Staying focussed

Published : Jun 21, 2008 00:00 IST

The triumphant Pakistan team with the trophy.-AP
The triumphant Pakistan team with the trophy.-AP
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The triumphant Pakistan team with the trophy.-AP

Pakistan, which was seemingly under a siege, showed character when it mattered and found the right answers at the business end of a competition, writes S. Dinakar.

Shoaib Malik’s men handled stressful situations better than their opponents to clinch a thrilling 25-run win in the title clash of the Kitply tri-series. The final was a lot closer than the final margin indicated. Eventually, Pakistan held its nerve and India didn’t.

The team, which was seemingly under a siege, showed character when it mattered. Pakistan found the right answers at the business end of a competition.

The leaked e-mail from the PCB Chairman to the Pakistan manager could have sent the message to the team. There were talks of divisions in the Pakistani ranks, friction between some of the senior cricketers and skipper Shoaib Malik. There were whispers of coach Geoff Lawson’s job being on the line.

While some of the rumours might have had an element of truth, Pakistan did well to stay focussed in the final. And as they say, a triumph is a great healer.

Perhaps, the Indians were overconfident after a massive 140-run win over Pakistan in the league game. This was India’s biggest victory over Pakistan in an ODI while defending a target.

Strategically, the Indians were found wanting in the summit clash. The absence of a game-plan was clearly visible. If Yusuf Pathan was picked as an all-rounder, then he should have bowled more than just two overs in the final. If he was selected as a pure batsman then India should have opted for an additional bowler. There was little clarity of thought.

Whenever India has opted for five specialist bowlers, it has appeared a better unit. India had looked a more complete side. During the famous triumph in the tri-series in Australia earlier this year, three specialist pacemen were backed by two spinners. India bravely threw leg-spinner Piyush Chawla into the ring. The ploy worked. India struck with the new ball and the spinners ensured there would be pressure on the opposition in the middle overs.

While much focus has traditionally been on the beginning and the end overs in the ODIs, a contest can change course in the middle overs as well. It is in this phase that the batting side either rebuilds or consolidates.

The emphasis is on the rotation of the strike, hard-running and the occasional big blow. The bowling side attempts to put the brakes on the opposition. And in the limited overs games, the denial of runs can create the pressure.

In the final at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium, Pakistan won the toss on a surface that tended to slow down gradually. However, the Indian pacemen Praveen Kumar and Ishant Sharma sent down exemplary first spells.

Despite losing only Kamran Akmal’s wicket, Pakistan had been pegged back when Younis Khan joined the left-handed Salman Butt. India messed up big time during this phase.

Piyush Chawla was predictably brought into the attack but Dhoni introduced a variety of bowlers from the other end. Sehwag, Yusuf, Yuvraj and Raina were all given a bowl between overs 20 and 30.

Spinners work in combinations with a fellow spinner or a paceman. Without support at the other end, Piyush’s bowling suffered. He could never really settle into a rhythm.

Worse, with Dhoni switching bowlers rapidly as if it were a Twenty20 match, Pakistan was hardly pressed to preserve wickets. Emboldened, Butt and Younis opened out during this period.

Pakistan recovered from 75 for one to 149 for one when the 30th over was completed. The match had changed stripes. To make matters worse, the Indian fielding was ordinary.

Now, Dhoni might have gone about things differently had India picked an additional bowler; a skipper is often driven by the composition of the XI. The Indian captain’s management of overs might have been different. On the sub-continental pitches, a fifth bowler is mandatory.

Clearly a bowler short in the final, Dhoni should have displayed greater faith in Yusuf. As one with a 10-wicket match haul in a Ranji game against Bengal last season, Yusuf is a useful off-spinner with his height and high-arm action. He achieves a bit of bounce and bowls wicket-to-wicket. Strangely, Yusuf sent down just two overs in the final.

And the extra batsman India picked, Suresh Raina, knocked a leg-stump full toss to deep square-leg after getting his eye in. It was a wasted effort.

Dhoni admitted his error of judgment when he said, “I should have come in earlier.” An extra batsman is of little value on the sub-continental surfaces since the trick here is about getting your best batsmen to face as many balls as possible.

Compare India’s strategy with that of Pakistan. It played five bowlers including young left-arm spinner Fawad Alam. And the two settled batsmen, Butt and Younis, notched up hundreds. It never required an extra batsman. A total of 315 for three wickets was always going to be hard to chase under the lights.

Pakistan also found bowlers for the occasion. Gul relished his role as the spearhead. He employed the short ball effectively in the initial stages and unleashed swinging yorker length deliveries at the death. Left-armer Sohail Tanvir’s full length balls from a deceptive, quick, round-armish action demanded attention. He used the crease and changed the angles.

These two quality bowlers ensured the crafty Mohammed Asif was not missed. And Afridi mixed his length and pace, used the top-spinner with the leg-break and the googly. He produced two decisive moments of the match — consuming a well-set Yuvraj Singh with a slider and then dismissing a battling Dhoni amidst much tension to signal the end of the final. Fawad Alam prised out a careless Raina. Skipper Shoaib Malik also chipped in with his off-spin.

Pakistan had the variety in bowling; the variations in the attack often prevent a batting side from moving into the cruise mode.

India’s plan might have come unstuck even if it had won the toss and batted. In fact, the holes in the attack might have been exposed in a more pronounced manner.

Gambhir was fluent on the chase as he had been in the tournament, but he saw his upper cut off Gul being taken on the line. The young trio, Yusuf, Rohit and Raina, were all out to forgettable shots when the situation demanded a blend of defence with calculated offence. Particularly since there was a hint of double pace in the wicket.

There is more to building an innings in a one-dayer than resorting to the Twenty20 slam-bang mode. The youngsters need to read the situations better.

Under the circumstances, there was too much pressure on Yuvraj and Dhoni. The two put up a fight, but received little support. Pakistan kept finding the breakthroughs. The side deserved the win after opener Butt (129 retd. hurt, 136b, 12x4, 3x6) and Younis Khan (108, 99b, 8x4, 3x6) built a solid edifice for Pakistan.

The left-handed Butt, who uses his feet well, waited for errors of length and line and breached the field with pushes and more firmly struck drives. He had a stroke of luck on 19 when Rohit Sharma, placed specially for the shot, couldn’t hold on to a difficult chance at cover point.

India did not play the pressure game well. Younis, with two zeros behind him in the tournament, was handed a half-volley in the slot first up by Pathan which he promptly cover-drove to the fence. His confidence levels had soared. The big blows from Misbah-ul-Haq towards the end boosted Pakistan’s total.

For India, Virender Sehwag failed in the final but his partnership with Gambhir was compelling in the earlier games. Praveen Kumar, with his unique wrist action, bowled cleverly.

The pitch at Mirpur was on the slower side. The dark, brown surface also meant that the white ball lost its colour soon and the mandatory change of the ball was switched to the 31st over in the final.

It rained in Dhaka but the drainage facilities at the venue were excellent.

Bangladesh, the host, disappointed. The team has gone off the boil after the World Cup and is missing inspirational coach Dav Whatmore. Apart from Raqibul Hasan’s batting effort against India, the team had little to cheer.

The loudest cheers, in fact, were reserved for Pakistan. There are lessons to be learnt for Dhoni and his men from Dhaka.

The ScoresFinal:

India v Pakistan, Mirpur, June 14. Pakistan won by 25 runs.

Pakistan: S. Butt (retd. hurt) 129; K. Akmal c Dhoni b I. Pathan 15; Y. Khan c Sehwag b I. Sharma 108; Misbah-ul-Haq c R. Sharma b I. Pathan 33; S. Afridi (not out) 10; S. Malik (not out) 11; Extras (b-2, lb-4, w-2, nb-1) 9. Total (for three wkts., in 50 overs) 315.

Fall of wickets: 1-34, 2-239, 2-282* (S. Butt, retd. not out), 3-293.

India bowling: Kumar 10-1-37-0; I. Sharma 10-0-57-1; I. Pathan 10-0-59-2; Chawla 10-0-85-0; Sehwag 3-0-26-0; Y. Pathan 2-0-11-0; Yuvraj 4-0-23-0; Raina 1-0-11-0.

India: G. Gambhir c (sub) b Gul 40; V. Sehwag c Malik b Tanvir 2; R. Sharma c (sub) b Gul 24; Y. Pathan c Y. Khan b Anjum 25; Yuvraj Singh c Akmal b Afridi 56; S. Raina c Afridi b Alam 24; M. Dhoni c (sub) b Afridi 64; I. Pathan c Malik b Anjum 28; P. Kumar lbw b Gul 5; P. Chawla b Gul 2; I. Sharma (not out) 0; Extras (lb-7, w-11, nb-2) 20. Total (in 48.2 overs) 290.

Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-67, 3-79, 4-106, 5-179, 6-187, 7-247, 8-262, 9-284.

Pakistan bowling: Gul 9-0-57-4; Tanvir 10-1-60-1; Anjum 10-0-58-2; Afridi 9.2-0-56-2; Malik 4-0-28-0; Alam 6-0-24-1.

Match 3: Bangladesh v India, Mirpur, June 12. India won by seven wickets.

Bangladesh 222 in 49.5 overs (M. Ashraful 36, R. Hasan 89, R. P. Singh three for 46) lost to India 223 for three in 35.1 overs (Gambhir 107 not out, Sehwag 59, R. Sharma 26, Yuvraj Singh 26).

Match 2: India v Pakistan, Mirpur, June 10. India won by 140 runs.

India 330 for eight in 50 overs (Gambhir 62, Sehwag 89, Yuvraj 55, Raina 26, Gul three for 61) bt Pakistan 190 in 35.4 overs (Akmal 38, Malik 53, Kumar four for 53, Chawla four for 40).

Match 1: Bangladesh v Pakistan, Mirpur, June 8. Pakistan won by 70 runs.

Pakistan 233 in 39.3 overs (Butt 70, Akmal 25, Md. Yousuf 59, Misbah-ul-Haq 39, A. Razzak three for 35, A. Kapali three for 49) bt Bangladesh 163 for eight in 40 overs (T. Iqbal 29, Ashraful 56 not out, Razzak 26 not out, W. Riaz three for 22, Afridi three for 19).

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