A Different Ball Game

As a team, Pakistan have made tremendous progress in this Test series. Themomentum, too, favours them. They have beaten India in all of their last fourone-day encounters. And now, with the win in Bangalore, they have ended the Testseries – although a 1-1 draw – on a high.

Momentum however is a highly overrated factor. (As is most rationale whenapplied to one-day cricket.) England, on their last tour to South Africa, wonthe Test series but were blown away in the one-dayers in spite of the heroics ofKevin Pietersen. India, on their last tour to Australia, proved to be a betterTest team than Australia but crumbled in the ensuing VB series.

However, it is impossible to dismiss the very tangible gains Pakistan havemade. Younis Khan, who looked a total liability till Mohali, has emerged as oneof the pillars. Mohammad Sami’s performance has been a lesson – one that acertain fast bowler from Rawalpindi will do well to imbibe and recite every day– in how to bowl long spells with sustained intensity and incisiveness.

Danish Kaneria’s bowling videos may join the private collection of a legspinner from Australia who, more than once, has bitten the dust on Indianpitches. Shahid Afridi, finally enjoying the backing of the coach and captain toplay as he wants to – so far, he has done just that but without the teammanagement’s approval – may get to be spoken of in the same breath as AdamGilchrist and Virender Sehwag if he can sustain the momentum.

Above all, this Test series has marked the transformation of Inzamam-ul Haq,always a great batsman, into an effective leader. (Why, he even made afull-length dive on the fifth day in Bangalore.) Given the way he has marshalledhis meagre resources, this series has elevated Inzamam, the skipper, severalnotches.

However, two very different teams will be playing the one-day series.

Pakistan ‘bolstered’ (if we can call it that) by the inclusion of ShahidNazir, Iftikhar Anjum and Mohammad Hafeez. Nazir, when he was first seen on theinternational stage in 1996-97, looked like the future of fast bowling alongwith Mohammad Zahid, who had been rated by Brian Lara as the fastest bowler hehad ever faced. Not much of either was seen in the years that followed. Iftikharand Hafeez are largely unknown quantities.

Besides, some gains of the Test series will count for little in the one-dayers.Sami, reined in by the restrictions on short-pitched bowling, will not be aseffective as he was ever since he began to employ the short ball in the secondinnings in Kolkata. Kaneria’s economy rate in Tests, if carried over the one-dayers,will prove disastrous.

The Indian team, once Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif and M.S. Dhoni join theplaying eleven (Murali Kartik and Dinesh Mongia, though selected, may adorn thebench), will bear a very different look and spirit. Sachin Tendulkar, mostlikely, will be back to being a destructive batsman in the one-day format.

And Zaheer Khan and Irfan Pathan can be very effective in the opening as wellas slog overs. Most importantly, Saurav Ganguly is still one of the best one-daybatsmen in the world, which means India will take the field with eleven playersand not just 10 players and a captain.