However, throughout the series one got the feeling that it was a seesaw battle to decide who was the least skilled of the two sides, for both teams played below their potential. It was exciting, but not exhilarating stuff. Before I sign off for the week, a word would be in place about the two captains in the series. Inzamamul Haq for sure has undergone a transformation, from a slumbering leader on the field to one with emotions and, more than that, expressions. Ganguly, on the contrary, underwent a transformation in the reverse order; from emotions to silence. This naturally was because he was suffering from wretched form with the willow.
The manner in which the Indian board made him sit out the last two One Day games even though he was available after having filed an appeal against the ban imposed on him by the match referee, was saddening. He deserved a better deal, as far as I am concerned. The board’s plea that his inclusion would have hurt team’s mental preparation for the vital games was a shoddy pretext for bringing down the axe on the man who has been instrumental in turning things around for the Indians in the last few years. It was kind of sad.
TO come back from 0-2 behind and clinch it 4-2 takes a lot of doing, and, for having done that, the team deserves unqualified praise. This is a rare moment of sheer luxury and fun that has come the way of Pakistani cricket lovers in a long time, and it is time to let one’s hair down and revel in its true spirit.
