Tags:
Journalism of Courage
SHARJAH, MARCH 25: Indian skipper Saurav Ganguly doesn’t believe in a rest day. He was at the Sharjah Stdium last evening to see how Pakistan and South Africa were shaping up. And today, came the confirmation of his anaylsis: "We are ready to take on Pakistan any moment. With or without Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar".
Tomorrow, they either sink or barely stay afloat. They need to beat India and get at par with them on points tally to infuse some excitement among their fans. Pakistan indeed, need a win badly.
Looking at tomorrow’s tie, India are only slightly-better placed than Pakistan. They have two points from their win over Pakistan in the first round game but tables can easily turn upon them. Yes, they have fewer bowling worries and will miss only Javagal Srinath, who is "not expected to be fit for tomorrow’s clash".
On the other hand, Pakistan are still praying for their star pace duo of Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar to be fighting fit. The chances, going by the current indications, are dim. It actually remains to be seen whether Akhtar will get a chance to use his now-famous, specially-ordered spike shoes (worth 500 Pounds) in the coming matches.
Pace has always been India’s nemesis. Even in the earlier game the batsmenwere rattled by the pace generated by Akhtar, Akram and Waqar Younis, though Ganguly is willing to go on record saying: "I was not troubled by Akhtar’s pace". It could have been a different fate for India if Pakistan had scored around 200, and not the pitiable 146 they managed.
Pakistan need their batsmen to come good. Only the other day, coach JavedMiandad was pleading with his batsmen. Now, he may be ready with a whip.The Gujranwala lad Imran Nazir has been, by far, the most impressive youngtalent on view in the tournament, having fitted quite nicely into the role of an opener. At the other end, Shahid Afridi’s impetuousity has proved to be his undoing.
This is not the typical Sharjah Stadium wicket where one can tonk the ballanywhere but a different, two-paced track. The new ball skids but as the ball gets older, it doesn’t come on to the bat to facilitate strokemaking. As such, batsmen from both sides, having played two matches each, should be able to adjust to the demands. Otherwise, it will be another drab,low-scoring affair.
TEAMS (from)
INDIA: Saurav Ganguly (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Mohammad Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja, Robin Singh, Saba Karim, Sunil Joshi, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad, Ajit Agarkar, Nikhil Chopra, S Sriram and Mohammad Kaif.
PAKISTAN:Moin Khan (captain), Inzamam-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Mohammed Naveed, Imran Nazir, Wajhatullah Wasti, Younis Khan, Yousuf Youhana, Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar, Waqar Younis, Mohammad Akram, Abdur Razzaq, Arshad Khan and Shoaib Malik.
UMPIRES: Daryl Harper (Australia) and John Hampshire (England). Third Umpire: Peter Manuel (Sri Lanka).
HOURS OF PLAY (IST):4.30 pm to 8 and 8.45 to 00.15 am
LIve on Sony Set Max
