Pakistan wary before do-or-die match

India, with a 2-1 lead in the on-going five-match ODI series, go into tomorrow’s match at Captain Roop Singh Stadium here with an intention...

India, with a 2-1 lead in the on-going five-match ODI series, go into tomorrow’s match at Captain Roop Singh Stadium here with an intention to wrap up the series. And that would be a huge boost ahead of the three-Test series that would follow the last ODI at Jaipur. Team India would want to wrap it up here tomorrow, keeping in mind that the scoreline could have been 3-0 by now, had the close game in Mohali gone in India’s favour.

India would, however, do well not to let complacency creep in. Even in this series, after winning the first game at Guwahati, they lost the Mohali tie. Also in the previous series against Australia, after winning at Mohali, they allowed the world champions to crush them at Vadodara. Even in the ODI series against England, after winning a close game to level the series 3-3, India lost the seventh one, and thereby lost the series.

Not just that, India’s strike bowlers need to find their bearings in the opening overs. In the last match at Kanpur, Irfan Pathan had to be introduced in the fourth over itself after India conceded 24 runs in the first three. At Mohali, India gave away 34 runs in the first five overs, without earning a wicket. In the first match, India’s pace spearheads were a little economical though conceding 44 runs in 10 overs. But what they can draw heart from is the fact that even after going for runs, they have been able to come back. And Indian bowlers have performed well in the middle and death overs.

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India’s sloppy fielding is another cause for concern. The fielders haven’t been able to give ample support to the bowlers, giving away and even dropping crucial catches. What has perhaps been India’s saving grace is that Pakistan have been worse on the field.

For the visitors, however, tomorrow’s match is a do-or-die situation. They have to win this encounter to stay afloat in the series. Their captain Shoaib Malik will have to address too many loose areas to come back into the match. His side is already depleted after Mohammed Asif pulled out of the tour because of injury. And the players in the team have not performed to their potential. Wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal has come under severe criticism for dropping important catches. And his batting has not compensated that.

Akmal’s lapses cost the team so much that Pakistan have called up wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfraz Ahmed, who was the victorious under-19 World Cup captain, although the official reason given for the call-up is that Akmal’s finger injury has aggravated. So the 20-year old, who has joined the team here, may make his debut tomorrow, if Akmal fails to ‘recover’ in time.

“Akmal will have to undergo a fitness test, and if he is fit he will play,” said Malik. Malik must also be missing a quality spinner in the team, as the difference between the two sides so far has clearly been made by the spinners.

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Harbhajan Singh and Murali Kartik have really been impressive in the series. Both have taken key wickets and have successfully restricted the flow of runs in the middle overs. Harbhajan has also bowled well in the slog overs.

But the Pakistan spinners have been expensive. Their only regular spinner is Abdur Rehman. Only Shahid Afridi was successful in the first match.

“Yes, Indian spinners are doing well at the moment. Ours are struggling a bit, going through a bad patch. But things will be alright,” said Malik. The Pakistan bowlers also have conceded too many extras in the series. 41 at Mohali, 29 at Kanpur and 18 at Guwahati. “We have to check that. We are working hard on that and hopefully in this match things will fall in place for us,” Malik added.