By Saj
November 16 2004

Pakistan made it four out of four in one dayers, after an excellent victory in Kolkata. Chasing Indias 292 for 6, Pakistan won with an over to spare, thanks to Salman Butts century and good support from Shoaib Malik and the skipper. Eden Gardens, Kolkata normally a hub of noise, dancing and activity, was late on Saturday night local time a deserted, almost empty and rather pathetic looking place. Pockets of fans sat quietly in their seats, shaking their heads in disbelief as the team they most hate to lose to, inflicted the fourth one day defeat in a row to their heroes.

It was meant to be an occasion of celebration for Indian cricket marking the 75th anniversary of the BCCI, but was ruined by a visiting team that was determined not be just there to make up the numbers.

The day started well for the Kolkatans, with local hero Saurav Ganguly winning the toss and having no hesitancy in batting first. A decision that some of the commentators found rather puzzling, but Sanjay Manjrekar was ecstatic with, despite the certainty that dew would affect proceedings in the second innings of the match.

Inzamam ul Haq lead out his troops to a deafening crescendo of noise as the 89,975 Indian fans and visiting 25 Pakistani fans raised the volume to welcome the teams. Tendulkar in my opinion should not have been included in the test team or this one dayer, as he had no match practice since his tennis elbow problems. One has to query why he was brought in to the side when it was so obvious that he was totally out of sorts and lacking match practice. He was struggling with his footwork, his timing and had one lucky escape when dropped by Abdul Razzaq at mid on, before running himself out.

VVS Laxman when in full flow is a magnificent site to watch, but Mohammed Sami and Rana Naved ul Hasan fed him with plenty of leg side half volleys which he duly hammered to the boundary. Once Laxman and Sehwag were removed by a rejuvenated and very impressive Shahid Afridi, Pakistan were back in the hunt, but the run rate was still nearly an imposing 6 per over. With 2 new batsmen at the crease, in Ganguly and Dravid, now was the time for Inzamam ul Haq to attack the opposition and dry up the singles. Instead Inzamam continued with only 4 men inside the circle and thus allowing both Ganguly and Dravid to settle in and find their range and rhythm.

Ganguly and Dravid perished to short deliveries which they top edged and a nervous looking Yuvraj Singh was once again allowed by the Pakistani captain to get his eye in and settle into his bating with some easy singles. Inzamam may be one of Pakistans finest ever attacking batsmen, but his captaincy is as defensive as Shoaib Mohammed.

The last 10 overs were once again a disaster for the Pakistani bowlers, with yorkers being as rare as a Pakistani fan inside Eden Gardens. Sami, Shoaib Akhtar and Rana were extremely ordinary in their approach. Whilst this was a great batting track, the length this trio of bowlers bowled was totally puzzling. Too short at the start of the innings and bowling on a length at the end of the innings – Inzamam looked a worried and confused man as his bowlers were treated to boundary after boundary to all parts of the ground.

The Pakistani trio of quicks were basically undoing all the earlier good work done by Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq and to a lesser extent Shoaib Malik, all of whom had been tidy and accurate in their line and length during the middle overs of the innings.

The Indian fans were jumping up and down in excitement , very much like Kiran More in the 92 World Cup match between India and Pakistan. As the home team marched towards 292 for 6, thanks largely to Yuvrajs innings of 78, the locals were happy and confident………perhaps a bit too confident.

At half time, as former Pakistani and Indian captains, such as Rameez Raja, Imran Khan, Zaheer Abbas, Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Kapil Dev were handed gifts by the BCCI, the gifts that the Pakistani bowlers gave to Yuvraj and co, were looking ominous as Pakistan needed to score at nearly 6 runs per over to win the match.

The Indians came out like a team who had been pumped up and were sharp in the field, as a nervous looking Younis Khan was caught behind. I am all for experimentation in one day cricket, but it has to be done within reason. There was no justification in sending Younis Khan in as an opener, especially given that Taufeeq Umar and Imran Farhat were sat in the pavilion drinking cups of tea.

Shoaib Malik and Salman Butt then had the arduous task of bringing Pakistan back into the game as a highly charged Indian team threatened to take over the game. Salman and Shoaib started cautiously as the new ball offered assistance to the trio of left arm medium pacers India had opted to select. After seeing out the new ball, both young Pakistani stars continued to then impose themselves on the game. A delightful and entertaining partnership of 113 brought the game alive, with both players mixing quick singles, deft touches and aggression in the partnership.

With Salman Butt having to go off the field due to cramps, Inzamam looking totally out of sorts and Yousuf Youhana out caught behind in the 36th over, India once again looked the likelier side to win.

A refreshed Salman Butt returned to the fold and immediately clobbered Nehra to the deep point boundary. If ever there was a turning point in this game for me, it was provided by Irfan Pathan. He bowled a maiden over to Inzamam and then continued to laugh at the Pakistan captain who had struggled with back problems, then was hit in the grill by Nehra and then in the stomach too. Pathan is a young pup when it comes to international cricket and if there is one thing he should learn from the Kolkata match is not to laugh at a player who has the ability and skill to single handidly win a game for the opposition. Inzamam, unlike Yousuf Youhana did not react to Pathans immature and rather pathetic attempts at trying to psyche out the opposition. Instead, Inzamam and Salman Butt continued to plunder the home bowling attack to all corners of Eden Gardens. Did not matter who the bowler was, they all got he same treatment.

With 7 or 8 overs still to go and a run a ball required, the Kolkatans decided that enough was enough and started to filter out of the stadium. Within a couple of overs the stadium was almost totally empty. I think it was totally disrespectful of the locals to walk out of the stadium before the end, and not only that, they did not appreciate good cricket throughout the game. Deathly silence when an Indian wicket fell, deathly silence when a Pakistani player hit a boundary and a smattering of applause, when Salman Butt recorded his maiden ODI century. This is not what sporting crowds are meant to do, especially ones that are supposed to be knowledgeable about the game.

The final rites were read by Salman Butt and Abdul Razzaq as Pakistan won with a full over to spare. Salman who scored a magnificent century and deservedly took the man of the match award must have filled the hearts of Pakistani fans with pride as he displayed a grit, determination and solidness that has been lacking from a number of their top order players in recent times.

So that was the one off match in Kolkata and Pakistan made it four wins out of four in one dayers against their arch rivals. Whilst Pakistan continue to progress and improve as a one day unit, the Indians struggle with their combination and selections.

Onwards to Australia for Pakistan, in what will undoubtedly be an extremely tough encounter.