The Demolition Act

India’s ground fielding in the series has consistently been praiseworthy, and the catching was the only sore point, but today even that aspect was excellent. The first three Pakistani wickets were all obtained via great catches that backed up intelligent bowling. With Dhoni also having a good day with three catches behind the stumps Pakistan were bowled out in the 42 over for only 161 runs. India didn’t even have to break a sweat as they coasted to a five wicket win in the 33 over on the back of a sold half century from their skipper Rahul Dravid.

Dravid won the toss and had no hesitation in inserting the opposition. The Pakistani openers were extremely cautious against the new ball, adopting a safety first approach. The first boundary came only in the 6th over. In the 7th over Pathan bowled three full pitched incoming deliveries to Kamran Akmal with the cover fielders helping to make them all dot balls. Dravid then moved the second slip to a short point, and when Pathan bowled one a touch short and slanting away, Akmal couldn’t resist going for the big booming square cut only to find the safe hands of Suresh Raina at short point. The ball was hit fiercely and Raina with superb anticipation moved his hands to his left to take the catch nonchalantly with both hands. It was an incredible reflex catch, and he ran and hugged his delighted captain who had just moved him there. As if that wasn’t enough, Dravid grabbed a sensational one handed catch diving to his left at first slip, to give the impressive Sreesanth only his second wicket of the series. Dravid went at it with both hands and ended up with the ball ensconced in his left hand in front of the vacant second slip. It was an outstanding slip catch. Both the openers were gone, and this time Shoaib Malik couldn’t bail them out of trouble. RP Singh surprised him with a well directed bouncer that Malik topedged in a lame attempt at a pull and Pathan screamed in from square leg to take a diving catch at forward short leg. Three great catches and Pakistan were in strife, but more was to follow as Younis Khan reprised his first ball duck from the Third Test, only this time the bowler was RP Singh who pitched it in line and straightened the ball to catch him plumb in front. Mohammad Yousuf probably couldn’t believe that he had to try and save another hattrick, but luckily this time he succeeded.

RP Singh was in the middle of a dream spell and almost had Yousuf’s wicket too, but the umpire gave him the benefit of the doubt, and it probably was the right decision as there might have been a slight inside edge that the stump microphone picked up and fed to the umpire’s ear phones. The ear phones probably are the best thing the ICC have done for the on field umpires. Inzamam and Yousuf set about rebuilding the Pakistani innings with Inzamam in particular playing some glorious shots of Sreesanth and a below par Ajit Agarkar. The pair added 68 runs in quick time, before Agarkar got one right, it pitched on a perfect length and moved away taking Yousuf’s edge for Dhoni to take a diving catch at second attempt in front of slip. Pakistan were in dire straits and a bowler was subbed out for a batsman, Imran Farhat, who stuck around for some time, without scoring too many before he played an awful looking pull shot to RP Singh and Suresh Raina at mid on had no problems with the catch. RP Singh struck again in the same over with one slanting across Razzaq that bounced more than he expected and got the edge through to Dhoni. Soon Tendulkar claimed Inzamam leg before for 49 well made runs, and the Pakistan tail folded quickly with Pathan claiming the last two wickets and he is the leading wicket taker with three wickets apiece in the last three games.
The Indian chase began poorly with Tendulkar chasing a wide one from Mohammad Sami, but Gautam Gambhir played some rousing shots in the company of the dependable Rahul Dravid. Dravid played wonderfully off his pads, but Gambhir gave it away with an ambitious hook shot to a ball outside the off stump. The comeback man, Sami, had taken 2 wickets, to give Pakistan an outside chance. But, Yuvraj and Dravid took the game away from Pakistan with an 85 run partnership. There were a few stutters when Yuvraj and Kaif fell in quick succession and Sami came back to claim Dravid as his third wicket with a swinging full toss; but Suresh Raina, who was sent ahead of Dhoni, played a sparkling cameo with powerful shots through the offside interspersed with sound defense. India cantered to a five wicket win, and this man Suresh Raina continues to impress. I think he is going to be a vital member of this Indian team soon, and maybe even play a starring role in the 2007 World Cup.

The Indian team has been a revelation in how they have turned things around after the demoralizing loss in the Karachi Test, and Rahul Dravid has tenaciously passed yet another test of his character.