The world’s finest middle order today succumbed meekly and handed the Pakistanis a series levelling victory. Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and skipper Sourav Ganguly — between them — scored just 39 runs and more importantly faced just 34 of the 83.5 overs that they lasted today. Tendulkar faced half of those overs but failed to look for runs. There were 53 deliveries between the two boundaries that he scored. This startling statistic reveals that no one from the Indian camp was able to grasp the rhythm of the game. Neither were the middle-order batsmen looking to score runs; nor were they thinking about occupying the crease and bat out the overs to save the Test. India’s batting disaster boils down to one factor. Today the Indian batsmen were playing for the series, not for the Test. Pakistani skipper Inzamam-Ul Haq summed it up best when he said that the defensive strategy of the Indian batsmen encouraged him to launch an all out attack. And the result was that for the first time in the series, the Indian batting failed to deliver and it cost them a series win. A 1-1 draw for Pakistan is a victory but for India the way they have dominated this series is nothing if not a moral defeat. With the opening batsmen Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag batting out the crucial opening hour of the final day’s play adding 45 runs, the match was nicely set up for India. India needed 313 from the remaining 76 overs to win the match and technically, all four results were still possible. Gambhir batted sensibly and took most of the strike to ensure against any early damage. With Sehwag not playing his signature tune, that was important for the chase. No one had accounted for Gambhir but he displayed the gall and the temperament of a veteran, never letting the occasion overwhelm him. When a brilliant throw from Abdul Razzaq caught Virender Sehwag stranded mid-pitch, panic set in. The Indian batting assumed exaggerated proportions of caution and suddenly it seemed that they had stopped chasing the Pakistani total a tad too early in the day. Here were world class batsmen who have been in worse situations and yet have pulled off sensational wins in the recent past. But today they were a bundle of nerves; today they were defeated. At lunch the Indians were 102-1 and a draw seemed imminent. Soon after lunch India lost Gambhir and that Ganguly believes was the turning point of the match. “It put us under a lot of pressure,” Ganguly said. How could the dismissal of an opening batsman — falling in the mid-twenties through the series — who scores a fifty and gives his side the perfect start to a run chase be the turning point of the match? It should have given the Indian batsmen more confidence about the surface and the attack and only released some pressure off them. Openers merely set up the game, middle-order batsmen drive the team home. Skipper Ganguly who aggregates 48 runs in the three Tests and averages 9 for the series has some serious soul-searching to do besides finding better excuses to justify defeat. Wickets fell in a bunch in the period after lunch and just 38 runs were added in the entire session. Inzamam admitted that the moment the Indian batsmen went defensive his bowlers got the confidence to attack and dominate. Despite the batting debacle, all that separated India from a draw and a defeat were six overs. If one batsman had applied himself in the positive manner like Anil Kumble did, that shared trophy would have been India’s alone. THE DAY IN A MINUTE FIRST SESSION O-29, R-77, W-1 India begin on a confused state of mind. Undecided whether to go in for a victory or simply hold fort. Right then half the match seens lost with the Sehwag’s wicket SECOND SESSION O-29, R-38, W-4 India learn their biggest lesson — do not try to defend on turners that too on the last day of a Test. The visitors eat into the middle-order, as Afridi begins to take over THIRD SESSION O-26, R-74, W-5 The high tea and then the big blow. Tendulkar falls to Afridi to give Pakistan their first big hope of a win. Kumble — the least expected — provides resistence before the last nail is struck Prime Number 89 The number of minutes Kumble batted. Something to make the match at home worth remembering after one of his worst Test match spells, the leggie frustrates the visitors with an unbeaten 37, bring a draw just short of six mandatory overs Spell Check SHAHID AFRIDI O-7, M-6, R-1, W-1 Afridi’s spell immediately after tea when he picked up the all-important wicket of Tendulkar. Undoubtedly India’s nemesis on the last two days of the match, the leggie came up with six maidens in the seven overs he bowled, to further strengthen Pakistan’s claim for victory SCOREBOARD
