SHARJAH, April14: Winning really is a state of mind. In a series where the side batting first has won every match, Ajay Jadeja said before the toss, ``It's possible to win here when chasing if you play sensibly and keep wickets intact.''His team then went out and played absolutely according to plan. Under Jadeja, India has played like a team inspired and bent on showing the world that they are not totally dependent on Sachin Tendulkar. Thanks to extra efforts from players like Jadeja himself, Venkatesh Prasad, Rahul Dravid and Sadagoppan Ramesh, India have been able to fight their way back into the tournament after making a disastrous start.On the other hand, Pakistan have gone from an appearance of invincibility, to looking a deflated outfit when Dravid and Ramesh took total control of the match.Dravid played with a lot of confidence from the start and a pull shot off Shoaib Akhtar showed that he was one Indian batsman who was not mesmerised by the extra pace. Dravid took charge of the innings andlooked a dominating batsman, a role that he has to continue to play even when Tendulkar and Mohammed Azharuddin return to the side. He was an enormous help to the fast-mproving Ramesh and on the odd occasion that the left-hander's concentration wavered, Dravid was on hand with a word of encouragement. The other area where Dravid took charge was in the running between wickets and despite the fact that both men were eventually run out, the positive approach that was adopted paid handsome dividends. In this innings Dravid looked every inch a forceful No 3, ready to take charge.Ramesh is a fast learner and is possessed of a very good temperament and his success will allow India to play Saurav Ganguly in the middle-order when Tendulkar returns. The fact that cricket is a game of skill, ability and temperament was amply displayed during Pakistan's innings.Moin Khan is a perfect example of the part that character plays in maximising the natural ability and he is a classical team man. Like Alan Knott and RodneyMarsh before him and Ian Healy of the current 'keepers, Moin saves his best with the bat for when it is needed most.I was amazed to hear Rameez Raja say that when he first started, Moin was basically a No 11 batsman. It's a tribute to his determination that he is now recognised as virtually a seventh batsman in the Pakistan side and he has Test centuries to his name. He's also versatile as a batsman, capable of accumulating runs and utilising his lightning speed between the wickets and then in the late overs, clearing the boundary with a big hit. In between time, he often imitates former England 'keeper Knott and drives the opposition mad by playing shots that seem to be unorthodox, but in fact come quite naturally to Moin.Moin appears to like batting with Salim Malik, who is an extremely calm player, also suited to tight situations. So often this pair has retrieved seemingly hopeless situations for Pakistan and once again it was forced into rebuilding mode after Jadeja had commanded a sterling Indianeffort. Obviously in concert with the bowlers, Jadeja had some very definite plans to shackle the Pakistan batsmen and it worked so well that the pressure built to the point where India claimed two run outs. India are playing as a team and Jadeja's ability to communicate with the bowlers has played a big part in improving their confidence.India now need to continue in this vein in the final having given themselves the chance to win, by swinging the momentum in their favour. However, under Wasim Akram Pakistan are an honest side he is not frightened to admit they've played badly and that allows the team to sit down and put their performance under the microscope in order to improve.The final should be a great clash, enhanced by the fact that Jadeja has shown both teams that the side batting second is not necessarily destined to run second.
