'India Lacked The Hunger To Win'

If India could not quite finish the job of winning theMohali Test, it was because the team did not show the hunger on the field. Theydidn't have the body language of a winner. They couldn't have lost from thatposition. When you worry too much about winning or losing, you stop playing goodcricket. Australians are champions because they strive to play good cricket.Other things take care of themselves.

It will be far too easy to place the blame on the doorsof Sachin Tendulkar for having batted too slowly on the second afternoon. Thecommon refrain is it cost India important runs and time. But if you ask me Indiastill had the right lead and five sessions to clean up Pakistan. They couldn'tmanage to do it.

To blame Tendulkar, or for that matter Saurav Ganguly and V.V.S. Laxman for thatsecond afternoon, is missing the point. To term it as the turning point of thegame is childish. India then were in the process of consolidating theirposition. They did it and still had adequate time to spare. Three wickets infirst four overs was a sensational follow-up.

Kamran Akmal and Abdul Razzaq still deserve every bitof praise which is coming their way. They showed the virtue of the game's goldenlesson: If you play within yourself and don't try to be ambitious, you can workwonders.

Razzaq has always played within his limit. Kamran mayhave been under some pressure for his spot but at least one more settled spotnow is only good news for Pakistan. Youngsters must get a reasonable run. Whenyou expect juniors to play like seniors, you are asking for the moon. One mustremember one's own young days and then the expectations will be reasonable.

I am still worried about Pakistan's line-up. YaseerHameed must now be brought back. If a youngster is kept out for too long, heloses confidence. He has been with the squad but must now be played. I am alsoconcerned about Pakistan's medium-pace attack.

Mohammad Sami is still not producing results and hecontinues to have no-ball problems. It happens when he tries to go for extrapace. As Lakshmipathy Balaji showed so well in the match, you need to swing thedeliveries rather than strive for extra pace for useful results.

Razzaq and Rana Naved-ul Hasan too have questions on their ability as Testbowlers. It wouldn't be too bad to bring on the young left-arm pacer MohammadKhalil in the next game.

The stand-out bowler for Pakistan of course was DanishKaneria. Trust me, we worked very hard on his run-up and line and length. Wealways asked him to roll his leg-breaks a lot more in order to get the bounce.He now has a great future ahead of him, as does Balaji. How they progressdepends entirely on them.

They need to practice hard and have long term vision.If they want to last for a decade or more, they must know the demands it wouldmake on them. First of course is fitness and the other is try to learn andimprove all the time. Cricketers who last long have that extra commitment.Kaneria has to bowl 15-20 overs every day to get his spin, run-up, bending onthe front foot perfect.

The dismissal of Inzamam-ul Haq in both innings hasraised heat in Pakistan. He was given leg before playing well forward inboth the innings. I would not commit myself either way because I've alwaysbelieved we have the advantage of replays while umpires in the middle don't havethat luxury.

To make a decision in real-time is a different matter.The only thing we ask for umpires is that they should be consistent with theirdecisions.

As for the Indians, they would be delighted with the form of Virender Sehwag. Heis what I say of good cricketers: They try to play good cricket and are not toohung up on pre-determined ideas.

India's batting too has lived upto its billing. Thefirst match of a series is always very crucial in that you try to gauge eachother's strength. India would be delighted their batting is working perfectly.

Ironically, despite it's top order failing, Pakistantoo has few worries with its batting. If your number eight batsman can score ahundred, the rest begin to bat with renewed confidence.

By the evidence of this Test, India and Pakistan aregood in their batting. It is the bowlers who have their work cut out. Pakistanmust find the men who can take 20 wickets in a match. India too would have a fewquestion marks on its bowlers for they couldn't convert a handy lead into avictory.

PTI