The future is here and happening

The first day’s play at Gaddafi should have gladdened cricket-lovers on both sides of the border. Because the stars of the day in both teams were the Young Turks, those finding their feet in Test cricket. Irfan Pathan, Yuvraj Singh and Umar Gul (and Balaji and Imran Farhat) all took another big step to making their mark on Test cricket.

And they way they battled, using head over heart and playing with a maturity belying their age, they offered the hope of high-voltage, skills-heavy encounters between these two teams for the next decade.

The standout show was, of course, from Yuvraj, who shades Gul because he scored a century in his third Test on a bowling wicket. And, importantly without the insurance of playing further Tests — a look at the team batting sheet will show you that retirement looks the only likely option that will give Yuvi a permanent place in the Indian