Is this finally a sign of better things to come?

[Maranello]

Sure, we may not win the current series, or even another Test, but this one draw feels better than many of the wins we have had, and that is purely due to the manner in which parity was achieved.

For the first time in a long, long while, the Pakistan team has finally shown some fight, some backbone during this Test. Of course, the greatest exhibition of this fightback was the much maligned Mr. Abdul Razzaq - perhaps the only guy from either side who totally curbed his natural game, in fact went against every single instinct in his body, his mind and his soul, and exhibited monastic abstinence. Eventually, Abdul Razzaq's marathon effort was worth more than many a Test hundred and double hundred. He ended up facing more deliveries than anyone else from either side in the whole Test, even Sehwag, Tendulkar, Inzi or Dravid.

But the fightback was by no means a one-man show. It was epitomised and personified by Razzy, yes, but it was a team-effort, and everyone, or almost everyone at least, contributed manfully, led by the brilliance of Kamran Akmal on Saturday (Day 5). In fact, yesterdday's (Day 5's) fightback was made possible first and foremost by the resolute displays in the field on Day 3. Make no mistake about it; Pakistan came back strongly on that day after Sehwag's dismissal, and hence I believe it is incorrect to say we played well on one out of five days only - we had two good days, and three relatively poor ones.

According to most journalists covering the match, Day 3 belonged to Pakistan. We were seriously under the cosh after Day 2, but to come back with grit in the second part of Day 3, and take 5 wickets for 265 runs over the three sessions, was pretty good. Showed that the boys could bounce back; Inzamam provided indications that he could act interested on the field sometimes, instead of his usual lethargy; the pacers, Sami in particular, showed they can learn, and wonder of wonders, actually bowl to a field! Woolmer showed that his laptop is not just for visiting dubious websites, and he can actually perform meaningful analysis through it; to be fair, I am sure he performs meaningful analysis everyday, but today, the analysis was actually implemented by Inzi, Sami, Kaneria and others.

After the lunch on Day 3, Pakistan were able to completely dry up India's scoring, so much so that India made only 129 runs in the 60 overs between lunch and close of play. This at a stage when India were right on top, Pakistan's backs were to the wall and there could be only one winner in the Test! For Pakistan to have fought back so strongly, when they restricted India to 59 runs from 29 overs in the afternoon session, was remarkable, and not something I was expecting.

This is the significance of that display in the field; it was so unexpected, and so out of character, if we keep in mind our repeated failures of the past 6-7 years. After the mauling on Day 2 from Sehwag and Gambhir, we were all fearing more of the same, similar to Multan and Pindi last year, when India went in front and drove home the advantage. But did Pakistan wave the white flag on Day 3, as we were all expecting? Did they surrender tamely? Heck, no! This time around, Inzi, Woolmer and the boys actually showed some spirit, some pride in wearing the star, and a lot of common sense in the field.

The greatest Pakistan teams, of 1987/88, and of 1992, were great not due to the galaxy of stars they had - the 1987/88 side, to my mind our best ever, did not have that many stars, but had an enviable team ethic. In its professionalism, its fighting spirit, and its never-say-die attitude, that team is unique amongst all sub-continental cricket teams, heads and shoulders above anything else from these shores. Do the twin fightbacks of Day 3, and then Day 5, mean we have finally found some spine, some fightback, the ability to play as a team? We shall see!

Of course, it is quite possible for Pakistan to have at least one staggering batting collapse in their remaining four innings in the series, where the whole team spectacularly self-implodes for 100 or 150 or 200. But maybe, just maybe, this Test was a turning point, a sign of better things to come, a watershed in post-Imran Khan Pakistan? I am not talking about winning meaningless ODIs, or one-off Test wins off the back of Shoaib's or Kaneria's heroics with the ball. I am talking about a team, beginning to finally fight and work as a team, and make the most of its limited talents. We all know that for the past 6-7 years, both our bowling and batting have been at their weakest ever, but if we begin to play as a team, and have some backbone, some fight to our game, all of us would be happier, I am sure!

This draw actually makes me happier than the last four ODI wins over India combined, as it shows we actually have some fighting spirit... after a loong loong while, the team played like Imran's cornered tigers and exhibited some pride, and a never-say-die attitude!

I was certainly not expecting Saturday's epic events, and the fantastic rearguard action. I am as delighted as everyone else here, so well done boys.... now let's see whether this is a new beginning, or yet another false dawn!

[Zainub]

We all know that for the past 6-7 years, both our bowling and batting have been at their weakest ever

I disagree with this particular sentence otherwise in principle I don't think you say anything else I could disagree with, I hope you're right, and that this "legendary" rare guard action is the start of new, better, more memorable and greater things, but I tend to hope in this fashion every other day I hadn't given up hope of us saving the match, I didn't expect us to do it so comfortably in the end but I did nevertheless have a conviction of us being able to save the match.

And the match it self, even though everyone is justified to give most of the credit for us being able to save the game to Abdul Razzaq and Kamran Akmal , but for me one should not be neglecting the contributions of Youhanna, Inzi and Asim Kamal either, the later two also contributed in our first innings. Inzi in fact might even tell you he was unlucky not to make a 100 in each innings, both his dismissals (lbws to Kumble) could have (with a bit of fortune) gone either way. In any case I can't stress enough on the importance of his partnership with Youhnna on day 4. When we started batting that day, we were facing a deficit of 200 plus runs, and on top of that we'd lost 10-3, but Yohanna and Inzi still come out batting in a positive manner, playing their shots and consequentially wiping out the defecit in under two sessions. They scored quickly. And that I think was a major contributing factor in our ability to save the match.

Remember the situation even on day 5 was such Pakistan could not afford just blocking, they needed to keep scoring runs so that if and when India bat they are not faced with a small little target but a substantial one. And that's exactly what happened: Not only did we occupy the crease but a couple of partnerships in our 2nd innings, the Inzi-Youhanna one and the Razzaq-Akaml one both came at good run rates. And all those runs proved very hand indeed in the end.

With the first match being drawn (and that too in such intriguing fashion) it makes me even more furious that there are only going to be 3 tests, bewildering why the biggest (argubaly) rivalry in international cricket should only have 3 tests (and an ironic 6 ODIs), 5/4 test and 5 ODIs would have been much more to my liking. Anyway this is not the first time I've complained about Pakistan not playing enough test matches, and perhaps it will not be the last either, not at least in the forseeable future (our schedule for the WI tour coming up in March also has only 3 ODIs and 2 tests, with tests coming after the ODIs)

The end result was a draw, & in it will go down in the history books as just that, but to me it almost feels just about as good as a win; feels like we've robbed a win from right under India's noses, feel's great in short . I just hope we can get our fast bowling sorted out and get the top 3 batting properly before next wednesday, and the rest I'm all pretty satisfied with. Should be another good contest. I can't wait.

[Maranello]

Originally Posted by Zainub Razvi

I disagree with this particular sentence

hmm..on what basis? As that was not the crux of my argument, I glossed over that point, and did not explain what I meant, let me try again

Sure, we have had bad players and bad patches since we gained Test status, but since around 1970, we have always had some stars in the team, batting, bowling and otherwise, started off by the likes of Majid, Sadiq, Inti, Mushtaq, Zaheer and Sarfraz. However, for the past 6-7 years, maybe since after 1999 WC, collectively, our batting and bowling cupboards have been the barest since the dawn of the modern era (1970s onwards). There are one or two individual stars, eg Inzi, Akhtar, but overall, in this period, taken as a whole, we have had the weakest bowling and batting line-ups. In the past, maybe our bowling was somewhat weak after Inti and Mushy retired in the 70s, with only (!) Imran and Sarfraz. But our batting in those days was a veritable Who's Who is cricketing excellence! Similarly, when our batting was weak in the late 1980s, (a) it was nowhere near as it is now, and (b) the bowling strengths more than compensated for it. Now, collectively, we have the least number of established stars, and a lot of inexperienced talent! Maybe in a few years, some of the raw diamonds, who are inexperienced now, will become real gems

Originally Posted by Zainub Razvi

otherwise in principle I don't think you say anything else I could disagree with,

Surely that is a first

[Zainub]

I know Wasim and Waqar started out in the 80s but both also played in the last 6-7 years , and so did Mushtaq and Saqlain (both of whom have still not called it a day) and batting wise I've seen the following good/great players in the last 6-7 year period : Saeed Anwar, Aamir Sohail, Eijaz Ahmed, Salim Malik.

Perhaps we can say that collectively our results haven't been very convincing but to suggest that in the last 6-7 our batting and bowling has been at its weekest *ever* well that would be harsh, there have been at least on an individual level some fantastic players. Consider this:

Players that took part vs. England in 2001, Pakistan drew the 2 test series 1-1
Saeed Anwar, Saleem Elahi, Abdul Razzaq, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Yousuf Youhana, Younis Khan, Azhar Mahmood, Rashid Latif, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar, Faisal Iqbal & Saqlain Mushtaq

Players that took part vs. England in 1996, Pakistan won the 3 test series 2-0 (ok, I admit that was 9 years ago, not 7 or 6 but still, at least it's the same the 90s and not the 80s)
Aamer Sohail, Saeed Anwar, Ijaz Ahmed, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Saleem Malik, Shadab Kabir, Wasim Akram, Rashid Latif, Mushtaq Ahmed, Waqar Younis, Ata-ur-Rehman, Asif Mujtaba, Wasim Akram, Moin Khan & Mohammad Akram.

However, hesistently but still I've got no other option but to admit the the post world cup 2003 team (the batting especially) has been one of our weekest ever, but that all could change if the likes of Yasir Hameed Salman But and co. bat on and on and play on for many years to come, then I'm sure it will be remembered as a decent if not great team

[acker]

Razzaq has flourished since his stay in the hospital in Melbourne, I wonder if they diagnosed and treated a pre existing ailment that had been holding his form back.

[Zainub]

Its all to do with spinach

[Shaka]

I wouldn't get too carried away Maranello, this game was saved on the back of a stern rearguard fightback by the middle order, something Pakistan has relied on too much in the past. It glossed over a failure of the top order and some very ordinairy bowling. That said, when you are deprived of your frontline attack bowlers, to have come back and forced a draw is a magnificent achievement, and for me Pakistan has been fighting hard to stay in the game even from the tour of Australia where we didn't really have the tools to take on a great team without Gul and Shabbir. With those two back, assuming Gul hasn't lost anything due to a re-structured action, we will be able to go on the front foot and we'll see the real Pakistan again. In the meantime we are soldiering on and even if we haven't got the bowling to threaten India's line up, I think they are going to find it hard to bowl Pakistan out twice as well. Pakistan could quite easily put out a side that can force three drawn test matches then beat India in the ODI's which I am convinced they will do. That would be seen as a triumph in itself given the weakened nature of the team.

[Paoli]

Cmon Shaka, Inzy batted well but i guess he didn't do enough...Young Salman is precocious but needs work, and I reckon Pakistan need a good solid opening pair to be competitive

[Shaka]

Originally Posted by Paoli69

Cmon Shaka, Inzy batted well but i guess he didn't do enough...Young Salman is precocious but needs work, and I reckon Pakistan need a good solid opening pair to be competitive

On the contrary, Inzi batted superbly, I don't think he could have done any more. Not his fault he keeps being given out a long way forward on the front foot. I feel a bit sorry for Pakistan's openers, in my mind both Taufeeq and Salman are the two who deserve to be stuck with. They have done enough to have earned a right to a couple of bad scores and they are genuine openers. If any batsman should make way it should be Younis Khan as he isn't an opener, therefore can be replaced by either Yasir Hameed or Shoiab Malik.

[Zainub]

I'm wondering if Younis Khan's new role as vice skipper has made him a little complecent. His attitude in the whole match fopr me was questionable, he got out on in the most disgusting fashion in the 2nd innings, made 0 and 1 over all, and also dropped a few catches, not to forget he also had the guts to smile after that ... I hope our on tour selectors aren't presuming its a rule that you can't drop the vice captain, because it certainly isn't...