PAKISTAN HUMBLED AT bANGLADESH

DISMAL. That just about puts Pakistan’s performance on Tuesday in a nut shell. There was only one team which played to potential and it obviously was not Pakistan. Not for a single moment, was Pakistan in the game. It’s a day when everything went wrong for our neighbors. From the first ball, it was a quiet and confident Indian team that left a mark in the Sher E Bangla stadium.

It was a total surrender by Pakistan. Batting first, the Indian openers Viru and Gambhir continued from where they left in the IPL. The duo looked fit and in form. Sharp singles stole the tooth away from the in form Pakistan Pacers Gul and Tanvir. They were helped on their way by some lackluster fielding by the Pakistanis. Three dropped catches in the first ten overs, Younis Khan being the main culprit, along with some sluggish fielding meant that India was already in the driver’s seat – a position that they didn’t relinquish till the end. Gambhir and Viru rode their luck and provided India a blistering start. Their good work was continued by the others. Yuvi accelerated towards the end and that meant India crossed 300. Sachin’s absence wasn’t felt and that is saying a lot.

Chasing a mammoth target, Pakistan crumbled like a pack of cards. Praveen Kumar managed another stand out performance with the ball while Ishant continued his magnificent run. Akmal and misbah flourished for a while before they fell prey to the thirst for quick runs. Akmal seemed to be stuck in the T20 mode, throwing everything including the kitchen sink at the ball. But his charge was short lived and there ended the flimsy Pakistani fight back. Chawla made merry while Malik was left ruing the missed opportunities. India was the better fielding side and that’s a pleasant change. The Youth brigade toppled the experienced Pakistani line up.

If Pakistan doesn’t step up its game by a few notches, then there is only one team which is gonna lift the cup and that ain’t Pakistan. (With the Indian team in this form, Bangladesh shouldn’t even be a competition)

SEHWAG’S BLITZ KREIG IN CHENNAI

A flat pitch, a hot day and a marauder brought the South African attack to their knees – a virtually demoralizing experience for the bowlers. The Nawab of Najafgarh was back to what he does best – tearing attacks apart. Sehwag completed another triple ton, his previous one against Pakistan, on a perfect batting pitch on the third day of the first test in Chennai. His mind blowing innings helped India to inch closer to what was supposed to be a mammoth first innings total of 540.

The third day of the first test was no different from the first two days. The pitch continued to remain a grave yard for bowlers. Bowlers like Makhaya Ntini and Dale Steyn were made to look like gully cricketers as Sehwag made most of the opportunity that came his way. Viru continued from where he left on the second day in the same swashbuckling fashion. Runs were coming in leaps and bounds and the South African skipper, Smith ran out of ideas. At the other end though the runs dried up as Jaffer followed by Dravid were content to defend.

Dravid especially was too slow to start with even for test cricket his 50 coming off 151 balls. But later he began to play some exquisite drives bringing back memories of his fluent knocks in the past. But the whole day belonged to Viru as he went on to make mince meat of a good bowling attack. Sehwag took just 78 balls for his second hundred, and 84 for the third. Viru’s liking for hitting sixes were obvious with the way he hit Ntini for a huge one to reach 199, and soon lofting Harris straight down the ground to reach 297. There were three more towering hits in his innings studded with 42 fours. In the process Viru became the fastest player to reach a triple ton.

Viru would have his eyes firmly on the 400 run mark and Lara’s record score. The way the pitch is playing, only a miracle could save the SA bowlers tomorrow. Many including me felt that SA’s mammoth score could be insufficient on this pitch and the day’s proceedings seem to suggest the same. God! Save test cricket and the bowlers!