Flat On The Mat

One more high-scoring draw in the Ashes of the East, and the intensity with which people from all walks of life are debating the quality of pitches laid out for the first two Tests at Lahore and Faisalabad has grown. All manner of theories are being floated on the phenomenon but it is not fair to suggest that the Pakistan team wanted flat tracks to avert defeat against India. Nothing can be further from the truth. I can say with confidence that the captain and team management can only make a request for sporting pitches that give the bowlers a fair chance. But if the groundstaff cannot heed such suggestions—for whatever reasons—there is little that the captain or the cricket think-tank can do about that.

The one other question that I have been asked is if Sachin Tendulkar closed his eyes when he played the first ball from me in the Faisalabad Test. To be very honest, I do not watch the batsman's face after I have delivered the ball. My eyes are always following the movement of the ball. Believe me, I was not reading anything in Sachin's eyes when he was facing me. I have also been asked if he 'walked' when he was actually not out. I believe he was out, gloving a catch to the wicketkeeper. And I am sure Sachin also believed in earnest that he was out and hence 'walked'. I do not see why there should be any debate on that.

Riding on centuries by Inzamam-ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi, we raised a total of 588. Later, even though we got Sehwag out early, Dravid and Laxman showed that they are fine players, especially on such tracks where the bowlers are at such a disadvantage. I must say that Dhoni crafted a fine innings when we had India on the ropes with the second new ball. At 281 for five, we fancied bowling India out early and picking up a handy lead but he did a marvellous job of facing the challenge as he joined hands with Irfan Pathan to not only pull India out of the woods but also carry the team past our first innings score of 588. Even though it was a flat pitch, Dhoni and Pathan had to bat quite well under pressure.

I kept running in hard and bowling as fast as I could. I was constantly looking for a wicket (I don't bowl to concede advantage to the batsman) but besides getting my first wicket of the series in the form of Sachin Tendulkar, not a lot came my way in the form of luck. I remember getting Sehwag to edge a ball to slip but he survived. You want to know where I get the motivation to bowl as quick as I did during the Faisalabad Test? Simple, really. There cannot be any greater motivation than playing for Pakistan. I should have provided the team the breakthrough during the big stands that Dravid and Laxman first, and then Dhoni and Pathan, put together for India.

A personal joy for me was the manner in which young Mohammed Asif bowled. I enjoyed watching him bowl in his comeback Test. The control that he showed during the Indian innings and the fact that he managed to reverse swing the ball—even if not getting much success—were positives for us. I tried the slower one which worked really well for me in the series against England. I can't disagree with the suggestion that the Indian batsmen have obviously spotted that. As a bowler, you can only keep trying to make things happen, but once you throw the dice, there is little further you can do.

I don't think there will be too many who will disagree with Dravid's comment that such pitches do not do much for the battle of two subcontinental giants. But as I wrote last week, the bowlers can only hope that the pitches offer them some support. If they don't, we have to stay positive and keep trying our best, irrespective of the results. I haven't yet seen the pitch at the National Stadium in Karachi and I don't know what's in store there for the final Test match. Frankly, I do not worry about these things. And yes, I believe I will play in Karachi despite speculation that my ankle is causing me problems.