India on the verge of history

[reverse_swing]

end of an era! ..52 yrs!

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my man of the match is Rahul.

[reverse_swing]

The Wisden Verdict by Dileep Premachandran

March 31, 2004

Richard Nixon once said, "A man is not finished when he's defeated. He's finished when he quits." If you go by that logic, Pakistan's series might well have ended at Multan, where they have waved the white flag with an ease that has bad portents for the future.

No streak lasts forever, and too much shouldn't be made of the fact that India are on the verge of their first Test victory in Pakistan. Defeat is a part of sporting life, but Pakistan have been disgraced here by the manner in which they allowed themselves to be pushed around. If the 1992 World Cup saw Imran Khan's cornered tigers, Multan was introduced to Inzamam-ul-Haq's pussycats. For the fans who have suffered through this apology of a performance, it isn't an identity change to cherish.

India have this almost sewn up because they are clearly the hungrier side. That had much to do with the fact that, under John Wright, they have embraced professionalism. Pakistan remain a ramshackle outfit, rooted in the amateur era, with no qualified fitness trainer and no concept of discipline. Across the world, England have dominated the West Indies for precisely the same reasons.

Too many of the Pakistani players have been treading water since they came into international cricket, repeating the same old mistakes and learning few new tricks. They did have a foreign coach of their own – Richard Pybus had almost as many chances as a cat has lives – but his credentials were as dubious as he was anonymous.

During his press conference yesterday, Inzamam almost laughed off suggestions that his team should employ a bowling coach, and someone to perk up the fielding. That sort of attitude summed up everything that's rotten at the core of this team. Considering that his bowlers have been dishing out tripe ever since India landed in Lahore three weeks ago, queries about a bowling coach are hardly laughable.

Blaming the pitch was another pathetic excuse. This bunch of Pakistani bowlers are quick through the air, but they do very little off the pitch. A grassy track or a bouncy one would aid the India's bowlers just as much, with Irfan Pathan having been the outstanding pace bowler on view.


Pathan bowled with tremendous verve, and also remembered that on surfaces such as this, adherence to some sort of line and length is mandatory. The spell that he bowled – 8-6-3-0 – either side of lunch was magnificent, and it was frustration as much as anything else that made Imran Farhat slash at an Anil Kumble delivery to trigger the slide.

Pathan swung the ball both ways, and also used the bouncer at the body to great effect. The delivery that nailed Abdul Razzaq first thing in the morning was perhaps the best of the match, and it set the tone for another day of utter dominance. All that he lacks now is an express delivery that can sneak up on unsuspecting batsmen.

Throughout a long day, the Indians never lost the spring in their stride. Anil Kumble bowled with unflagging energy for his 24th five-wicket haul – on a surface where Saqlain Mushtaq was as dangerous as a fluffy pillow – and even Sachin Tendulkar chipped in with some legbreaks and googlies that spat off the pitch.

Shabbir Ahmed and Mohammad Sami, in Pakistan's first innings, and Yousuf Youhana, who raged against the darkness with a dazzling century, also illustrated that there was no noticeable deterioration in the pitch, if you were prepared to bide your time and seize upon scoring opportunities. Moin Khan and Mohammad Sami made faces when given out, but they would have done well to remember that this isn't the 1980s, when the deplorable practice of pad-play was viewed indulgently by match officials.

Even without Zaheer Khan – conceivably out for the Lahore Test as well – India made inroads throughout the afternoon. No one epitomised the winner's mentality better than Kumble, who had Razzaq caught at forward short leg a ball after a vociferous appeal for a bat-pad catch at silly point had been turned down.

India's only previous innings-victory against Pakistan came in the inaugural Test between the two sides, at the Ferozshah Kotla in 1952. Barring a miracle of sorts, they will have another to savour tomorrow. For Pakistan, it's time to look long and hard at glaring inadequacies, rather than hide behind excuses about umpiring. As Henry Longfellow wrote, Not in the clamor of the crowded street, Not in the shouts and plaudits of the throng, But in ourselves, are triumph and defeat .

Dileep Premachandran is assistant editor of Wisden Cricinfo.

[Edited on 31-3-2004 by reverse_swing]

[FaltuRidwanBhai]

fatafati khelche india. india is too good for the pakis. ashole pakir to kono player nai. na ase boler na ase bhalo batsman. batsman ase but they are not consistent. ar boler ar kotha ar notun kore kisu bolte chai na. actually i think khoborta inida on the verge or history na lekhe pakistan is on the verge of history lekha uchit. karon history to ashole orai korte jachhe. arch rival ar kase nijer desher matite innings a harte jachhe, ar theke ar boro history ar ki hote pare bolen. dannabad.

[Zobair]

India deserve to win tomorrow. They have been disciplined, focussed on their task, professional...and organized! Kudos to them...My personal opinion is this is in large part due to their professional coaching staff who have done all the right things....ensured that all the players are physically fit, disciplined, professional in their approach. Full points to John Wright and the Indian team. Pakistan, though a talented bunch, have been amateurish in their approach and really need to look hard at their battle plans...and more generally at their preparations. Their fielding has been pedestrian compared to teh Indians.

[acbizz]

It was so obvious that India would win….. Indian strength as a team is far better than Pakistan


I wish the same result for the next two match :::::::::: Innings defeat

[Zobair]

well done...that was a comprehensive victory....India won all the days...and probably each and every session in this test match...they are on their way to becoming a truly formidable team if they continue like this...having said that there are 2 more tests in this series.

[billah]

Inzamam's crying about the pitch was probably the low point here.

[pinky]

finally we won.............

[reverse_swing]

Congratulations Pinky atlast u won

[FaltuRidwanBhai]

jaihok,
congratulations to the indian team. well done from the players. good performance from both the bolers and the batsman. actually the total was actually too big for pakistan. they were already under pressure. jar karone tara bolte gele khai hariye fele. india kintu pakistaner upor shompurno pradhanno bistar korechilo pakistaner upor boling ebong batting protiti department ai. bad luck for inzi. i think pakistan team should think about putting some more experience players in the team instead of putting some inconsistent youngsters. and they should bring some bolers who has some brains. then maybe inzi might be able to smile a bit. but i think with this team it is going to be hard for inzi to get any success. and above all they really should work on their fielding.