'Bowlers Should Come Hard Early On...'

The Samsung Cup got off to a dream start with Pakistancoming within a stroke of creating history. After watching the last match onewonders: What is an ideal score in a one-day international on a flat deck? Are350 runs enough? Well, going by the recent matches anything below 280 runs is astroll of a chase.

It is important that our bowlers come hard at thePakistani batsmen early on as this will set the tone of the innings when webowl. The subtle changes in the bowling by varying pace and by way of usingdifferent bowlers in the middle overs will probably help our cause.

I thought our bowlers bowled in good areas especiallyat the start of the Pakistan innings. Understandably, Zaheer Khan bowled withinhimself but I am confident that after this workout he will have the confidenceto go all out in the remaining matches. One aspect that Saurav Ganguly wouldstress to the fast bowlers when they sit down to strategies would be encouragingthe usage of bouncers effectively whilst the rival skipper would advise hisbowlers to restrain the usage of the short-ball.

The other area of concern would be in the middle overs. The twin blows deliveredby Murali Kartik proved crucial to the result and I hope that he rides on thisconfidence. The Pakistan batsmen use their feet against the spinners well. Asthe margin of error on these flat decks are minimal, the challenge would be tokeep these batsmen glued to their crease as long as possible.

For the first time I am witness to empty roads duringan Indo-Pak match and the celebrations after an Indian victory. The mediareports and the attention the Indian team receive when on tour is massive. Theone factor that John Wright kept reiterating on our tour to Australia was tokeep these factors out of the mind and focus on the task at hand. This, in factwould be his main advice when the team gathers around before the next game.

In a high voltage series such as this, the onus on theplayers will be to recover quickly both physically and mentally from a gruellinggame. Credit should go to the Indian physio, Andrew Leipus and the trainer, GregKing, as ice baths are mandatory in between innings and also at the end of thematch. It is with huge reluctance that the players approach the tub filled withice but at the end of two minutes, one feels refreshed.

Pakistani batsmen must be complimented the way they controlled the run-chase;their skipper Inzamam-ul Haq played one of the best one-day knocks I havewitnessed. The partnerships between Inzy and Yousuf Youhana and later withYounis Khan kept Pakistan in the hunt. They were probably the favourites untilMohammad Kaif brought off a great catch to dismiss Shoaib Malik. Ashish Nehrathen held his nerves in the final over. India has the psychological advantagebut the one-day series could go to the wire.

Pakistan will rue the early chance given to VirenderSehwag and Sachin Tendulkar; also the number of extras which came by way ofno-balls and wides. The good start by Sehwag and Tendulkar was critical. Sehwagis a rare talent and his approach to the game is simple: He can only see aboundary written all over when the ball leaves a bowler's hand. He is definitelynot the kind I would like to bowl to even in the nets to get my rhythm beforeany game. The momentum was never lost thereafter. It was disappointing to seeRahul Dravid miss a deserving century by a whisker.

The ability of our batsmen to hit boundaries at will issomething unmatched by other teams but what was more pleasing was the way we ranbetween wickets. The partnerships helped India post an impressive 349 runs butone might feel we could have scored a few more after the start we had.

In another contest going on in our neighbourhood, twospinners are vying for honour to occupy the No. 1 slot in Test cricket. Myhearty congratulations to a fellow leggie Shane Warne on reaching the magical500 wickets in a fashion only a champion could do. What a statement he has made in hiscomeback game!

PTI