Salman
21st November 2007, 11:36
Balanced India go in full of confidence
India and Pakistan square off the for the first of three Tests at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi and the excitement at home is palpable for the hosts after their 3-2 one-day series victory. India are under a new captain, Anil Kumble, 37, the veteran of 118 Tests while Pakistan are lead by Shoaib Malik, whose short stint as captain has yielded defeats to South Africa, India and in the ICC World Twenty20 final. India have a crop of veterans in the twilight of their careers; Pakistan are coping with the loss of their greatest batsman and are without Mohammad Asif, a fast bowler with a great future ahead of him. The odds stack up against India, with their good home record, but Pakistan are never short of springing a surprise or seven. Pakistan may have had the slight edge in terms of series won between the two, but this series is going to come down to experience, and on that score, India have a big advantage.
IN
Sachin Tendulkar 259 runs at 51.80 in the ODI series was a continuation of Tendulkar’s successful year. Tendulkar batted well in the Test series against England this summer and his pre-Test preparations have been spot-on, bar the fact that his 90s jinx continued against Pakistan. But the feet are moving, the bat is coming down like a rapier, and the hunger is there for all to see. His fielding is good and his bowling has got him wickets recently as well; his mixed bags of googlies, flippers and faster ones could be handy in the Tests. Much has been diagnosed and prophesized about Tendulkar’s retirement, and it doesn’t get bigger or better than India v Pakistan to test out a man’s willpower.
Sohail Tanvir Tanvir came onto the international scene as a replacement for Shoaib Akhtar in the ICC World Twenty and his wrong-footed action caused batsmen a lot of problems as he and emerged the surprise package in South Africa. He has yet to play a Test but showed good form in the one-day series, taking eight wickets at 22.25 and with Asif ruled out he has the chance to impress in the longer version. Plus, he’s a left-arm fast bowler, so he adds dimension to a one-sided attack. His batting would also be very handy to a weak Pakistan tail.
OUT
Kamran Akmal Akmal’s batting and wicketkeeping are at an all-time low. A sustained slump in 2007 means that as Pakistan move ahead in a new era his position as number one is in more doubt than at any stage over the previous two years. Akmal’s continuing descent behind the stumps has forced the Pakistan team management to call for Sarfraz Ahmed, the promising young wicketkeeper, as back-up. Akmal dropped four catches in three ODIs against India, including a reprieve to Sourav Ganguly off the first ball of the third ODI in Kanpur, after spilled chances regularly in England, South Africa and at home.
Sourav Ganguly Ganguly’s success on the summer tour of England made way for an average series against Australia and meshed into a slump in the ODI series with Pakistan, as indicated by 89 runs at 22.25. With a red-hot Yuvraj Singh breathing down his neck the pressure is back on Ganguly to score runs and keep his place in the Test side. Ganguly averages in the high 30s against Pakistan, a tad lower than his career record, and he’ll need to summon all his experience against the arch rival, at the end of his illuminated career.
India: (probable) 1 Dinesh Karthik, 2 Wasim Jaffer, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 Sourav Ganguly, 6 VVS Laxman, 7 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), 8 Anil Kumble (capt), 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Sreesanth.
Pakistan: (probable) 1 Salmant Butt, 2 Yasir Hameed, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Mohammad Yousuf, 5 Shoaib Malik (capt), 6 Faisal Iqbal, 7 Kamran Akmal (wk), 8 Sohail Tanvir, 9 Shoaib Akhtar, 10 Umar Gul, 11 Danish Kaneria.
India and Pakistan square off the for the first of three Tests at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi and the excitement at home is palpable for the hosts after their 3-2 one-day series victory. India are under a new captain, Anil Kumble, 37, the veteran of 118 Tests while Pakistan are lead by Shoaib Malik, whose short stint as captain has yielded defeats to South Africa, India and in the ICC World Twenty20 final. India have a crop of veterans in the twilight of their careers; Pakistan are coping with the loss of their greatest batsman and are without Mohammad Asif, a fast bowler with a great future ahead of him. The odds stack up against India, with their good home record, but Pakistan are never short of springing a surprise or seven. Pakistan may have had the slight edge in terms of series won between the two, but this series is going to come down to experience, and on that score, India have a big advantage.
IN
Sachin Tendulkar 259 runs at 51.80 in the ODI series was a continuation of Tendulkar’s successful year. Tendulkar batted well in the Test series against England this summer and his pre-Test preparations have been spot-on, bar the fact that his 90s jinx continued against Pakistan. But the feet are moving, the bat is coming down like a rapier, and the hunger is there for all to see. His fielding is good and his bowling has got him wickets recently as well; his mixed bags of googlies, flippers and faster ones could be handy in the Tests. Much has been diagnosed and prophesized about Tendulkar’s retirement, and it doesn’t get bigger or better than India v Pakistan to test out a man’s willpower.
Sohail Tanvir Tanvir came onto the international scene as a replacement for Shoaib Akhtar in the ICC World Twenty and his wrong-footed action caused batsmen a lot of problems as he and emerged the surprise package in South Africa. He has yet to play a Test but showed good form in the one-day series, taking eight wickets at 22.25 and with Asif ruled out he has the chance to impress in the longer version. Plus, he’s a left-arm fast bowler, so he adds dimension to a one-sided attack. His batting would also be very handy to a weak Pakistan tail.
OUT
Kamran Akmal Akmal’s batting and wicketkeeping are at an all-time low. A sustained slump in 2007 means that as Pakistan move ahead in a new era his position as number one is in more doubt than at any stage over the previous two years. Akmal’s continuing descent behind the stumps has forced the Pakistan team management to call for Sarfraz Ahmed, the promising young wicketkeeper, as back-up. Akmal dropped four catches in three ODIs against India, including a reprieve to Sourav Ganguly off the first ball of the third ODI in Kanpur, after spilled chances regularly in England, South Africa and at home.
Sourav Ganguly Ganguly’s success on the summer tour of England made way for an average series against Australia and meshed into a slump in the ODI series with Pakistan, as indicated by 89 runs at 22.25. With a red-hot Yuvraj Singh breathing down his neck the pressure is back on Ganguly to score runs and keep his place in the Test side. Ganguly averages in the high 30s against Pakistan, a tad lower than his career record, and he’ll need to summon all his experience against the arch rival, at the end of his illuminated career.
India: (probable) 1 Dinesh Karthik, 2 Wasim Jaffer, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 Sourav Ganguly, 6 VVS Laxman, 7 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), 8 Anil Kumble (capt), 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Sreesanth.
Pakistan: (probable) 1 Salmant Butt, 2 Yasir Hameed, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Mohammad Yousuf, 5 Shoaib Malik (capt), 6 Faisal Iqbal, 7 Kamran Akmal (wk), 8 Sohail Tanvir, 9 Shoaib Akhtar, 10 Umar Gul, 11 Danish Kaneria.