Here I was sitting in the stands and watching Sachin Tendulkar unfold his genius. Time and again I thought, has there been a better batsman I have watched in my life? I couldn't think of anyone, not even Viv Richards. Tendulkar is cricket's 'Kohinoor'. Nobody comes remotely close.
Tendulkar looked a man possessed in this match. I have never seen him field with as much aggression as he did on Tuesday. Normally not the one to show his emotions on the field, he was reacting wildly to misfields and throws off his bowling. I think the clips of those moments should be preserved for posterity. His eyes were glowing and he was even shouting mouthfuls. It was as if he wanted this game to be the best of his life. Sourav Ganguly must have sensed this rare mood of his top man for he gave him those extra overs.
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A pure genius!
He proves his peerless ability in every second or third match he plays. And he has been doing it for 14 years. We are very fortunate to have been born in the same era as Tendulkar and watched him in action.
Good as Tendulkar was, I am concerned with Pakistan's near-inability to defend a total as big as 330. They played this game with six bowlers and still nearly came unstuck.
What is more damning is that Indians were chasing their runs under lights, which is not the best of time for a batting side. If anyone of the regular batsmen, Yuvraj or Rahul Dravid, had stayed till the end, Indians would have been 2-0 up at this stage.
I think Shoaib Akhtar could be having fitness worries. He is not bowling as well as he can. He is not able to use the new ball the way only he can. The wicket though suited Mohammad Sami's skiddy style of bowling to the hilt.
Shahid Afridi was Pakistan's obvious hero. He should always be played against India. The feeling in the Pakistan camp is that the Indian bowling comes under pressure against Afridi. I spoke to him before the game and he said he was pumped up. He showed us exactly why.
The Indian bowlers didn't have the pace or bounce to force him on the backfoot. The only reason you can succeed against Afridi is if you can push him on the backfoot. That's why he should always be played on sub-continent's slow wickets. He is not picked to play abroad because he could look awkward against bouncing deliveries.
I also liked the way he was willing to go for his pull or hook shots against the Indians. It's a new facet of his batting and it's apparent he has worked on his batting in days spent in wilderness. He also took the wickets of Ganguly and Yuvraj, not easy to do for a leg-spinner against left-handers.
Pakistan did well enough to cut down on wides and no balls in this game. It was a critical difference. There were 22 leg byes in the extras for sure but that's a different matter.
I felt though they goofed up in sending Moin Khan up the order. They should have sent Shoaib Malik instead, for he is little under-utilised in batting. Abdul Razzaq's position is perfect; he is one of world's most dangerous batsmen in the final overs.
As things are shaping up, any team which makes fewer mistakes, would be winners in this one-day series. Pakistan's bowling is superior to India's and their batting has got 300-plus in both the matches they have played so far.
To me, Pakistan is now the favourite.
