LONG before the series began, experts wrote off India’s chances on the basis of its inexperienced bowling line-up. Pathan’s three Tests, Balaji’s four against Shoaib and Sami? No contest. Yet even before the one-day series had finished, the experts were having to reassess the team: India’s attack was green in youth, red in commitment and effectiveness.And the reason was clear: where Pakistan’s attack was one-dimensional, replying on sheer pace, India’s was varied — and for all seasons. Green-top or flat-top, it produced the goods.‘‘It’s the right mix of bowlers’’, says Sanjay Manjrekar. ‘‘They worked to their strengths of swinging the ball to good effect. The Pakistani youngsters are very poor players of swing bowling. They just fell in the trap set by the Indians who may not have had good pace, but they were good at swing.’’‘‘Pace is not everything’’, agrees former Pakistan bowler Aaquib Javed. Shoaib and Sami, he says, have a lot of technical faults they just have not worked on. ‘‘The problem is, earlier Shoaib bowled with Wasim and Waqar. Now he is the leader and he has not adjusted to that task. Look at Sami he got wickets at the rate of 70, that is simply not good enough. There is a problem with their wrist position.’’ The over-dependence on pace — and all from right-arm bowlers — possibly undid Pakistan, an irony given that it has been the team’s strength for long. But throughout the long tour, the only time India capitulated to Pakistani bowling was in those 90 minutes at Lahore — and that was the swing of Umar Gul, a stand-in bowler. At most other times, the attack has looked blunt and far from threatening. ‘‘The team needs a fast bowling coach’’, says Aaquib, whose name is being touted as one of the candidates. ‘‘There have been far too many injuries. There needs to be a perfect balance between matches played and rest period and time at the nets.’’ Aaquib also credits the Indian batting and says they were just too good. ‘‘Indian batting has depth and this put the Pakistan bowling under a lot of pressure. If there is no reverse swing, like was the case this time around, the Pakistani bowlers are just not good enough.’’ The difference, says Manjrekar, was Shoaib’s woeful performance. ‘‘If Shoaib had been as committed all through the series, it would have been difficult. Also I feel Sami was overrated by all of us right at the start. ’’ Pakistan coach Javed Miandad pleads injuries to key bowlers. ‘‘That deprived us of experience in the bowling because the back-up was just not good enough.’’ Pace vs Swing Where the wickets went in pakistan ODIs Pathan 8 (17.87) Balaji 6 (45.00) Akhtar 9 (29.33) Sami 11 (27.18 TESTS Pathan 12 (28.50) Balaji 12 (30.75) Akhtar 7 (42.42) Sami 7 (62.14) And that, says Sarfaraz Nawaz, is where the Indians scored. The Indians also had an injury crisis involving their fast bowlers; but every time it happened, the juniors were queueing up to be counted. ‘‘Zaheer Khan got injured in the middle of the series, despite that the young bowlers especially Balaji stood up well. I have a lot of time for Balaji, if he works on using more of the crease, then he would be more successful.’’ ‘‘Look at Irfan and Balaji. Just two months back in Australia, they were the second string, now they are the No 1. This is definitely good news for India as these guys bowled with thought.’’ This feels Manjrekar is India’s asset at the moment. ‘‘Youngsters walk into a confident Indian dressing room. They can look up to confident seniors for advice. In short you have talented young players in a very encouraging set-up.’’ But there can be a negative when you consider the lack of advice for the bowlers on the field. There is no longer a Srinath to look up to for the youngsters. Balaji and Pathan in fact made their debuts after the genial man left. Is that a handicap? ‘‘ No I do not think anyone in that dressing room would be thinking on those lines. The biggest gain is India have won something despite the absence of Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh.’’ However, it is also a fact that they were bowling to some rank bad batting. ‘‘The Pakistani batsmen dug their holes by not applying themselves. How can you play such wild shots’’, asks an anguished Sarfaraz. True, echoes Aaquib. ‘‘The batsmen did not have the temperament, except maybe Inzamam, to play a long innings and played loose shots. The Indians were smart and well backed by John Wright who guided them on how bowl within the stumps.’’ But the last word on this issue as always is with Navjot Singh Sidhu . ‘‘It is all in the mind. The same Ganguly, same Tendulkar were there before as well. What has changed? The approach, it all originates in the mind. They (the fast bowlers) have changed the way they think. That has made all the difference.’’
