The difference was the mindset

It’s a strange game, this game of cricket. Within a fortnight it produced two diametrically opposed results. India beating Pakistan at ...

It’s a strange game, this game of cricket. Within a fortnight it produced two diametrically opposed results. India beating Pakistan at Multan with a thumping margin was followed by Pakistan beating India with an equally emphatic margin. It is a clear indication that nothing separates the two teams but what makes the difference is the state of mind that the teams bring to the matches.

Pakistan had lost the one-day series and had gone into a defensive mode at Multan. The preparation of the wicket was a dead give-away. There was a lot of buck-passing as to who was responsible but the central fact remained that whatever grass had been left on the wicket was shaved off and it became as bald as Kojak, the television detective played by Terry Savalas (and imitated by Syed Kirmani).

There was the certainty in Indian minds that Pakistan would go to the other extreme at Lahore and indeed there was a lot of ballyhoo in the Pakistan media about the wicket. One saw this as a bit of one-upmanship. There was a sprinkling of grass but by no stretch of imagination could it have been described as a green wicket. Neither Shoaib Akhtar nor Mohammad Sami swing or seam the ball. They rely on pace and reverse swing.

With hindsight providing wisdom, Rahul Dravid will have got some flak for deciding to bat after winning the toss. It seemed to be the right decision, it would have meant Pakistan batting last. It went badly only in the first session and Umar Gul only played because Shabbir Ahmed and Abdul Razzak pulled out because of injuries. India had played against Umar Gul in the practice match at Lahore and he could not have made much of an impression.

But this was a transformed Umar Gul and he took the Indian batsmen by surprise. He’s a tall young man and gets lift and bounce and does not get a huge amount of movement but enough and his main virtue is line and length. He turned out to be the ideal bowler for that kind of a wicket and snapped up five wickets and left India in shambles. I thought that Rahul Dravid struck the right note. He made no excuses and gave credit to the Pakistan team. No one doubts that India will re-group and will come back strongly at Rawalpindi. The Indian skipper will be back and Rahul Dravid can now go back to concentrate on his batting which can’t be good news for Pakistan. He hasn’t got going in the series but the law of probability is on his side.

Was it one of those darned coincidences or did Fate take a hand? The defining moments of both Tests was the run out of both captains in the second innings and in an identical manner, from direct hits to the wicket in attempts to pinch a single when it was not necessary at all. The Rawalpindi test match should be something special. Neither team is thinking of a draw, which is a great improvement in the mindset of the two teams from the previous years.