The first day at the Gaddafi Stadium belonged to a single Indian batsman and a lone Pakistani bowler. In the application of their craft, Yuvraj Singh and Umar Gul, Pakistan’s Pathan, demonstrated what it takes to make the most of a lively track. Where their teammates squandered their opportunities by reconciling themselves with the seemingly inevitable, the two youngsters uncluttered their game and stuck to basics. On a verdant stretch of 22 yards that should have had Shoaib Akhtar regretting his reported offer to withdraw from the second Test, Gul gave his seniors some lessons in pace bowling. In the opening hours of play on a seaming, moisture-laden wicket, he bowled stump to stump, and let the track do the rest. On a day when skipper Rahul Dravid did the right thing by electing to bat and play to his team’s strengths, Yuvraj highlighted the merits of matching that audacity with an offensive mindset. At stumps, then, the Test stands evenly poised. Pakistan are 61 for one, in reply to India’s 287. This Lahore match could go either way. Grey eminences here in Lahore, in fact, don’t discount the third, unthinkable outcome. They look at the cloudy sky above and shake their heads at the dismal prospect of an April shower. Yet, the match will, in all probability, belong to those possessed of the valour to bowl and bat straight. When play commenced, Virender Sehwag looked like he had just come off the bus from Multan and was in a hurry to telescope his innings in southern Punjab into a rapid onslaught. After Akash Chopra was sent packing by Mohammad Sami, as erratic as he was last week, Sehwag drove the second wicket partnership with Dravid to bring up its 50 in just 47 balls and 35 minutes. Enter Gul who, at 19, is a self-professed pupil of Glenn McGrath’s televised bursts, and he showed he is a quick learner. He bowled wicket to wicket, and soon had Sehwag touching one on to keeper Kamran Akmal. Gul, who got his Test cap last year upon the exodus of longtime constituents of Pakistan’s pace attack, kept at it and within a 12-over spell separated by the lunch break he had five of the top order back in the shed. A defensive Sachin Tendulkar was caught plumb in front. VVS Laxman, the soles of whose shoes today were seemingly coated with glue, edged him to second slip. Blame it on Akhtar and Sami. They fattened the visitors on waywardness at Multan, and here in Lahore the batsmen were rendered complacent against the dangers of line and length. By the 31st over, India were hobbling at 147 for seven. Yuvraj Singh’s place in the Test side is the subject of much controversy. Today he has made a bid for a permanent slot in the side with a century that hauled India to a respectable 287. And that claim rests little on any perceived adaptation to the longer version of the game. In fact, Yuvraj’s innings today demands an innovation in finalising Test sides. Maybe it is time for one-day specialists, for the so-called finishers, to be sent in at a slot just above the tail. Yuvraj has an instinct for expediency, in Lahore he showed that he can balance the imperative to preserve his wicket with the desire to score briskly lest he be left stranded by swiftly departing tailenders. Adam Gilchrist plays a similar role for Australia, Jonty Rhodes once did the same for South Africa. In the past couple of years, India have agonised over their inability to locate wicketkeepers and bowlers who can extend their partnership with the last recognized batsman. Having struck nil in that hunt, perhaps they need to consider including batsmen who can quicken their scoring rate to factor in feeble partners. In his comments after the match, Yuvraj confirmed his strategy. ‘‘I tried to play till the end’’, he said. ‘‘We didn’t bat as well as we should have. I didn’t want to hang around there. I was confident that if I played my shots, I’d get runs. I wanted to get India a decent score.’’ Those queries, however, can wait another day. On Tuesday, the first session of play will be critical for India. There could be ample swing for Irfan Pathan, Monday’s hero more on the basis of his almost elegant 49. Pakistan’s pair who will be taking guard against him, Imran Farhat and Yasir Hameed, wield a tremulous mix of elegant strokeplay and tentative interludes. They may not have it in them to follow Sunil Gavaskar’s famous dictum, give the first hour to the bowlers. That one hour could well determine the direction of this Test.
