What’s in store

Perhaps Dravid needn’t worry. Because his team have what it takes to do a repeat of two years ago, when they won the one-day series to set the tone for a historic, memorable tour. They may have lost the lone decisive Test but when the shorter version begins in Peshawar tomorrow, it will be a whole new ball game.

Actually, the captain is aware of this. Soon after losing in Karachi, Dravid was pelted with questions about whether India would emerge from that debris in time. ‘‘The one-day series … will have nothing to do with this loss’’, he said. ‘‘We have done well in recent times and are looking forward to the challenge here.’’ The confidence is not unfounded; witness India’s performances against Sri Lanka and South Africa at home, winning one series and drawing the other, both against the then world’s No 2 teams.

Chappell’s famous experiments, putting youth ahead of experience and setting his players challenges, have earned India rich dividends. India and Pakistan appear to be on the same ground when it comes to form and recent performances yet even Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer accepts that India have improved by ‘‘leaps and bounds’’ when it comes to ODIs.

THE cynics will wonder how India can be touted as a winning force in ODIs when it failed abjectly in chasing 607 on a reasonably placid batting track. But that’s exactly the point: India’s ability ton score fast, and its pack of hard-hitting batsmen able to play 10-15 over cameos will stand it in good stead. And in the first two Tests it successfully chased whatever Pakistan could throw at it. ‘‘If not for this innings, both teams were equal when compared,’’ Woolmer pointed out on the last day of the Karachi Test.

India’s strengths, though, are built around more than just hard hitting. Chappell and Dravid have brought about a massive turnaround in the way one-day cricket is played, especially now under the new rules of super-sub and powerplay. They are willing to experiment to any degree, with proper planning that requires a match-by-match gameplan.

The set vision of six-plus-four (six batsmen, a wicket-keeper who can bat and four full-time bowlers) is now a thing of the past. Except for Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Rahul Dravid and Mohd Kaif, India now have the option of using eight bowlers in a match. And, beginning with Tendulkar and Sehwag, the batting line-up now looks like nine out of the given eleven can deliver competently with the bat. If the toss is in India’s favour, the super-sub rule merely adds to India’s strength.

Pakistan can be kept busy in trying to figure out what remains in store, who do Shoaib Akhtar and Mohd Asif prepare to bowl to when India bat? They might first have to break the shackles of Virender Sehwag and Tendulkar and then Dravid to get to the rest. Or Pakistan might even face the dilemma of having to bowl at hard-hitters like Dhoni, Pathan and Yuvraj before they think of tackling the more technically correct batsmen in the side. It’s the kind of mindgames that had Sri Lanka foxed and saw India run away to a 6-1 series win.

Similarly, if Pakistan study India’s ODI gameplan it can at best only leave them nonplussed because there’s not a single fixed routine that Indians have followed in their one-day cricket spanning the last three months.

THE visitors’ gameplan gets an immediate boost with the arrival of Mohd Kaif and Suresh Raina — fresh from winning the Ranji Trohpy for the first time — in the middle order and Murali Kartik and Sree Santh to add a new dimension to the attack. Their addition to the squad doesn’t just add numbers; first, it brings a breath of fresh, youthful air free of whatever the others imbibed in Karachi. Second, it leaves the bench far stronger than it was during the Tests; now, any member of the squad can be called upon and be expected to perform reliably.

But the most important advantage that Indians draw from this mix is the mindspace it gives the seniors in tackling the pakistani attack. Tendulkar can afford to play the way he did in the first ODI against Sri Lanka at Nagpur, which in itself is enough to unsettle the best of attacks.

That Pakistan have still not faced Dhoni and Pathan under the new experimental strategy will add to the variables. They’ve had a taste or two of Dhoni, of course, in the ODIs last season and at Faisalabad last month — and they can expect that continue. His first Test century against Pakistan was another unique example of his Sehwag-like disdain for reputation, form or the team’s position. In short, he did to Pakistan what Shahid Afridi did to the Indians in the recently concluded Test series.

Unlike Dhoni, Pathan appears to be getting into the mould of an established stroke-maker. His bowling through much of the Test series was a disappointment but his knocks in Faisalabad and Karachi were an indication of his maturing as a frontline batsman in the team. And there’s every reason to believe his Test bowling will not impact his ODI game; his problem in the five-day game is his inability to bowl long spells, something he won’t have to face here.

And whenit’s an India-Pakistan series, you can’t ignore Sachin Tendulkar. He may have been seen last down on his knees against Mohammed Asif but give him a one-day match, put him in the bullpit and it’s a sure bet the adrenaline will flow. Tendulkar has a certain point to prove now, and the man himself could be itching to go out and deliver his worth.

Hosts prepare to party with some hard chin rock
K SHRINIWAS RAOLAHORE

IN any form of cricket, whether Tests or one-dayers, defeating Pakistan at home is a major task. England were the last team to find that out the hard way: They came to Pakistan riding on the Ashes triumph but returned unsuccessful. The home atmosphere, a vocal crowd, familiarity with the conditions and a vast talent pool should add up to put a comfortable distance between Pakistan and failure now.

Moreover, their recent record victory over India by margin of runs will keep the morale high. Add to that captain Inzamam-ul Haq, now certified fit and on record as saying that he didn’t mind missing the Tests because he wanted to keep himself ‘‘fit for the more important games.’’ Opener Shoaib Malik, who was away due to his father’s demise, is also set to return to the side.

In the wake of India’s disastrous reply to Pakistan’s pace attack, the hosts now intend to carry on with the same trend of letting fast bowlers keep the visitors at bay. ‘‘We have a good variety when it comes to fast bowling and we intend to make full use of it,’’ says Younis Khan, who captained Pakistan in the Test series.

Pakistan has included six fast bowlers for the one-day series at the expense of leg-spinner Danish Kaneria as Umar Gul, Rana Naved-ul Hasan and Yasir Arafat all staged their return. Now knowing where India’s possible weaknesses lie, Pakistan will be keen to give the visitors another run for their money by making them face some more chin music.

Inzamam and Younis have both learnt to their benefit that the current Indian attack is harmless in skill and variety. If they dish out tracks that turn out to be belters, Pakistan realise, their batting is in good enough form to take every possible advantage of it.

What worries former Pak cricketers, though, is the side’s history of going down from strong positions. The fear of failing while at the top of their form relates well to Pakistan’s fluctuating fortunes in the past. ‘‘With the current form, they will have only themselves to blame if they can’t win the one-day series too,’’ says a convinced Zaheer Abbas.

That said, the most important thing going for Pakistan right now is the form of their batsmen. Kamran Akmal’s batting appears nothing less than world class while Shahid Afridi has been at his unforgiving best against India again. These players, not to forget Abdul Razzaq, played a vital role when Pakistan troubled India during their tour last year. Their being in form, therefore, isn’t the best possible thing for the Indians.