Pathan, in promised land, maybe

In the land of reverse swing, Irfan Pathan could well be the king. The conditions 8212; the wind, the weather and even the pitch-preparatio...

In the land of reverse swing, Irfan Pathan could well be the king. The conditions 8212; the wind, the weather and even the pitch-preparation 8212; give no reason why Pathan, with a slice of luck, should not enjoy his trip to Pakistan.

His 13-over spell accounted for 61 runs but scoreboard would never tell the exact story of what the Indian attack was all about here at the Bagh-E-Jinnah ground, on Sunday. A bald track with no juice to extract for the new ball bowlers, a wicket where Umar Gul 038; Co. looked clueless the other day and somebody like Shoaib Akhtar would hate bowling on, Pathan 8212; India8217;s main weapon along with Zaheer Khan 8212; began his stint in the most interesting fashion.

Every delivery he bowled at the Pakistan A top order was meant to be aimed at the wickets, his wrist straight, the number of strides abridged.

At the end of the day, Pakistan A century-maker Imran Farhat walked up to the media and declared: 8216;8216;Pathan was looking dangerous. His was getting the ball to swing and the deliveries kept coming in.8217;8217;

This, on a wicket that was least helpful for anybody who was trying to bowl fast.

Long before Imran Khan asked Mohammad Sami to make 8216;8216;better use of his brains and his wrists,8217;8217; Indian coach Greg Chapell had explained the importance of doing so to the Indians. On Sunday, it showed that the advice 8212; to concentrate on accuracy 8212; has been put to good use when bowlers like Ajit Agarkar and Rudra Pratap Singh warmed-up on their first day with the ball.

Agarkar 8212; the most economical bowler of the day with just 28 runs from nine overs 8212; also earned the first wicket of the day, that of Bazid Khan, while Pathan sent back Mohammad Wasim and Hasan Raza.

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8216;8216;There wasn8217;t much to gain from. The trick was to bowl within our limits,8217;8217; the Baroda bowler said after the day8217;s play.

The Indians were put to some serious test by the young Pakistanis. No sooner had Pathan and Agarkar finished their early spells, the first change in Rudra Pratap Singh and Zaheer Khan did not do the attack any good. Both the bowlers were dealt harshly in their first couple of overs itself.

The only other wicket taker for the Indians was Harbhajan Singh.