BY the very nature of it, a fourth-innings run chase is tricky business. While the crumbling surface is enough physical reason to explain why it is so, there are more demons in the mind of the players than there are in physical form. Cricket is a mind game and if you are beaten in the head, chances are that you will be beaten on the ground as well. Keep the fifth-day surface as it is and start a new match on it; the performance of the same side will be a whole lot different playing the first innings on that very crumbling surface. It is all in the head. But, then, that is the beauty of this game. England, however, would not have been able to appreciate this ‘beauty’ aspect of cricket on the final day in Multan where they found themselves at the receiving end.
As I wrote in the curtain-raiser to the series last week, Pakistan had to play real bad cricket to lose. Luckily for them, they did not do that. They played their average game, and that was good enough to beat the English side which was down in spirits after two failures in side matches and the loss of their captain and top-order batsman Michael Vaughan. And in any case the English media had apparently drilled in so much about the fifth-day crumbling pitches into the minds of the players that they were mentally suffering, specially after their two batting failures in side matches.
For Pakistan, there were two things happening on the field which they had not experienced in the last couple of seasons despite their best efforts. First let’s take the bit about the performance of the batting top order where they had been struggling for some time. In Multan, it was the top order alone which chipped in other than Inzamamul Haq, who continues to be the main feature of the lineup. Of the total 615 runs scored by Pakistan in the match, 253 came from the two openers, which is over 41 per cent of the total. If you add the runs scored by the one-down Yunus Khan, the tally goes up to 340, or 55 per cent of the team’s total. This was a sheer luxury.
The second thing that set up victory for Pakistan was the performance of Shoaib Akhtar. Much had been written about him and his deviant ways and his bombastic ego. And there was much justification in what had been said. But the manner in which the PCB has dealt with him this time round seems to have worked wonders. He came in bursts and made an impact with his presence even though the pitch was not to his liking. He had to work hard for his wickets, but he never threw in the towel.
The fact that he bowled the maximum number of overs among the three fast bowlers in the Pakistani lineup is a testimony to his fitness and level of commitment. Only Danish Kaneria bowled more overs than Shoaib — 47 against 40 by the latter — but that could only be expected. In terms of impact, however, Shoaib even beat Danish, conceding less than 25 runs for each of his six wickets, and taking a wicket every 40th ball. Danish, in contrast, conceded 34 runs per wicket, and there was a 56-ball gap between each of his five wickets. The difference is quite clear, and Shoaib deserves a well-earned pat on the back for pulling himself up.
While there are still a few spots of bother in the Pakistani camp — the failure of the middle order, for instance — I am sure Pakistan would be able to fend off English efforts to come from behind. After playing catch-up cricket for most part of the Test match, Pakistanis made it big in the end. They will do well to contain England and not allow them to do the same in the context of the series. It will take some doing, but I can see that happening.
BY the very nature of it, a fourth-innings run chase is tricky business. While the crumbling surface is enough physical reason to explain why it is so, there are more demons in the mind of the players than there are in physical form. Cricket is a mind game and if you are beaten in the head, chances are that you will be beaten on the ground as well. Keep the fifth-day surface as it is and start a new match on it; the performance of the same side will be a whole lot different playing the first innings on that very crumbling surface. It is all in the head. But, then, that is the beauty of this game. England, however, would not have been able to appreciate this ‘beauty’ aspect of cricket on the final day in Multan where they found themselves at the receiving end.
As I wrote in the curtain-raiser to the series last week, Pakistan had to play real bad cricket to lose. Luckily for them, they did not do that. They played their average game, and that was good enough to beat the English side which was down in spirits after two failures in side matches and the loss of their captain and top-order batsman Michael Vaughan. And in any case the English media had apparently drilled in so much about the fifth-day crumbling pitches into the minds of the players that they were mentally suffering, specially after their two batting failures in side matches.
For Pakistan, there were two things happening on the field which they had not experienced in the last couple of seasons despite their best efforts. First let’s take the bit about the performance of the batting top order where they had been struggling for some time. In Multan, it was the top order alone which chipped in other than Inzamamul Haq, who continues to be the main feature of the lineup. Of the total 615 runs scored by Pakistan in the match, 253 came from the two openers, which is over 41 per cent of the total. If you add the runs scored by the one-down Yunus Khan, the tally goes up to 340, or 55 per cent of the team’s total. This was a sheer luxury.
