Pak are winners despite penalty in Extra Time

Those watching on TV would have seen the Pitch Maps. In the first couple of matches the only bowlers to maintain a line, bowling to one side of the wicket, were Ashish Nehra and Mohammed Sami; today, it was Abdul Razzaq and Irfan Pathan. And their figures are proof of their superiority over the rest.

Today, Pakistan went back to their Karachi ways, giving away 23 wides and four no-balls, while India kept things in check with just seven wides.

Now, one side of this story proves something that most readers won’t accept very readily. That India — at least the one on show right now — are a comparatively inferior side to Pakistan. Because if we take a hypothetical situation where both teams are absolutely stingy with their extras, it’s evident that Pakistan would have outscored India with comparative ease.

Of course, the argument can’t be concluded in as simplistic a manner. So we move to part two of the story.

Which is this: With all the hype surrounding the Andy Atkinson-laid pitches, and all the talk of them being a bowlers’ nightmare, most bowlers haven’t even tried being as good as they can be. In Karachi first and then Peshawar, the wickets started out as ideal ODI conditions for the quicks. Movement both off the pitch and in the air was there in plenty but none of the bowlers did their bit to maximise the advantage.

The conclusion is that the conditions are not as terrible for the bowlers as is being construed. At least at the top of innings. The problem has been with the bowlers, an Indian attack comprising mostly of the walking wounded and the Pakistani one of people without a sense of security.