More Test Ahead

The onus of India’s humiliation at the hands of Pakistan in the third and final Test has to be taken by the both the batsmen and the bowlers. Sourav Ganguly has been at the receiving end of a hell of a lot humiliation. But one should spare a thought for Sachin Tendulkar. He has been fading into uncharacteristic inconsistency. Whatever may be the reason – pressure of expectation or a sore elbow, he is clearly experiencing a torrid slump of form. The bitter truth is that he should be rested, with Rahul Dravid coming at three and Wasim Jaffer opening the innings with Virender Sehwag. Another ominous sign for Team India is the glaring ineffectiveness of Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble. There seems to be very few spinners to step into the latter’s shoes. While India has a new find in Rudra Pratap Singh, Pakistan has pitted Mohammad Asif against him, both of whom stress on a disciplined line and length to nag the batsmen out. Pakistan proved to have two phenomenal plunderers in their lower middle order in the form of Shahid Afridi and Kamran Akmal, in reply to India’s Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Irfan Pathan. Watching the cross-border arch-rivals locking horns in the one-dayers should be exciting.