Greentop at Lahore won’t help Pakistan

The Pakistan bowling was awful. They tried to bowl too fast, which wasn’t the way to go about on a slow track. What was worse is they didn’t seem to learn from their mistakes, session after session. Shoaib Akhtar relies too much on speed and if he cuts down on pace and sticks to a line within the stumps, he will have batsmen guessing.

Bowlers like Michael Holding and Malcolm Marshall were equally quick, but they had far more control. They knew how to use the new and old ball, when to bowl fast, who to bowl fast to and who not to. Pace alone hasn’t taken any career too far.

Anil Kumble was a direct antithesis to that. He has become very wily. When I used to field at short leg to him, the ball used to come so quickly. And he seemed to be at the batsmen all the time. Now he bowls googlies, uses angles, even slows up his deliveries; all without sacrificing his accuracy which has been the hallmark of his bowling.

Virender Sehwag is the toast of the nation and rightly so, for 300 runs in a Test innings is a momentous achievement. He is a very attacking batsman and bound to give chances. But he has to evolve like all those who have had a long career in international cricket. You can’t stick to the same methods all your life. Sure, people will want him to bat the same way, but the same people would be at his throat once he starts to fail.

You can’t ignore the issue of declaration, which is still a subject of discussion. We have heard the team management agree that they made a mistake and let’s accept it and move on. Let’s not harp too much on Sachin Tendulkar and his unbeaten 194. But I must say that if Sachin had been a little more aggressive, we would have been 725 and not 675 for 5 declared and Tendulkar would have been 225 and not 194 as it eventually emerged. He clearly looked a batsman who wanted to stay unbeaten.

I felt happy for Rahul Dravid for he did a good job as a captain and rotated his bowlers well. He didn’t show much aggression on the field but that’s the way he is. At no stage should it imply that he hasn’t been aggressive from inside. Some cricketers are very aggressive though they might not appear so from outside.

Finally, I was happy that Indians could connect with one of their direct throws. Yuvraj Singh’s act of tilting back Inzamam-ul Haq’s stumps with his great pick-up and throw was the turning point of this Test. One can’t emphasise enough the importance of direct hits. As for Inzamam, well the Pakistan captain ran very, very poorly. His side was struggling to stay afloat in the match and the Pakistan captain appeared to be strolling as if in a park. He should have been running for his life. Literally.

(Cricket News)