A dream spell by Pathan

Follow us:WhatsappFacebookTwitterTelegram.cls-1{fill:#4d4d4d;}.cls-2{fill:#fff;}Google NewsAfter two boring Tests at lahore and Faisalabad, the Karachi match was a revelation. The wicket was suited for the fast bowlers.

India won a crucial toss and Rahul Dravid did the right thing to ask Pakistan to bat. Irfan Pathan bowled a dream first over and no one could have dreamt that he would take a hat-trick. All the three deliveries that he bolwed were wicket taking deliveries. The wicket of Salman Butt gave Pathan a lot of confidence as the ball was the best of the three on which he got the wickets.

Younis Khan is not the best player of balls that have lateral movement and it was proved today as he got out to a seaming ball. Mohammad Yousuf, too, got an unplayable ball to give Pathan his first hat-trick.

Moving the ball off the seam and swinging it late have been Pathan's strength and he seemed to have lost that art in the last few matches. Today he regained his strenght and put the Pakistani batsmen in trouble.

Zaheer Khan and RP Singh, too, made full use of the conditions to leave the hosts in deep trouble. The first two hours of any match are very important and the Indian fast bowlers made full use of it.

Rrom the point of view of Pakistan Kamran Akmal played brilliantly. He counter attacked in a calculated manner and along with Abdul Razzaq and Shoaib Akhtar took Pakistan to a respectable score. His partnership with both Razzaq and Akhtar could prove to very important and it can even be a match saving one.

The Indian team took it easy after the fall of six wickets and Dravid did not attack as much as he should have. He took off Pathan only after five overs. It was too early to take him off the attack. A better management of the bowlers by Dravid could have seen the Pakistanis back in the pavilion for a lesser score

MS Dhoni also missed two stumping chances, which could be dangerous for India. Akmal and Razzaq took full advantage of this and we should congratulate Akmal for his fighting century. He always scores when his team is in trouble. Today he and Razzaq reminded us of the innings that they played in Mohali Test last year to save the match.

In the Indian innings the batsmen lost the initiative and lost quick wickets. The Pakistani bowled very good line and length to put the Indians in trouble. All the wickets that fell were the result of good balls. Pakistan did not give much space to Virender Sehwag.

VVS Laxman and Sachin got very good deliveries.

Tommorrow the first hour is going to be crucial as both Ganguly and Yuvraj are not good players of genuine fast bowling. If India do not lose any wickets in the first session then it is going to be on equal footing otherwise Pakistan will take back the advantage.

(Krish Srikkanth is a former skipper of Indian cricket team. He maintains a regular blog on IBNLive. His website is www.krishcricket.com)

About the AuthorKrishnamachari Srikkanth Krishnamachari Srikkanth was one of the most destructive batsmen who could decimate the strongest and most fearsome attacks in the world by his vast r...Read Morefirst published:January 29, 2006, 19:47 ISTlast updated:January 29, 2006, 19:47 IST
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