Pakistan’s lack of discipline in bowling cost them a victory that would have clinched the series for them. Now the series, which has been played in exemplary spirit, will be decided in the final match which is perhaps apt, for the two sides are well matched. In striving for extra pace, the Pakistani bowlers once again sprayed the ball on either side of the wicket, giving their captain Inzamam ul-Haq nightmares to place a field for them. That, along with the plethora of no-balls, showed that the Pakistanis had learnt little from the previous matches.
At Karachi, they gave away 29 extras with 20 no-balls and 9 wides, at Pindi they were a little better when they conceded only 11 extras but at Peshawar they were back to their profligate ways, giving 23 extras which had 19 wides and here in Lahore, they gave 37 extras which is as good as a contribution from a batsman. There are two days before they play the final game and as Dravid said at the end of the match, the pressure is now on Pakistan because they know that it was a game they should have won especially after sending back the top five batsmen in the dressing room.
It was the unflappable Rahul Dravid who ensured that India sailed through with five overs to spare inspite of the loss of five batsmen. In his company, Kaif flourished after an edgy start and their partnership showed that runs could be scored at a fast clip without resorting to risky aerial shots. Both played with straight bats and ran well between the wickets to help India level the series. If ever there was proof needed that when Dravid scores India wins, it was here and though the modest cricketer will give credit to others, there is no denying that he is the most valuable player in the Indian team and has been for some time now.
India brought in Murali Karthik for Ramesh Powar who had done enough in his limited opportunities and the only explanation for that could be that Karthik was a member of the winning eleven in Karachi after which he was dropped and India lost the next two games. Whatever the reason, Karthik justified it by bowling a good spell and getting two wickets. The tactic of bowling over the wicket to the right-handers and restricting their swing or arms did frustrate the batsmen and Yasir Hameed was a victim of impatience after being tied down for some overs. Before that, Irfan Pathan had taken two quick wickets with some fine swing bowling and put the pressure on the Pakistanis. Zaheer too bowled superbly and it was thanks to a truly belligerent innings from Inzamam ul-Haq that took Pakistan to their score. Razzaq also chipped in with his usual aggressive innings but it was those early wickets that ensured that Pakistan did not get to 325, which would have been a real tough task for India to chase.
Though Shoaib, Shabbir and Sami all worked up a good pace and had the batsmen hurrying their shots, in their excitement to bowl quicker they lost direction and with it the initiative for Pakistan.
There will no doubt be some harsh words spoken in the Pakistani dressing room but they are the kind that are needed and if they are heeded then Pakistan could well be a different team in the decider. At the moment though, India is on a roll and they know that if there is a major contribution from their top five who have not yet clicked collectively, the series will be theirs.
