Personally I expect Pak to win the ODIS and the Tests to be drawn.

Pak has had an edge over Ind in recent ODI's so they should be the favourites for that series. But India at home is tough to beat.

For the Tests, going by Pakistan's recent form in Test cricket, I think India has the advantage with their awesome batting lineup. For Pakistan to have a chance to take out Ind in six innings, they will need a fully fit Shoaib.

Akhtar and Sami better be fit !

with rana and razzaq performing the way they are, we could do without "Maha Nakhra"
and Sami

If we are going to beat India in the test series, we need Sami and Shoaib firing.

With Irfan Pathan on our side, we have better bowling line up

Not if we get Shoaib, Sami and Shabbir back fully fit

Well I think India have a better batting line up but Pakistan have superior bowlers.

Agreed

Talent aside it is going to depend how they perform on a given day. It would be fair to say both teams are known for thier inconsistency. I think on home turf
Indain batting will have edge over pakistans balling strength

More than likely spinning dust bowls will be produced, I feel.

A fit Akhtar? You are talking about Shoaib, right?

Ha Ha Ha!

Best joke I've heard so far this year!

Have you noticed how mashed he looks after every bowl he bowls, like he's just had the crap of his life. It kinda reminds me of Salman Khan in Andaaz Apna Apna.

Flex

In every series the pitches are prepared to the advantage to the home team. Hai na? Sorry if the visitors don't have pacers/spinner/whatever!

Ask New Zealand! They prepare mine-fields!

If he isn't fit then our chances of winning will decrease dramatically.

And, more so to the advantage of Pakistani team, I guess. Last time, a dust bowl was dished out in B'lore, India lost big time when SMG made 96 in the last inning.

Seriously, I don't think that there has been ever any conscious efforts to corner any significant advantages by preparing taylor-made pitches whenever Pakistan visited, for both the teams are subcontinetal teams with similar conditions and nature-wise alike in skills.

Pitch is a non-issue, that way.

And, what do you expect impersonally, Akhtar Miyan?

Impersonally, I expect Pakistan to whitewash India

india india india india wins...........

India jeet gaya ..............

Whoever wins , the pressure to perform will be there on the players , and the matches will be great to watch.


Anil

Transcending borders

Can India match Pakistan's grace and hospitality?

Sambit Bal

February 17, 2005

During a casual conversation a couple of weeks ago, a senior member of the Indian team revealed his worst fears about Pakistan's oncoming tour of India. It wasn't a rib-cracking and toe-crunching spell from Shoaib Akhtar, a purple patch from Inzamam-ul-Haq, or India's indifferent form this season. "I just hope," he said, "we, as a nation, are able to reciprocate in kind to the manner Indians were treated in Pakistan when they toured last year."

It's a fear palpably felt by every Indian who set his or her foot in Pakistan during those magical days. Like us, he had seen doors and hearts open, he had felt the warmth and goodwill which was too spontaneous to have been a put-on, he had seen the Indian flags flying proudly in the stands, seen pictures of Indian revellers on the streets of Lahore, and like us, he too is left wondering if India can match the grace and the hospitality. Will we see Pakistani flags fluttering in our grounds? Will we see a procession of Pakistani bikers on our streets? Will we able to celebrate the event of cricket, irrespective of who wins?

Perhaps we are expecting the impossible. To expect anything to match the spirit of last February is a tall order. The red carpet from the state and the cricket administration was expected, but the surge of goodwill on the streets, in the shops, at homes, in taxis and restaurants wasn't part of a grand design. It just happened. One thing led to the other. A better explanation of this can be found in Malcolm Gladwell's acclaimed book Tipping Point, which explores the phenomenon of little things making a big difference.

It perhaps took small things – a boy painting himself in the national colours of India and Pakistan, someone stitching two flags together, the first few despatches filed by Indian journalists – that got the emotions stirring and in no time a spirit of brotherhood had spread across on both sides of the border. It was special, perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime experience. To expect a repeat might be a sure recipe for disappointment. But still, we have a right to expect, for what happened then was wonderful.

What can we read from the signs? A few vandals have tried to damage the pitch at Mohali; the Shiv Sena, the party which was responsible for getting a tour by Pakistan cancelled once, has been making unwelcome noises, and Narendra Modi, the man singularly responsible for giving the state of Gujarat a bad name, has been, expectedly, his usual intemperate self.

Worse, the BCCI, which has the highest stake in the forthcoming series, has taken a strangely blasé approach to scheduling. That Ahmedabad would be a sticking point everyone knew for months. Yet instead of taking a common-sense approach, the BCCI chose the precipitatory option of putting Ahmedabad in the itinerary. It was an amazingly short-sighted move, prompted by immediate expedience. By rotation, it was Ahmedabad's turn, but instead of trying to settle the matter internally, the BCCI chose the softer option. Even now, it is hoping a decision will be forced by the government. That's a strange attitude from a body which misses no opportunity to proclaim its autonomy.

When India toured Pakistan, the BCCI ensured that it got everything it asked for, including a highly contentious clause that empowered it to call off the tour at the first instance of slightest of crowd trouble. Karachi and Peshawar were kept off the Test schedule, and the Indian cricketers received a security cover reserved for heads of state. It is a cynic's argument that the Pakistani cricket authorities allowed themselves to be arm-twisted because the board's solvency depended on that tour. Grace and mutual consideration demanded the BCCI be sensitive to the internal compulsions of the PCB. It is not a time to debate if Ahmedabad is as dangerous a place as Karachi, it is a question of accommodating perceptions and honouring sentiments. By its obtuse handling of the issue, the BCCI has only ended up creating an ugly political controversy.

How does it bode for the series? Has India slipped even before it could get moving? That's a bleak view that does not take into account the power of the human heart. What happened in Pakistan last year wasn't expected. It wasn't planned. It wasn't powered by propaganda. What is needed is a few little lights to kindle a giant flame. Let's invest in hope. It's a better feeling than dread.

Sambit Bal is the editor of Cricinfo in India and of Wisden Asia Cricket magazine.

© Cricinfo

Well Shoaiby is out of the series (big surprise)...could just be a blessing in disguise...

So I hear that Sami, Shabbir, and Saqlain are also out of the reckoning! Then, who's gonna bowl for Pakistan?

Shoaib might come back for the one-day series, if he recovers by then, but it certainly is a big blow to Pak.

Prince, I think Shoaib (or for that matter, any tearaway fast bowler) for one dayers is as effective on the slow and low subcontinent pitches as grazing cows mooing to shoo away lions from the field.

dn't dare underestimate the pak bwlng guys.They always spring a surprise specially against india.Suddenly u will find a never unheard bowler making the headlines in the series.Tht country has raw talent & whtever be the infighting,groupism they hv but on field those guys give their heart out.
So,lets hope it should b a closely fought series irrespective of whoever wins.
CRICKET should b the winner.
js

Pakistan recall Arshad Khan for India tour

Cricinfo staff

February 19, 2005

Younis Khan has been named as Pakistan's vice-captain for their forthcoming tour of India, while Arshad Khan, the tall offspinner, has earned a recall to the Test team. Shoaib Akhtar, who recently ruled himself out of contention with a hamstring injury, was left out of the 15-man squad announced today by the Pakistan Cricket Board.

Shabbir Ahmed, who has been struggling with injury, did not recover in time and nstead the pace department is spearheaded by Mohammad Sami, and also includes Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Mohammad Khalil. Pakistan will also lean heavily on Abdul Razzaq's medium-pace.

Danish Kaneria heads the spinners and will be assisted by Arshad, who was rewarded with a recall for performing consistently in domestic cricket in Pakistan. Arshad last played a Test against England in 2000-01. Shoaib Malik and Shahid Afridi, the allrounders, strengthen the spin department.

Squad Taufeeq Umar, Salman Butt, Yasir Hameed, Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), Yousuf Youhana, Younis Khan, Asim Kamal, Abdul Razzaq, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal (wk), Danish Kaneria, Mohammad Sami, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Arshad Khan, Mohammad Khalil.

© Cricinfo

I personally can't believe Arshad Khan and Mohammad Khalil were picked !

They are both CRAP AT INTERNATIONAL level.

Although I am dissapointed with the squad chosen, I would pick this side:

Taufeeq Umar
Salman Butt
Younis Khan
Inzamam ul Haq
Yousuf Youhana
Abdul Razzaq
Shahid Afridi
Kamran Akmal
Naved ul Hasan
Mohammed Sami
Danish Kaneria

I don't know much about many of these recent newcomers in the Pakistan squad, except for the few I saw during the Pak vs Ind series.

My Indian 11 would be:

Sehwag
Chopra or Kaif
Dravid
Tendulkar
Laxman
Ganguly
Karthik
Pathan
Kumble
Singh, H.
Khan

No surprises, except Kaif who I feel deserves a chance, especially after his recent showing against the Aussies. Other than that I wouldn't mind dropping one of the slow bowlers for a fast one depending on the conditions; in my books probably Nehra would fill the void, is he fit?

Flex

Thats one hell of a battin' line up.

Ind has an awesome batting lineup that is stronger than Pak, but Pak have the all-rounders that Ind do not have, so each team has their strengths and their weaknesses.

Arshad Khan being recalled is a big surprise, but frankly with Danish and Afridi both in the playing eleven (if that is the case), I don't think he'll get much playing time.

My pakistani friends.........
any info abt Mussie?What is he doing these days?is he still playing 1st class crkt?What a talent but just afded out.
js

Mussie ?

I trust you mean Mushtaq Ahmed ? He is playing FC Cricket for NBP, and county cricket for Sussex.

He is also part of the Tablighi Jamaat Muslim group. Has really found himself lately.

http://usa.cricinfo.com/link_to_database/A..._27AUG2003.html

I only found out yesterday Arshad Khan is 33!!! What's so wrong with Saqqie and Mushie then?

I been to Tabligh Jamaat a few times. You get some really funny incidents. One time we met some Jehovah's witnesses during ghast and began conversing with them in the street. Boy, was it a sight to see or what! Two sets of religious missionaries debating away and totally entrenched in their positions. I think the locals were happy!

So good 2 knw mussie is still playing serious cricket.But what this group is all about?
Wasim bhai has gone on record saying tht Arshad Khan has developed a good floater or the doosra as saqi likes to term it.Arshad is a bwlr who flights the ball but off the wicket he is very slow...tht nip off the wkt is missing.Lets see how he fares.
js

Arshad has taken 553 FC Wickets, and I think its because of his experiece he was picked over Tahir Khan, Imran Tahir, Saeed Ajmal etc.

Imran talked Shoaib out of touring

Cricinfo staff
February 23, 2005


Imran Khan has admitted that he talked Shoaib Akhtar out of making himself available for the Indian tour. Shoaib pulled out with a hamstring injury, and Imran said that he had been consulted before the decision was taken.

Speaking to Times News Network, Imran said, "Shoaib was willing to make himself available for the selection but I advised him against doing so. He was confused whether to tour or not. He was in two minds when he came to me for advice. He didn't know how to respond to the hamstring niggle. I told him if it's a hamstring rupture then he shouldn't tour at all. As it turned out, Shoaib had a big rupture."

Shoaib performed exceptionally in the first Test against Australia at Perth, and also bowled with real zeal in the first innings of the second Test before losing his zip and fitness. Thereafter, he was a convenient whipping-boy for Pakistan's poor displays on tour - but Imran suggested that others were just as much to blame. "Shoaib is slightly difficult to handle and the PCB likes to pass the buck," he said. "They all need soul-searching."

Imran edded: "It's sad that in Pakistan everyone, even President Musharraf, is unwilling to accept his mistakes. I say that because it is President Musharraf who formed the PCB which in turn appointed Inzamam-ul-Haq as captain. None of them realise that our poor performance is due to them also."

According to Imran, there was little point in Shoaib rushing back into the fray. "Realistically, I don't see him playing the Test series, but if he stretches himself too far then maybe he can play the third Test," he said. "But for me, he shouldn't play before the third or the fourth one-dayer. He should first play a first-class game and then think of international cricket. Shoaib also realises that if he plays and fails then he'll again be made a scapegoat."

Shoaib himself ruled out any half-baked comeback bid. "I don't want to rush back," he said, perhaps aware of how poorly he had performed under the weight of expectation against India last year. "I want to be away from media attention. It's a question of my career and I don't want to compromise on it. But yes, I don't rule myself out from coming back for the one-day series."

Pakistan fast bowler Rana Naved-ul-Hasan hopes that the tour of India will help him mature as a cricketer besides assisting him in cementing his place in the Test team.

"It will be a big tour for me and I am eagerly looking forward to it. I am confident that this tour will help me mature as a cricketer and I will be able to permanently cement my place as a genuine fast bowler in the Test team," said the 27-year-old medium-pacer from Lahore as Pakistan prepared to leave for India on their first tour in six years.

Naved first burst onto international scene with his one-day debut against Sri Lanka at Sharjah immediately after the World Cup when Pakistan dropped eight players after the first round exit.

He has also played two Tests but more importantly has been given a lead role in the absence of fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar who is down with hamstring injury.

"India will be a great learning place because I will be playing against the best from whom I have an excellent opportunity to learn. The wickets will make me think and push me to keep trying something different," Naved, who has taken 33 wickets in 22 one-day internationals, said.

"I can say that the wickets will have low bounce and they will be slow. It will be a different experience because I will be coming after bowling in bouncy and quicker Australian tracks."

"In Australia, I wished I would get Brian Lara and my dream came true. Now I am praying to get a few top Indian batsmen wickets, including Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar," Naved said.

"Rahul is my favorite batsmen while Sachin is a great batsman. It would be a personal satisfaction if I manage to get their wickets."

The Sheikhupura-born Naved, respected in Pakistan cricket circles because of his commitment and dedication, said he was delighted to be bestowed with the responsibility of sharing the new ball in India.

"Shoaib Akhtar's loss has been my gain and I am delighted with the prospects of sharing the new ball in India. Opening the bowling for Pakistan means a lot of responsibility on my shoulders besides the honour of being bracketed in history with legends like Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Sarfraz Nawaz who have opened the Pakistan attack with the new cherry.

"We will all miss Shoaib Akhtar. He is a great bowler and he will be missed. But we will try our best to put his absence behind us and try to perform with whatever resources we have. We are a well knit team with each player backing the other for this important assignment," Naved, who will shoulder bowling responsibilities with Mohammad Sami and Mohammad Khalil, said.

Naved said he has heard that fast bowlers hunt in pairs but added he was too early in his career to form a pair.

"Maybe, this tour will give me my partner. I have not set high goals for myself on the Indian tour. My ambition is to get early Indian wickets and have a lion's share in Pakistan's performance on the tour. A wicket that helps Pakistan win the Test will be better than bagful of wickets in a lost Test."

Besides performance in the field, Naved said he would like to utilise free time in sight seeing and visiting historic places.

"India has a rich history and if cricket permitted, I will try to go anywhere I can. But on top of the priority list is Ajmer while the second is Taj Mahal," Naved said.

Naved said he would be missing his father who died during the first tri-nation series final against Australia last month.

"This will be the first time I will leave my home without meeting him. He had been a huge influence on my career. He always supported and backed me throughout my life, even when I was performing but not getting a chance at the highest level.

"When I was first selected, he told me that it was easy to get in the team but very difficult to stay there.

"He had advised me to work hard, pray five times a day and always thank the Almighty for whatever he has given. I am religiously following his advice and the God is helping me," Naved said.

I think we have a even battle with this line up

Dravid (as always) the mainstay if Sehwag fials.

Youhana if Imzamam fails.

Bowling without Shoaib seems to be lacklustre.

Indeed the bowling is weak...but not lacklustre. Sami, Naved & Danish are all very capable.

Add Afridi to the mix and you have a competitive attack. Afridi has improved his bowling alot and hopefully he will get a chance to play in the test side.

9-0 so far. Rain stopped play

Poor weather frustrates Pakistan

March 04, 2005 17:52 IST

Poor weather again frustrated Pakistan in the build-up to their first Test series in India for six years following a truncated second day in the warm-up game against the BCCI President's XI at the HPCA stadium in Dharamsala on Friday.

The HPCA stadium in DharamsalaAll-rounder Abdul Razzaq provided a bright spot, top-scoring with an aggressive 63 for the only half century of the innings before Pakistan were bowled out for 273 on the verge of lunch in the three-day match.

The home team had reached 91 for one when poor light midway through the afternoon session forced the players indoors at this Himalayan hill station with play eventually called off as gloomy conditions persisted.

BCCI President's XI captain Mohammad Kaif, left out of the Indian squad for the first Test starting in Mohali on Tuesday, was 42 not out with left-handed opener Dheeraj Jadhav, highest run-scorer in Ranji Trophy competition this season, on 30.

Pakistan, resuming on 165 for five, lost Asim Kamal in the morning's second over, trapped leg before wicket by paceman Shib Shankar Paul without adding to his overnight score of 43.

Razzaq and wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal (34) then produced an entertaining 59-run seventh wicket partnership before the latter was dismissed to make it 228 for seven.

Razzaq held one end up for about two hours, hitting all but 11 runs in boundaries, including two straight sixes against part-time off spinner Venugopal Rao, who was the most successful host bowler claiming three for 48.

He was the last man out, holing out left-arm spinner Neeraj Patel to deep midwicket.

Pakistan pacemen started promisingly when Rana Naved bowled opener Satyajit Parab for 11 but then struggled on a slow pitch.

Mohammad Sami, leading the new ball attack in the absence of injured strike bowler Shoaib Akhtar, lost momentum after bowling two testing overs at the start.

Kaif hit him for two consecutive fours in one over and then smashed Razzaq past point for two more fours. Razzaq, coming on as first change, struggled for rhythm with Jadhav flicking him off his pads for two consecutive fours.

Scoreboard:

Pakistan first innings: (overnight 165-5)
S Butt run out 21
T Umar c Kaif b R P Singh 37
Y Khan c Jadhav b Gagandeep Singh 0
Y Youhana c P Patel b Paul 18
Inzamam-ul-Haq lbw b Rao 35
A Kamal lbw b Paul 43
A Razzaq c Rao b N Patel 63
K Akmal c Kaif b Rao 34
M Sami c Jadhav b Rao 0
R Naved c P Patel b Gagandeep 9
D Kaneria not out 4

Extras: (b-5 lb-2 nb-2) 9

Total: (all out, 67.3 overs) 273

Fall of wickets: 1-54 2-55 3-83 4-83 5-155 6-169 7-228 8-236 9-249

Bowling: R P Singh 18-5-67-1, Gagandeep Singh 20-5-60-2, Powar 4-0-22-0 (nb-1), Paul 14-2-60-2 (nb-1), Rao 9-1-48-3, N Patel 2.3-0-9-1

BCCI President's XI first innings:
D Jadhav not out 30
S Parab b Naved 11
M.Kaif not out 42

Extras: (lb-4 nb-4) 8

Total: (for one wicket, 22.2 overs) 91

To bat: N Patel, V Rao, P Patel, S Raina, R Powar, R P Singh, G Singh, S S Paul

Fall of wicket: 1-17

Bowling: Sami 6-0-28-0 (nb-2), Naved 8-4-17-1 (nb-2), Razzaq 5.2-0-34-0, Kaneria 3-0-8-0.

Most of us know the match situation, if not check the following inks.

Full scorecard can be found here:

http://uk.cricinfo.com/link_to_database/NE...-12MAR2005.html

Match bulletin here:

http://uk.cricinfo.com/link_to_database/AR..._08MAR2005.html



Here's a great article from Cricinfo.

This part was funny - Unsatisfied, I persisted: But why come all the way over here, with all the bureaucratic hassle that is involved? Finally, sheepishly, he gave a clue when he asked about how he could go explore the "nightlife of Chandigarh, you know, disco-shisco."


The oneness of two countries

Roving Reporter by Osman Samiuddin in Mohali

March 8, 2005

The first three days of my stay in India confirmed what a growing number of people had told me – that there is little real difference between the two countries and especially the two Punjabs.

For three days I happily drifted along with this stereotype. Sure, Delhi has a thriving, seemingly active middle class but there is, as in Karachi and Lahore, a posh housing society set up by the armed forces (Delhi's Defence Colony is in parts remarkably similar in spirit and architecture to Lahore and Karachi's Defence Housing Authorities). The roads are also occasionally potholed and the Delhi taxi driver (mine was called, unsurprisingly I thought, Raju) could give his Karachi counterpart a real run for his rupee.

And as I took the Shatabdi Express out of Delhi to Chandigarh, I might have been in a curiously rickety yet contemporary train (it had plug points for laptop access!) that is unlikely to be seen in Pakistan, but outside, on the outskirts of the city, was the other face of Delhi. An endless stream of the most wretched slums, stuffed with tinned and mud excuses for housing – the kind so ubiquitous in the metropolis of Karachi - provided maybe the most startling reminder that Pakistan and India were both after all, one country once.

Chandigarh itself is surely the long-lost twin of Islamabad, partitioned quite possibly in time-honoured Bollywood fashion – at the Kumbh ka mela. Both are planned cities (from the 1950s) and evoke a similar sense of ominous, dislocated alienation in the evenings – the roads are incredibly smooth and wide and lined by enviable greenery. If Chandigarh benefits from the beauty of the Shivalik Hills, then Islamabad boasts the Margallas. Above all, both cities are mapped – as if in an unknowing ode to the soulless future depicted in Blade Runner - not in districts or suburbs but sectors.

But by virtue of being inhabited by the gregarious and ostentatious Punjabi, and not a foreign diplomat as is the case with Islamabad, Chandigarh is the more fashionable and with-it twin. There are bars, pubs, numerous restaurants, apparently some discotheques as well and a bustling marketplace in Sector 17 which will satisfy the most ardent shopaholic from across the border. Last night, in the centre of the marketplace, there was also a Pakistani poetry recital event.

By far the biggest difference, the most startling reminder that you are not in Pakistan comes from inside the PCA stadium in Mohali on my fourth day, the first of the Test match. In size, shape and design it is not a world away from the stadium in Rawalpindi.

The day before the game started, the stadium was home to typically subcontinent chaos inside; journalists scrambling for practice sessions, looking for media accreditation passes, the best seats in the press box, the best seats for the press conferences. All were trying to be handled by simultaneously amicable and intimidating security guards. But once the match got underway this morning, the stadium – and India – was transformed. From early in the morning, the stands were over three-quarters full.

Briefly, until the players appeared in their whites, I thought we were at a one-day match. Having watched the series last year surrounded by empty concrete and barely a whisper from the crowd, 15-18,000 colourful, jovial, loud Indians and Pakistanis for a Test match was as much a shock to the system as any. They banged drums, blew horns, waved flags, flew inane banners and all with unflagging enthusiasm.

The greater shock is the presence of, according to officials, approximately 3000 Pakistanis in Chandigarh and its surrounding areas to watch this Test. If that is the case, then there are more Pakistanis, and by a considerable margin, than appeared in the Lahore Test between the two sides last year; more, probably, than appeared in any of the tests from that series. Explain please?

One 25-year old fan from Lahore, using his Pakistani flag as a superhero's cape, explained that he had come here not just for the match. "I also wanted to explore at least some of India. Youngsters in both countries are educated from a young age to dislike India or Pakistan. But I wanted to explore the place myself and find out what it is like. Both countries are barely different." And why didn't he go explore some Indians at the Lahore test last year? "It's much easier watching it on TV." Unsatisfied, I persisted: But why come all the way over here, with all the bureaucratic hassle that is involved? Finally, sheepishly, he gave a clue when he asked about how he could go explore the "nightlife of Chandigarh, you know, disco-shisco."

And despite talk that the dosti-dosti bandwagon might have run out of steam, other fans were unequivocal that they had received a royal reception. And if some of the banners are to be believed – "I hate politics but I love cricket" and "We have only love for each other"- then maybe there is some more mileage, albeit limited in this dosti.

© Cricinfo

congrates we won.






kudos to TEAM INDIA

yups we won-400+ was always a tough job

was scared after the way Afridi played

but i guess pitch plays differently the next morning.

salaam to kumble

cinemaniac2

In our desire to see "our" team win, are we not depriving ourselves of appreciation and enjoyment of the game?

To me personally, India's win in Kolkata was satisfying, but no big thrill. Whereas Pakistan's fightback in Mohali made for glorious cricket.

Pakistan came as the underdogs in this series to play (on paper) a stronger team on their home turf. It is "expected" of India to win. For that matter, even losing to Pakistan would be considered no big deal, in the light of a perceptible drop in temperature in their traditional match-ups. Especially after India's loss at home to Australia, an aberration for a team which is a tiger at home and a lamb abroad. That is why the performance in the earlier away-series against Australia is deservedly rated a tremendous achievement.

In what I consider the greater interest, viz. the game, I was hoping that Afridi's blitzkrieg the previous evening would be a harbinger of a historic day for Cricket. That was not to be. Sure, had Pakistan pulled off a win, I would have been disappointed for the Indian team. Yet, thrilled by the kind of cricket that would have pulled off such a turn-around!

In the absence of Shoaib, the pace-attack of both teams seem to be on par. If the grass on the wicket had not been shorn off just prior to the match, there might have been a more intriguing tussle. Not that Kaneria has been found wanting.

I had the good fortune to watch some all-time greats, e.g. Garfield Sobers, Rohan Kanhai, and later Alvin Kallicharan. To see Lawry's Australians and Dexter's MCC. On such occasions it was a dilemna for me: would I rather miss out on the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness the artistry of Sober's blade or the bludgeoning by Kanhai's, just to see "my" team win? The match-result is, after all, relegated to the record-books. Whereas the sight of a fiery Hall/Griffith pace-attack, of Lock spinning a web round the Indian batsmen, of my then super-heroes Harvey and O'Neill displaying their vaunted batting skills --- they are memories to last a life-time.

Eventually I made a pact with myself, albeit a selfish one. I wanted to see great performances from the visitors in the match I witnessed, even if India lost comprehensively. And that the visitors should fail miserably in all the matches at the other centers, so that India would win!

But then, I preferred to see Viswanath score 30 rather than Gavaskar score a century. The technical perfection of Gavaskar that might set up an Indian victory was (to me) of lesser value than the class and grace and style than went into those few runs made by Vish in a doomed effort.

Most normal human beings would prefer to see great performances from their own team members, not the oppositions. If you want to see a great performance by a member of the opposing team, then hopefully it would be against some other team , not your own team!



Anil