Detailed Scorecard

My first sight of the test match between India and Pakistan at the Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi, was a bit of a shock. A misty haze was all around and one could not even pick out where the fielders were in the outfield. But the closer camera angles from the stump, confirmed that it was not all that bad and visibility was indeed fit for playing. Delhi at this time of the year is typically like this. The temperature was pleasantly cool, unlike the usual hot and humid conditions, which we are so used to in seeing matches being played on the sub-continent.

All eyes were on Kumble debuting as captain. Yuvraj once again had to sit out. It was tough but made sense, as all the other players had done well in the last test series. So the batting order is heating up, as any dismal performance would immediately lead to Yuvraj coming in.

It was not long before Zaheer Khan knocked the stumps of Salman Butt and one of the two most crucial players in the Pakistan line up, Younis Khan, walked in. If India was to beat Pakistan, it was absolutely important to get Younis Khan and Mohammed Yousuf cheaply. Pakistan’s batting heavily revolves around these two and this is a big problem where Pakistan’s think tank needs to deeply look into. Today, the law of averages caught up with Younis Khan and Mohammed Yousuf and predictably, Pakistan was all at sea once these two were out cheaply.

Zaheer Khan & Munaf Patel – Mixed it up well

Zaheer Khan bowled a good first spell, mixing deliveries and not really getting into a predictable bowling rut. It certainly looked like the new ball bowlers were bowling to some sort of plan as surprisingly, both Zaheer and Munaf was banging in the ball short quite often, every over in their first spells. Though it was quite obvious from seeing many short deliveries not being well directed, that they haven’t being practicing it much. And what more, Indian bowlers don’t quite use the short one or treat it seriously as an important delivery in their arsenal. But today as they tried, it worked well as they were pitching the ball up, moving it away and then mixing it up with short lifters, attempting to set them up. Younis Khan perished with a Zaheer Khan bouncer, hooking right into the hands of the fine leg fielder. With Kumble then coming in and knocking Yasir Hameed’s stumps and Munaf snapping Malik at slip with a beautiful delivery, the flood gates were open.

Kumble’s captaincy – So far so good

Anil Kumble showed signs that he was well worth the candidate for the top job by effectively marshalling his bowling resources. He used all his bowling resources effectively in short spells, keeping them fresh and never let the Pakistani batsmen get set into a predictable bowling style for long. He also bowled well on his favourite ground to pick three wickets and ended the day with the best bowling figures for the Indian team.

Ganguly – Bowled unbelievably well

Ganguly was given a long spell by the captain and did not disappoint by bowling an immaculate line and length and was rewarded by picking up the most important wicket of the day, Mohammed Yousuf for 27.

Misbah, Kamran and the wagging tail

Misbah-ul-Haq seems to have developed an uncanny knack of producing fighting innings time and again against India. And today was one such innings, which he played with such serene calmness and thought. Misbah before this test match did not really have what you could call a decent start to his test career, having failed miserably. He ended the day remaining at 70 not out. Kamran Akmal showed a lot of promise for his 30 before being castled by Kumble. He played positively against the Indian bowling, scoring freely when the opportunity came. One’s mind flashed back to the last test series between the two countries, where Kamran played brilliantly with a huge 100 to save the test. That was not to be today.

Mohammed Sami, once again proved to be India’s most annoying tailender. Coming in when Pakistan was reeling in at 140/8, Sami hung on and supported Misbah with a fine 20 not out, taking the score to 210 at the end of the day. While many would remember Kamran’s match saving knock in the last test series, few would actually remember that Sami was the wagging tail even then.

Oh no not again! – India’s consistent inability to knock the tail

India has consistently over the years struggled every time to knock the tail end wickets. This is where they fail to sometimes apply their minds or their skills. Take the example, of Munaf… when he first came into the scene, he was one bowler who could somewhat bowl consistently at the mid 140’s kmph, making him India’s most promising fast bowling talent. Greg Chappell drove the theory into him on reducing his pace and concentrating on line and length which he faithfully molded into. Greg Chappell proclaiming him as the “Indian Glen Mcgrath” is kind of crazy to me. Why in this world, would you want someone to sacrifice his pace for line and length? Why couldn’t they drive onto him in not loosing pace and working hard on fitness and practicing line and length with that natural pace? Chappell could see Mcgrath but couldn’t he not see Brett Lee? Brett Lee with his pace swings the ball both ways and can bowl at a very good line and length. Zaheer Khan and Munaf Patel had excellent Yorkers when they first came into the scene. Those Yorkers were effective when they bowled it at good speeds, which they once could. It is alright to me that to the frontline batsmen, if you have problems controlling the ball, pace can be cut to concentrate on line and length. But when you come up to face the tail, brute force more often in the history of this game, did the job. This is where they need to understand that it is important for them to change gears and bowl aggressively and fast to the tail, banging in those short bowls and toe-crushing Yorkers. They need to take a leaf out of seeing videos on how Shoaib Akhtar, Waqar Younis, consistently destroyed the tail of the opposition. If India has to move out of this reputation of being poor finishers of an innings, their fast bowlers need to combine both these school of thoughts.

Day 2 – What to expect?

It would be misty again tomorrow morning with some moisture settling into the pitch during the morning session. Due to this, India has a better chance than today in finishing the Pakistan innings. But I wouldn’t be surprised if Pakistan ends up with a 250 plus score. Either way, I wouldn’t perceive that it would be all too easy for the Indian batting when they come on to play on this pitch.