The Pakistan team’s dominance in the ongoing ODI series against India has come as a surprise for me. I feel the host team looked jaded after playing too much cricket. India’s 85 runs slump to yet another series defeat with a pathetic display is nothing less than a surprise. It’s another low for the struggling Indians who suffered an embarrassing Test series debacle against England at home. I did not expect such wins. It was a battle of nerves and Pakistan did better to win it. On the contrary, the Indian players were tired. They have played too much cricket recently and have not performed to the potential. The role of Misbah-ul-Haq as captain is a laudable factor as he led Pakistan’s team work. Pakistan has done exceptionally well. Nasir (Jamshed) and (Mohammed) Hafeez were particularly brilliant with the bat while bowlers like Umar (Gul), Junaid (Khan) and (Saeed) Ajmal did not let the famed Indian batting line-up open their hands. It was a daunting task to suffocate the Indian batsmen but Pakistani bowlers succeeded. Pakistani bowlers maintained an accurate line and length and none of the Indian top order batsmen could fire. I feel the India are under additional pressure due to playing at home. Naturally there is additional pressure to perform in front of a home crowd and it tends to increase when India and Pakistan play each other. India was under pressure but we must give credit to the Pakistani team which has performed really well. Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is facing severe criticism but as a captain alone he cannot win matches. A captain is as good as the team. Bowlers and batsmen have to perform. It was due to Dhoni’s unbeaten century that India managed to get a decent score in the first match and in the second match also he batted well. Looking at the current form of the Pakistan team, I think this team can go for a whitewash. Pakistan can clean sweep the series in Delhi and if it happens, it will be a blessing for Pakistan cricket. We are deprived of international cricket at home and in such circumstances a win against a top team like India will boost Pakistan cricket. I urge India to reciprocate by touring Pakistan in near future. I would love to see the Indian team playing in Pakistan. Pakistani people are cricket crazy and they want to see the great cricketing battle between the arch-rivals.
