NEWS
STAT SHEET
DIARY
HOT LINKS
OTHER SPORTS
SLIDE SHOW
BOOKS & THINGS
PEOPLE
DEAR REDIFF

Ijaz 'The Meek' turns it on in Pak win

Prem Panicker

There is something very apt about the phrase 'fire in the belly'. Very telling. Very descriptive of the attitude some teams, and individuals, get sometimes when the hunger to win is palpable, when they can feel it in their gut, taste it on their tongues. When they want it so bad, it's an ache.

On the day, Pakistan had that fire -- they literally blazed with it. And the fire first scorched, then burnt the aspirations of Sachin Tendulkar and his team to cinders as the home team followed up an incredible display of catching and ground fielding with a batting performance of stunning power.

Here is what happened, and how.

The Gaddafi Stadium at Lahore provided perhaps the perfect setting for a series that had, thanks to India's strong win in the second game, come right down to the wire. The outfield was well grassed and electric, the pitch was flat and hard and dead even -- the kind that make batsmen salivate.

I would have thought the captain winning the toss would have batted first, without a second's thought -- but Saeed Anwar sprang a surprise when he called right, but opted to insert India instead. His argument is that he didn't want to run the risk of the dew, later on -- remember, this was a day-night game -- making it difficult for his spinners to operate.

To my mind, this decision was playing right into India's hands. Remember, the pressure was always going to be on the home side -- after all, by pulling one back at Karachi, the Indian team had ensured that it would not be disgraced in the series. Here, they could play with everything to gain, but nothing to lose. Thus, tailormade conditions for India to make optimum use of a batting track to set up a solid target, then turn the pressure on the Pakistan side, batting second and already carrying the weight of a nation's expectations on its shoulders, with some thoughtful bowling and tight fielding.

What made the odds lean even more heavily towards India was that Pakistan was actually going into the game with a batsman short. Not only had they dropped Hasan Raza for Mohammad Wasim, but they had gone one further by dropping Salim Ilahi for Muhammad Husain, the left-arm spinner and hard-hitting all-rounder.

However, there is the old saying about not examining the dentures on gift horses. Which was what India however proceeded to do, with disastrous results.

The Pakistan team appeared to have done a lot of homework on this one. Thus, both Aqib Javed and Waqar Younis concentrated, against Saurav Ganguly, on a line of middle and leg or just outside -- the perceived wisdom in international cricketing circles being that Ganguly is weak off his legs.

A word on this -- the assessment, frankly, was true at the start of Ganguly's career, when the left-hander would either be strokeless to that line, or play the clumsiest of wafts -- sort of like a clumsy stevedore shovelling coal, really -- into the hands of mid wicket. However, of late, the opener has obviously worked hard on this, and while he still does not look as fluent off his pads as when he is driving on the off, I think it is no longer true to say that he can be tied down in that area. As witness the two fours, and three braces, he took off Waqar and Aqib in that region.

Against Tendulkar, too, the Pak bowlers had a definite gameplan in mind. The Indian captain, when in fluent form, is a master of driving on the up on or just outside the off stump. Equally, when his form is short of the optimum, he is most vulnerable in that area, the outer edge of his bat meeting ball with distressing regularity. Realising that on a wicket like this, Tendulkar's strength on the push could make the ball fly wide, Anwar set a most unusual field -- no first slip, no second slip, but Inzamam posted at what would qualify as wide third slip. I guess seeing the field placing should have alerted Tendulkar to what was being planned -- but in the event, two balls after that fielder was placed, Tendulkar (7 off 11 with one four) found him unerringly with an attempted flick to an Aqib Javed leg-cutter on off stump which took the leading edge. India 12/1.

Robin Singh came out at this stage. And again, this is something that I frankly have some problems with. True, Robin has played some really good knocks in that position -- but he is not really a pinch-hitter (in the sense of powerful slogger), being more of a batsman who plays down the line, and whose greatest strength is pushing the ball around to find singles at will. Such a player is priceless controlling the latter half of a chase, as he showed in Karachi -- to waste him at the top of the order appears a bit iffy, frankly.

Between Ganguly's good touch and Robin's ability to work the ball around, India had got to 53/1 in 10, at a healthy run rate of 5.3, when a brilliant piece of outcricket accounted for Ganguly (26 off 36 with three fours). Saqlain Mushtaq had been brought on for his first spell in the 12th over (funny, that, considering that according to his captain, he is supposedly unable to grip and turn the newer ball) and off the second ball, Ganguly danced down and drove over the infield on the off, playing the shot inside out. Good shot selection since the field was in, and there was nothing much wrong with the execution of it either. But Mohammad Hussain, who with a couple of electric stops at midwicket had earlier saved two certain fours from the same batsman, ran back a good 20 yards from mid off, his head turned to keep his eye on the ball as it dropped over his shoulder and in the end, dived forward to take the ball at full stretch. The hardest catch to take in cricket is the one going away from you since you are running ahead of the ball and in the same direction, watching for it to drop in front of you -- Hussain here took one of the most spectacular examples of its kind, and India were 53/2 in 11.2.

That brought Vinod Kambli, retaining his place in the side over Rahul Dravid thanks to his half century at Karachi, to the wicket. However Robin, realising that the field restrictions would soon go off and that if he was to take advantage, it would have to be soon, went for a pull at Azhar Mahmood to a ball just outside off and cutting in. Mahmood has a natural leg cutter -- the incoming delivery to the left hander -- and Robin (17 off 22 with two fours) , pulling at the one he thought was going straight, found himself cramped, the ball richocheting off the bottom edge of the bat onto his stumps, India 56/3.

The occasion called for Kambli, who with a half century under his belt should have been confident, to play the long, calculated innings on a pitch that, it must be mentioned, was a batsman's dream. And, thereby, to consolidate his hold on his place in the side. If he had any such intention in his head, though, it wasn't obvious from the way Kambli (6 off 12) drove blindly at a ball from Azhar Mahmood that, had he left it alone, would have in fact been called by the umpire. His feet were static, his head was in the air, his bat was a long way away from the body -- every single thing that he could do wrong, he did. And Moin took the inevitable edge to reduce India to 66/4.

Mohammad Azharuddin (6 off 17) has been in great touch since his comeback into the side for the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka, barring a tendency for disastrous running between wickets in recent outings. But here, he reverted to what can only be called the pre-Asia Cup mode -- feet static, head thrown back and a wild slash at a ball from Mahmood that was if anything wider of off stump than the one Kambli chased, and again, Moin Khan didn't need to move to take the catch. 77/5.

Half the side gone before the 20th over on a beauty of a batting track, and if the cricketing gods had let India win from there, it would have been a travesty. You have to play well to really savour a win, and "playing well" was at a premium thus far. Meanwhile, the Pakistan bowlers, despite their success, didn't make the mistake of trying too hard -- they kept the ball on the right line and length, and their fielders supported them brilliantly with athleticism not usually associated with the Pakistan side.

Ajay Jadeja chose this moment to reveal another facet of his batting abilities. Earlier, he had shown he could bat sensibly, when in Sri Lanka he had partnered Azharuddin in a world record fifth wicket stand after India were in early trouble. Here, again, he showed his cricketing intelligence when he adjusted to the pitch, checked the power of his strokes, let the ball come on to bat and just pushed it around through gaps, hitting six boundaries without ever going to full power and working singles at will to keep the score mounting.

At the other end, Saba Karim (20 off 46), at last doing something to justify his inclusion ahead of Nayan Mongia on the basis of his batting abilities, played with circumspection -- admirably so in fact in his choice of balls outside off to leave alone, considering the peccadilloes of his more famous colleagues earlier in the innings -- and gave Jadeja admirable support to add 54 good runs for the sixth wicket. Runs were slow to come by -- 85/5 in 20, 99/5 in 25, 114/5 in 30, 129/5 in 35... -- but that was understandable given this was the last recognised pair and neither could afford to take the slightest risk. Finally, Karim fell to perhaps his first overtly aggressive act, sweeping at a ball from Mohammad Hussain that was on the off stump and slightly too full in length for the stroke, to inner edge onto his stumps. India 131/6.

Rajesh Chauhan has got a lot of good runs in domestic cricket but at the highest level, has tended to sell his wicket pretty cheaply. However, when he concentrates, he can be quite a solid bat, with the ability to hit very clean and through the line -- and here, with Jadeja constantly talking to him and keeping him focussed, he turned in a superb cameo of 32 off 31 with two huge sixes. The first came when he danced down to Husain and, with a nice easy swing of the bat, launched him over mid off. The second was an even better -- and when you consider the Karachi game, more interesting -- shot. Saqlain was back for his last spell by that stage, and concentrating on bowling round the wicket to Chauhan, looking to drift it across the right hander at an angle and then turn it back into him. Twice, Chauhan had made room and hit through off for braces. On the third occasion, off he went down the wicket, letting the ball pitch and, converting it into a half volley, lifting it effortlessly over long on. In the process giving the lie to the thinking that the six he had hit off the same bowler in the previous game was a fluke.

The two had, in the process, also done a bit of no good to Waqar Younis' reputation as a bowler in the slog. Jadeja greeted his advent with two superb strokes for four through the off, Chauhan was handling his yorkers with ease, and India had put on 35 in the overs between 40-45, and had in fact added 75 for the seventh wicket when Inzamam brought about what is cricket's equivalent of a miracle. Jadeja (75 off 109 with six fours), who seems to have an uncanny ability of not only spotting Younis's yorkers but actually of hitting them on the up (remember the World Cup quarterfinal where he sent one of those over long on for six?) repeated that shot here, getting under an inswinging yorker and launching it perfectly over long on. Inzamam was too fine to get to it, and the ball in any event was travelling at the rate of knots. The fielder backpedalled towards the fence and just flung out a despairing left hand, high overhead, at the ball. And it stuck! For sheer improbability, that catch to my mind beats the one Adam Bacher took in the second Test in South Africa, when Sachin Tendulkar was on 169 and looking unstoppable. But it was also symptomatic of the fire in Pakistan's belly on the day -- whether or no a catch looked possible, they tried, gave it all they had. And got the rewards. 206/7 India,

The batsmen had crossed over while that was in the air. Off the next ball, Rajesh Chauhan, anticipating the yorker, backed away, gave himself room and, getting under the ball beautifully, lifted over cover. Another superb hit -- and another piece of cricketing brilliance from Mohammad Hussain, who came racing in from the sweeper position at extra cover, running in at an angle to his left before flinging himself forward through the air to come up with the ball clasped tight in his left hand. The shot had been hit with enormous power and perfect timing, it was travelling, and for a fielder to snag it on a dive after a run and that too one-handed was -- well, like they say, the gods help those who help themselves, and cricketing gods are no exception to the rule. 206/9 India, and in the space of two balls that produced two amazing examples of fielding, the game had taken another incredible twist.

When Jadeja and Chauhan were going, a score of around 245, 250 looked on. But with those two back in the pavilion, with Kulkarni following at the score of 215 when he took off, I am not sure why, for a single after hitting the ball straight to short point to be caught yards out of his ground, it was pretty much all over. Nilesh Kulkarni slogged Aqib Javed straight to Mohammad Wasim at long off (don't the Indian think tank ever tell tailenders about the value of batting out the full fifty overs, more so when the fielding side has overshot the time allowed and, if the innings is completed, could have been docked an over or three for slow over-rate?) and India were all out 216 in 49.2.

For Pakistan, Waqar Younis (8.2-0-33-2), Aqib Javed (7-0-35-2) and Azhar Mahmood (9-0-34-3) all tasted success -- partly through an adherence to line and length, partly (especially in Mahmood's case) to a suicidal tendency on the part of Indian batsmen, and above all to electric catching by the Pakistan fielders who, on the day, appeared to have superglue stuck to their hands. Saqlain however went for 46 runs in his ten overs for one wicket -- further proof that when he is hit around on a good wicket, there really is no need to rush around blaming umpires and balls and everything else under the sun for it -- a spinner, even one of Saqlain's class, can expect some stick towards the end overs, and that is all there is to it.

India had thoughtlessly thrown away the advantage, handed them by Anwar, of batting first on a beaut of a track. 216 was about 75, 80 runs short of what would be a hard target on this wicket. Anwar was to give them a further advantage when he opted not to open, thanks to the fact that he was running a temperature, and sent Ijaz in with Shahid Afridi.

Had India bowled well and taken a wicket or two early, things could have got very very rocky for Pakistan given its shortened batting lineup and the fact that the pressure would really have begun to build. However, if they didn't, credit goes to Afridi and Ijaz who, in the first few overs, adopted a policy of swinging at every single ball they got. Neither of the batsmen appeared much concerned with aesthetics -- Afridi's first four was a huge heave aimed over long off, which went to fine leg off the inside edge, his second four was a huge hit aimed over mid off that took the top edge and went exactly behind the keeper for four. Both batsmen, instead, concentrated on just hitting hard and hitting often -- and the results were, to say the least, spectacular.

Against that kind of savagery, the best option for quick bowlers is to pitch a full length and bowl wicket to wicket, concentrating on cutting down their pace and ensuring that if the batsmen missed, the line on the stumps would get the wicket. Here, however, both Kuruvilla and Mohanty erred in pitching short and outside the stumps too often for comfort, and Ijaz and Afridi creamed them.

Tendulkar had before the match talked about his surprise tactic against Afridi -- on the day, he not only showed no sign of trying anything out of the ordinary, but even missed a bet by not taking off the quicker bowlers the minute he saw what the Pak gameplan was, and bringing on the likes of Robin Singh and Saurav Ganguly, who by virtue of being slower and more accurate, would have made the batsmen work that much harder to get them away. The captain did make amends of sorts, however, when Afridi slogged, yet again, at one from Nilesh Kulkarni, the ball soared up and over midwicket and Sachin ran back a good 20 yards or more, the sighting the ball over his shoulder in the fashion of Mohammad Hussain earlier, only to see it drop well in front of him. At that stage, he launched himself into a headlong dive and came up with the ball clasped in one hand -- a catch as good as anything that the Pakistanis had taken, to end Afridi's guts or glory outing for 47 off 23 with five fours and three huge sixes.

Ijaz Ahmed has, in recent times, proved a bit of an enigma. He is by temperament a batsman in the classical mould, batting with intelligence and good technique, working the ball around for runs, anchoring one end, and rarely if ever going through with a powerful hit. However, in the fifth one dayer at Toronto and again here, his promotion to opener revealed a different facet of the man. True, early in his innings his strokeplay, while affective, was downright ugly for the most part, and if he survived, it was because on the day, he managed to get enough wood on ball to either clear the fielders or to drop the ball between them. But after Afridi's dismissal, he showed a different side of batsmanship altogether. The hits were still as powerful -- witness his nine sixes and 10 fours -- but increasingly, they were electric cricketing shots.

It was like, he would at the start of the over survey the field, figure out where the gaps were, and then choose just the shot needed to find them. And find them he did, with an ease that made a mockery of bowling changes and field settings. "Fire in the belly" at its best -- and with Mohammad Wasim (27 off 52 with three fours), at the other end, batting within himself, not trying anything extravagant, rotating the strike with singles and keeping his end going, Ijaz after seeing the score to 87/1 in 10 overs, gave himself some breathing space by concentrating on singles and twos for a bit, keeping the board ticking steadily over (125/1 in 15, 139/1 in 20) before suddenly deciding he had had enough.

Thus, like an ace long distance runner who paces himself perfectly before leaving the competition standing with a 'kick' at the end, Ijaz stepped into overdrive after the 20th over. Saurav Ganguly, brought in at this stage, was greeted with a dance down the track and a clean hit back over his head for six off his first ball. Robin Singh, introduced in the second over, had his first ball swung over midwicket with effortless ease and, a ball later, found himself thumped over long on with mind blowing power. And suddenly, the ball boys around the boundaries edge were scurrying for shelter as Ijaz peppered them with an explosive array of shots the like of which I have rarely, if ever, seen even on the best of batting tracks.

60 runs came between overs 20 and 25 and, with the score at 199/1 in 25, Ijaz finished the game off in the next eight balls, getting to the target with his 9th six, this one again straight as a string over the bowler's head, off Ganguly, to finish with 139 off just 84 balls with ten fours and nine sixes.

Somehow, what remained at the end was wistfulness. I was left wishing, for once, that in cricket, an innings did not end once the target was reached -- the way Ijaz was going, it would have been fun to watch him bat on, if only to see just how far he could go at a pace that was, frankly, killing in terms of what it must have taken out of him in both mental and physical energy, and chilling in the sheer numbing savagery of strokeplay.

No contest, really, for who the man of this particular match was, and Pakistan went off winners of the Wills Challenge two matches to one.

Before closing this, one thing needs to be added: In contrast to the game at Karachi, the umpiring here (Messers Javed Aktar and Mohammad Nazir, with Mian Aslam doing duty as third umpire) was scrupulously fair. And very firm when dealing with some overenthusiastic appealing, from both sides. I didn't see either of the two officials put a single foot wrong, get a single call -- even of wides and such -- wrong.

Proves a point that it is not the neutrality of the umpires that is really an issue -- the point is to choose officials who are good at what they do, and honest in their attitude, never mind the nationality indicated on their passports.

Scoreboard