Something amiss in Pakistan146;s planning

Looking at the photograph of the great Imran Khan giving a dressing down to the Pakistan fast bowlers in front of TV cameras and the public ...

Looking at the photograph of the great Imran Khan giving a dressing down to the Pakistan fast bowlers in front of TV cameras and the public gave me the impression that there8217;s something seriously wrong with the attitude in the Pakistan camp. It resembled a teacher taking his students8217; class, and was certainly not the sort of thing you want to see at the international level.

Surely the same could have been done within the closed doors of the Pak dressing room. Surely, unless there was a point to the whole thing that we missed. All these guys have been playing international cricket for a while and I think they know how to take the good with the bad. They are also, or at least should be, good enough to come back after a bad performance. But the players appeared really crestfallen in the Imran Khan Show, and I feel it was just not right. Treating them as if they have committed some heinous crime.

Yes, it is true that Pakistan had never lost a Test in Pakistan to India before. It is also true that the Pakistan fast bowlers were supposed to be better than the Indian battery of fast bowlers before the tour commenced and did not deliver the goods expected of them. And after Pakistan8217;s abject surrender in the ODI series and the first Test, some critics found it difficult to digest their failure.

But why blame only the bowlers? What about the catches dropped with such confidence and ease? What about their batsmen succumbing to pressure in the second innings? And why not admit that India played superior cricket with great planning, authority and focus, and Pakistan were outplayed in every department of the game?

Losing at Multan doesn8217;t mean that the end of the world is nigh for the Pakistanis. There are still two more Tests to go. This sort of excessive advice that is flowing in from every nook and cranny will only serve to confuse the players more. Even the thought that the wicket at Lahore for the second Test should be made more lively by keeping the grass alive is quite ridiculous. It might boomerang on them because the Indian bowlers may exploit it better if given a chance to make first use of it.

The Lahore wicket has always had the reputation of favouring batsmen. Now that the Indian batting has moved into top gear, it will be quite difficult for the Pakistan attack to run through them so easily.

At the same time, the Indians just cannot afford to sit on their laurels and get complacent. In the recent tour of Australia, they could have won the series if they had pressed harder for the win. They should have learnt from the mistake, and should go all out to get a positive result at the Gadaffi Stadium and create a bit of history. It will also prove that the New Team India can take on any team anywhere in the world and that too on any wicket.