One-Oopsmanship

Another India-Pakistan series, this time in India, is good news for the two countries as well as the game. Last time the two teams played a series—in Pakistan—both the captains, Saurav Ganguly and Inzamam-ul-Haq, had carried themselves well both on and off the field. Being aware of the importance of the series, they spoke sensibly and helped to maintain the spirit of the game. I must admit, in contemporary international cricket, there is nothing quite like an Indo-Pak series, be it Tests or ODIs. In our time, the Ashes used to be a pretty attractive contest. In between, the Australia-West Indies rivalry too generated plenty of heat and dust. But Indo-Pak contests are clearly the flavour of the times we live in.

Of course, there is a political angle to such contests. And it will remain as long as the Kashmir issue remains unresolved. Cricket is, therefore, one binding factor for the people of the two nations. Needless to say, this will be a highly competitive series. That is usually the case wherever these two teams play. I have seen them play in Australia, Toronto, Sharjah, England and Sri Lanka; their contests have never lacked competitive flavour. Cricketers love good contests. And you can hardly blame them for the relationship between two countries. But I also see this series playing a crucial role in building political goodwill between the two countries.

Pakistan may not have played well in Australia, but if you think they will be pushovers in India, you're living in a fool's paradise. All teams struggle in Australia. Some even crawl. Australians clearly believe in devastating their opposition. Last year, the Aussies lost only one Test—against India in Mumbai—by the narrowest of margins. I don't want to rake up the issue of the controversial pitch at the Wankhede where the match got over in three days and wickets fell like nine pins, but despite losing the Test match there, the tour gave them a series win in India after a long, long time. It was something they wanted to achieve very badly and after being thwarted twice in recent times—in 1998 and 2001—they succeeded in 2004. It speaks volumes for a side that has indeed set very high standards for itself in international cricket. So losing to a side like Australia is no shame and to judge the Pakistan team solely on their performance Down Under would be a folly.

Their batsmen, who struggled on the bouncier pitches in Australia, will find conditions in India more familiar and should thrive. It's their bowling that worries me. Without Shoaib Akhtar in the Tests, they will not only miss the fastest bowler in the world, but also the most attractive to watch. I enjoy watching him run in. Much will depend on Shoaib's fitness and form in the one-day series. He is very much a rhythm bowler and if things don't fall in place quickly for him, he often gets disillusioned and his bowling loses the edge. However, he can still produce that extra bit when in the mood, that can turn a match on its head.

Without Shoaib at the other end, the onus will be on Mohammad Sami who has been a bit of an enigma, and Abdul Razzaq and the youngsters. Bob Woolmer has been doing a good job with this bunch and he knows the importance of this series only too well. India, on the other hand, have a better all-round attack and suddenly they look a better Test side than a one-day outfit. Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, provided he sorts out his action by then, are a handful under any conditions, and on home pitches, they can be lethal. Add to that the verve and variety of Irfan Pathan and Zaheer Khan and you have a well-balanced attack that can win you matches with some runs on the board. And that is where India's Big Five—Sachin, Sehwag, Saurav, Dravid and Laxman—will have to deliver.If both teams play to potential, it will be a treat to watch and fans on both sides will enjoy the contests. It will surely be an extraordinary series. Let the better side win.