It is true that one-day cricket frequently opens itself up to
accusations of being too formulaic and predictable. But it is
difficult to imagine that any one of the more than fifty thousand fans
who came to the 'Gabba ground in Brisbane over the course of the last
forty-eight hours would concur with that assessment; a stunning two
wicket win to Pakistan in a tense, low scoring encounter with
subcontinental rivals India today coming hard on the heels of their
tumultuous triumph over Australia a day earlier.
Sadly, there was only a moderate-sized crowd here to see this
particular match on what was a working day in Brisbane. But those who
were able to attend witnessed a consistently entertaining
game. Moreover, they watched a tense, fluctuating struggle in ideal
conditions for a day-night match and in an atmosphere a long way
removed from the one of sheer animosity that some commentators tend to
try and anticipate when these two sides meet.
Once again, the team which won the toss today (namely, India) elected
to bat and once more, it initially looked the incorrect
decision. Around innings of great individual defiance from Sourav
Ganguly (61) at the top of the order and Robin Singh (50) in the
middle, the Indians were indeed made to struggle for long periods in
their exhibition. Only eight runs came from the first six overs as
they battled laboriously against a significantly moving ball, and
wickets fell thereafter with some regularity. Moreover, while Ganguly
performed a brilliant job in holding the innings together - powerful
strokeplay through the off side the hallmark of his hand - it was a
most unenviable task once Shoaib Akhtar (3/19 off eight overs) had
sparked another middle order collapse. Similarly, even though Singh's
serial working of the ball into the leg side added some much needed
impetus at the end, wickets fell too consistently around him for any
more than a mark of 195 to be reached. And while their opponents
deprived themselves of an over in their chase by bowling too slowly,
the Indians certainly looked in dreadful trouble at the break as a
result.
Although the recalled Shahid Afridi (0) disappeared early, the notion
was then reinforced when Saeed Anwar (24) and Ijaz Ahmed (13) took
Pakistan to the comfortable heights of in the over of the
response. But then came a dramatic repetition of the events of the
previous night, as the scoring rate of the batting team was at first
pegged back before wickets came crashing down. Against some
remorseless pace bowling from Javagal Srinath (4/49 off ten overs) and
Ajit Agarkar (2/39 off ten), the Pakistanis consistently surrendered
batsmen at the most inopportune of moments. As their score crashed to
6/71 at one point, they indeed seemed to be wilting under the sheer
weight of the task suddenly confronting them.
But there was still time - plenty of it, in fact - for gifted right
hander Yousuf Youhana (63) to join with Pakistan's redoubtable tail
and prove emphatically to anyone who should doubt it that nothing
should ever be taken for granted in this form of the game. With his
eye and his flashing blade working in perfect harmony, man of the
match Youhana was able to transform what had hitherto appeared a
minefield into a pitch upon which it was possible to play a beautiful
variety of attacking and defensive shots. Before being cleverly
dismissed by a Srinath slower ball, Youhana afforded the situation a
perfect temperament; not only guiding his team most of the way to
victory but also establishing a foundation from which heroic tail
enders Saqlain Mushtaq (27*) and Waqar Younis (13*) were able to
complete the triumph. Moreover, whilst many of the plaudits seemed
ultimately to go to Saqlain and Waqar (for their breathtaking
association of forty-three runs which ended in them claiming victory
from the very last delivery of the match in scenes not dissimilar to
those in a certain World Cup Semi Final last year), it was Youhana to
whom the lion's share of the credit should be directed.
In short, this was an engrossing contest throughout. And, while both
captains agreed at its end that the batting was probably not up to the
mark (for the second day in a row), the sheer intensity of the
struggle was a great credit to both teams. Similarly, the Pakistanis'
sheer will to win made for a magnificent spectacle and their obvious
delight at the end of the night told of how collectively satisfying
this win must have been for them. It is an unfortunate reality, of
course, that in contests like this, someone inevitably also has to
walk away feeling cheated and deprived. But one senses that, if India
continues to play with the pride and determination with which it also
did today, spectacular successes of its own in this tournament can
also not be too far away.