But that was then. IPL was yet to begin and players from all over had only tested the club cricket format in England and in parts of Australia. The idea of sitting through the match was not only to watch a thriller but as mentioned earlier to see how the players are coping. The initial huddle before the match I felt lacked the warmth, which we are so used to. I could see it was a forced huddle to show solidarity. I guessed so much. These are the same set of players who have gunned for each other only few weeks back and setting the camaraderie from the word go is going to take some time.
The first over Kumar I felt was anything but ordinary, he lacked pace and was unable to land the bowl on the seam (something you expect from all the seamers in conditions like this). Though he had a prized scalp as the bowl breached Hasan's bat, took the inside of the pads and went on to hit the stump. The delivery was slow and possibly somehow had got the seam on the way. What followed after was a small jump and jubilation, but as mentioned the warmth was missing. Then Kamran came on pitch and suddenly the tempo raised, with Harbhajan dropping a sitter, both the guys went on to score in hurry and almost every ball was flying to the boundary. RP did the same mistake as Kumar or Irfan did. All of them did not stick to the basics of bowling wicket to wicket and trying to land the ball on the seam. Trying to angling too much, they went wayward and were stuck for everything.
Ishant showed maturity and did the right thing once he was called to bowl. He pitched it up to the batsmen and contained them from hitting, till Raina pulled this absolute brilliance by taking off Kamran through a direct hit. Shehzad grew impatient and in a bid to score over the bowler he tried hitting a on the body bouncer low but fast and got the top edge. Afridi seems to have lost the plot, no serious cricket for Pakistan must have costed them a lot. He went on to slash the first ball only to be caught by Dhoni off the first slip. This is the first time I could see some sense of belonging between the Indian mates as they were jubilant and were on each other for the first time. Good for the team.
Younis, Mishbah, Arafat and for a brief Shoiab pulled the scored till the end and put a decent total on the board. Oval is big and unlike the smaller boundaries its fences are stretched, which possibly is the reason why there were no sixes in the first innings.
Gambhir opened with Rohit and both of them showed there professional sides, something that Pakistanis missed throughout and what culminated was a professional run chase (thanks to IPL). The commentators were agog with both the openers, showering with them with praise but I did not see any reason why that should be done. Pardon me for my rudeness, but may some one tell the commentators that Gambhirs 50+ runs were not well scored, but was struggled scored. I have played a bit of competitive cricket both in the division as well as in the state level, I can see the body language, Gambhir was panting after each run and I can bet he was praying that he should survive. His flicks were natural and got him three boundaries but the rest was either desperate or were routine regulatory shots to gain quick singles and doubles (you expect that much from these players right). When Gambhir charged out to smash Umar Gul over the cover point not every one has noticed that his feet's were trembling, which shows lack of confidence and inability to time the ball. Incidentally Gambhir left every raising deliver through out the innings. Rohit Sharma though was more astute, he showed vulnerability against the wrong ones.
The running between the wickets was superb and personally I felt this was one the best running between the wickets Indian's have displayed ever. If they can continue with it then they can give hard time to the opposition this time in every match.
Personally I feel allowing Sharma to open the innings is not a good bet. With quality seamers (which Pakistan definitely has but lacked on edge this morning) he may find the ball moving in and out frequently to be difficult to contend especially if it remains cold and windy as it was yesterday. Gambhir has spent good 20 overs in the middle it gives some credence to his maturity and hoped have boosted his confidence a bit, but he needs to middle the ball as much as possible. The team camaraderie looks better and running between the wickets is good. The Indian's need to pick up the fielding bit as except Raina no was exceptional, may be Rohit Sharma in patches. The seamers needs to work on their length (more nets please), Ishant Sharma looks in good nick and good to see that he has forgotten his IPL debacle. India's main concern is that fifth bowler. Harbhajan was good but may not be very effective this time but he is an old gun and he understood that keeping the line tight is the only option in the second over itself. He varied the pace well.
With Zaheers injury unknown and Viru opting out of the field, India any ways is short of two quality players. Had Viru would have been around today and have spent those 20 overs along with Gambhir it would have done tonnes of good for the team. Viru also needs to get back the form as early as possible. What was good to see is Mahi in action, his keeping is definitely world class now and he looked good with the bat. Those 9 runs were the testimony of his skills. He middled the ball well and both the shots, on the covers and the on drive were executed with perfection.
India needs to do more nets I feel personally. As most of key players like Yuvraj, Viru, Zaheer (with his injury) is yet to get that ample confidence, which is required in this kind of competitive cricket.
However what ever it may be India Own and that's important for die hard fan like me.
PS: Pakistan seems to have missed both the buses. That is T20 and Competitive professional cricket. Umar Gul looked like his old self like in IPL 2008, bowling no balls and wides except I could see that he has got a new ball in his armory, the raising deliver, it's quick and on the spot. The new pacie Md. Aamer looked impressive but I feel he is not ready for the format yet. However he can be a surprise package. Tanvir was good in patches and Arafat resembled our Pravin Kumar. So basically Pakistan needs to work on the bowlers. However they look like laggards, almost no cricket has costed them heavily. Fielding was ordinary and ghosts from the past still lingers on them when thinking about turning a tough single in to two was unheard of.
PPS: RP needs to shed his IPL moments. Thats past now and have to work on his length. What worked in SA will not work in England at this time of the year when it's windy and cold. The pitches are hard (unlike England) and seems to aid quickies a bit. With no rough patches spinners will have tough time.
PPPS: Irfan should understand these are his conditions, same here, he needs to work and length and as he is a natural seamer he should try and allow the ball to land on the seam, let the ball do the talking. Stick to basics.
PPPPS: Pravin Kumar should augment his batting skills. He is a good hitter and that will come handy. Except one few exceptional overs I am not predicting anything great for and from him. But it's cricket you never know. He should ball wicket to wicket, pitch it up to the batsman and should refrain from trying too many things. He can contain the batsman and that is also good in T20.
PPPPPS: Rohit has a god's gift. He is natural timer. Take a cue from Manjerakar another great I have seen who always had lot of time to play the ball in his days. Except he wasn't aggressive as Rohit. Wait for the ball and then hit it hard. He can do it. Gambhir must try and play the second fiddle at least for two opening matches and should try and play through all the twenty overs. If he can do that then India's chances in the later league and knockout stages will be good. Lastly Ishant is doing well but more nets. If India again wins this time don't be surprised that it's Sharma Square that did for them. Because you heard it here first.
Last Script: The analysis continues
