Before the start of the Indo-Pak series, the Pakistan team was widely described as the one, which was low on morale after their defeat in Australia. They were also labelled as an inexperienced lot and clear underdogs against India.
Having started with such negative publicity, the tourists now stand tall and have every reason to feel proud of their own progress. Just ahead of the one-day series, the Pakistanis appear to be more confident than the Indians.
Inzamam should be delighted the way the Test series played out. Pakistan weren't any match, either in batting or bowling to their Indian counterparts. I am sure the Pakistan team realised that the only way to compete against the experienced Indians was to show true fighting spirit.
The Pakistan bowlers' inability to make any impression until the last innings of the Bangalore Test was understandable, as all their bowlers put together were no match to the experienced Indian attack. Even man-to-man, our players were far ahead in every respect.
Any Indo-Pak series always throw up some heroes and this time Pakistan had Kamran Akmal, who emerged as the find of the tour. Great wicket-keeper batsmen like Rashid Latiff and Moin Khan, who shared the responsibilities for over a decade, had set high standards behind the stumps and with the bat as well.
The match-saving innings of Karman Akmal at Mohali made one believe that the job behind the stumps has been taken care off very well. It is also the runs what a wicket-keeper scores makes him a complete 'keeper.
With Inzamam coming good at the right time along with Younis Khan, Pakistan batting did pose few problems to the Indian bowlers. A high scoring series with an average of close to four runs per over throughout also proves that the batsmen-friendly wickets were provided in the series.
Indians too batted well except for the last innings at Bangalore. Sehwag hit two hundreds in the series with a superlative strike rate of 75. It was simply an act of demolition every time. Sehwag's brutality didn't give many opportunities to the Pakistan bowler to learn much on this tour except for the last innings in Bangalore.
It is always a common practice to take make an assessment of the players' performance at the end of the series. The youngsters, who performed well, would find a new status.
Balaji's performance in the first Test forced the team management to overlook senior bowlers like Zaheer and Ashish. Irfan Pathan, the young leader of the Indian bowling attack did feel the heat of bowling on flat Indian tracks.
Although Irfan didn't get many wickets, his attitude deserves full points. Anil was once again the best bowler in the series. His Bangalore performance would only reiterate the paradox of the game that even the best will be tested now and again.
Bowlers could find themselves at the receiving end in the one-dayers. While the one-day rules are loaded against them, the summer heat would also dehydrate them, making it batsmen's fiesta.
Tall scoring games are in the offing, as the summer dry wickets will allow all sorts of shots belittling the craftsmanship of the bowlers. A keen follower with a fair view of the game will see the imbalance between the bat and ball.
India need to contain the dynamic Shahid Afridi, who will certainly play a pivotal role in this series. Batting department would clearly be the powerhouses of either side.
The bowlers need to be very creative and innovation on this dead tracks. The team think-tank should chalk out proper plans for their bowlers. Lets fasten our seat belts for the batsmen to take off.
Srinath's previous columns:
- Instability showing in the Indian team
- Much ado about Bhajji's 'doosra'
- Sachin's partnerships with Rahul were crucial
- Looking for a fifth dimension in bowling
- A story of courageous fighting
