ULTIMATELY it was Pakistan’s excellent teamwork and the astute leadership of Younis Khan which made the difference in the Karachi Test. One recalls Imran saying it almost a couple of years ago that Younis has all the qualities of a great captain and Younis has proved him right.

Indians were outclassed in every department of the game on a sporting National Stadium pitch.

After losing three wickets with a blank scoreboard and being six down for 39, the Pakistani team displayed superb fighting qualities to triumph by a big margin of 341 runs.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man. The man of the moment for Pakistan was their doughty wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal. He not only revived the Pakistan innings but also gave it a semblance of respectability.

The bowlers took the fight to the Indian camp and the small first innings lead gave the Pakistanis a morale-boosting edge.

But the turning point of the match came when young Salman and Imran gave the home team a solid start.

The “Y Factor” of Younis and Yousuf again hit the Indians. Local hero Faisal hit his maiden hundred in front of wildly cheering home fans.

He was successful in part because he plays forward and the bat is in front of the pad unlike some others. And Afridi was his usual effervescent self.

When he smashes a ball, it causes rumbles all the way to India. The Indians had a mountain to cross though they had ample time.

Their batting line-up is the best in the world at least on paper. But Asif bowled some unplayable deliveries.

He bowled Laxman with the “Ball of the Series” and got Tendulkar out with one that kept slightly low, playing on the back foot instead of forward. It was the dismissal of Dravid, “The Wall” which set the tone for Pakistan’s victory.

The Pakistani bowlers have caused some chinks in the wall. Abdul Razzaq once again proved his critics wrong. He and Asif took 14 of the 20 Indian wickets between them.

This Pakistani team seems to have a new sense of unity. The atmosphere in the dressing room is very good and the credit should go to skipper Inzamam. The team did not feel the absence of Inzy and Shoaib Malik.

In fact Inzy reminds one of England’s gentleman cricketers like Mike Brearley and Colin Cowdrey.

One cannot say the same thing about the Indian dressing room atmosphere.

The Ganguly factor was always hanging in the air.

Controversies aside, Ganguly is a great captain and he has proved this many times in the past. He also batted well in this series.

In fact in both the innings of the Karachi Test he was by far the most confident of the Indian batsmen.

He was the only player not to be intimidated by Shoaib Akhtar’s searing pace or the pin-point accuracy of Asim and Razzaq.

I prefer him to Dravid for the captaincy. As an example, when Kamran Akmal was rebuilding the Pakistan first innings, Dravid failed to use a sweeper in the covers as majority of the runs made by the wicketkeeper came from off side.

At a dinner the other day at which former captains like Mushtaq Mohammed and Asif Iqbal were present, Moin Khan had predicted that the Test would be over on the fourth day. He certainly has a shrewd cricketing brain.

Now the One-day series starts from tomorrow. Like a wounded tiger, India will be looking to bounce back.

They have been reinforced by the inclusion of Mohammad Kaif and two bowlers. It will be a series worth going miles to see.

And talking about going miles, the Pakistanis have yet to win a Test series in Australia, West Indies and South Africa. To prove England’s Geoffrey Boycott wrong Pakistan must win Test series against these countries.

Boycott claims that Pakistanis have not done well in these countries mainly due to batsmen’s being brought up on batting-friendly tracks. The main reason of their failures have been seaming and bouncy tracks in these countries.

The former England opener has a point, but I have the gut feeling that the way this team is shaping up, they will prove him wrong in future.

The writer is former Test player and national chief selector.

Opinion

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