Indo-Pak Tests: A momentous series minus decider (15 February 1999)

15 February 1999

Indo-Pak Tests: A momentous series minus decider

Qamar Ahmad

DELHI: Touring India with a cricket team is a unique experience, especially when it comes to a visit by a Pakistan team. The country seethes with excitement and expectation, cricket becomes a part of day to day life of everyone of the population of the teeming millions. The pride in the team's success and the disappointment of a failure against the arch rivals takes precedence over all activities around.

On my last three visit to India with Pakistan and during the 1987 World Cup I had already experienced that. The situation has not changed since. In fact on this visit considering the circumstances of this tour, the eagerness of the players to perform at their peak is even more than one would have imagined. The daring decision to visit India and renew relationship at Test level was the best thing that has happened for both countries and for the people on either side of the border. The befitting result with each side winning one Test was fair outcome of the brief encounter.

Pakistan's 12 runs win in the first Test at Chennai, Sachin Tendulkar's superb innings of 136, Shahid Afridi's maiden Test hundred and Saqlain Mushtaq's bowling all contributed to the Test being most absorbing and enthralling. To top that the behaviour of the crowd at Chennai and its capacity to applaud and appreciate the finer points of the game was even more pleasing. Their standing ovation for Pakistan and applause when Pakistan took the lap of honour was absolutely astounding. I had never seen anything like that especially when the home side had lost the match in a nail-biting finish.

Pakistan lost the second test because they dropped catches and batted poorly. They were even heckled and jeered by a section of the crowd which was expected at Feroze Shah Kotle. Even in Pakistan the behaviour of crowd is very much similar to Delhi. But the thing which was most encouraging from the visitors point of view was that despite all the jeers and boos, nothing was thrown at them.

The match was made more memorable by Anil Kumble's 10 wickets in an innings to become the second man in history after England's Jim Laker to have done that and that too after a gap of 43 years. Wasim Akram becoming the highest wicket taker for Pakistan to go past Imran Khan's 362 wickets and Saqlain's Mushtaq's magical spells to haul another bag of ten wickets in the match to finish the series with 20 victims in two Tests, had all become a part of the momentous series.

If only this had been a three match Test series, the interest would have immeasurably increased and intensified. But we all know how sporting and passionate the followers of this game are in Calcutta. I suppose the Asian Test Championship's first Test for the people of Calcutta would become the third match of the series. That is how everyone on either side of the border would take this visit of Pakistan after a gap of 12 years.

As a roving reporter I am lucky to have covered historical moments such as Sunil Gavaskar becoming the first man to reach 10,000 runs in Tests, Richard Hadlee becoming the first bowler to grab 400 wickets at test level and five Test hat-tricks, but 10 wickets in an innings, never. I am glad I was there and in years gone by I could say that I was there as would an Englishman Richard Stoke (53), who as a 10 year old had seen Jim Laker destroy Australia at Old Trafford by taking 19 wickets in the match and Kumble's great feat at the Feroze Shah Kotla Ground.

Source :: Dawn (https://dawn.com/)