Feb 1, 1999
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Face Off Continued... Why India Should Win Given its home record, favourable pitches and a more cohesive team, India has the edge but Paksitan's grit and bowlers can upset the calculations. By Harsha Bhogle More than anyone else, more than even Wasim Akram and Sachin Tendulkar, it is the commando and the Shiv Sainik who will influence this series. The commando, however inappropriate his presence, is meant to protect the visiting team from his own countrymen. He is also a symbol of the irony that characterises this series; like a shadow he will be present everywhere; in the bus, at the dinner table, outside the room, even by the practice session. When they sing in the bathroom and snore in bed, he will hear it. He will be a reminder of the fact that the Pakistani cricketers are in a potentially hostile situation. He will get on their nerves and play on the siege effect that they are bound to experience. And a team that cannot relax invariably finds it very difficult to win.
It has ensured that Pakistan start the series in a most envious nothing-to-lose situation. Worse, this has put India in an everything-to-lose corner. Everything is in India's favour; the conditions, the relative security of home and a record that makes a Test series in India the most difficult for a touring team to win. The last time India lost a series at home was when Pakistan were here in 1987; when they played the four most boring Test matches ever seen and followed it with the most memorable of them all in Bangalore. India therefore go into the series aware that a win will be par for the course, a defeat a triple bogey. But India's awesome home record has been achieved against teams that are poor players of spin bowling and to whom everything in the subcontinent was an eye-opener. Or, sometimes, an eye-closer. That may not be true of the Pakistanis.Their top-order is less pedigreed but they play spin only marginally less decisively than the Indians. The designer dust on India's wickets will suit the two Mushtaqs as much as it will Anil Kumble and a first-day turner will therefore no longer be a recipe for an early flight out. While the batsmen are the stars of one-day cricket, it is the bowlers who win Test matches. That is where Pakistan will fancy their chances for they have bowlers of all varieties, including the finest left-arm-over quick there has been for a long time. And Indians do not like that kind. Put some bounce in the track and out come Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar, perhaps the fastest man in the game today. Batting is by far India's stronger suit and back on home tracks, they should flower. Rahul Dravid is in great form and ready to blunt the attack and protect the middle. Tendulkar's heart will be pumping. In 1994-95 it was Tendulkar vs Brian Lara with Tendulkar the winner on points. In 1997 it was Tendulkar vs Shane Warne with Tendulkar the winner by a knock-out. Now it is Tendulkar vs Akram and I think I know what the little man would be thinking about! India would have preferred a longer series because it is inconceivable that in this climate Pakistan's morale would have lasted too long. They would have found a five-Test series impossible to win. The atmosphere would have strangled them, the omnipotent commando would have gnawed away, the bonding would not have lasted and the fear of failure would have haunted them. I remember seeing Ijaz Ahmad in the relative freedom of Toronto two years ago. The Sahara Cup was level 2-2 and immediately after the last game the Pakistan team was to play a tournament in Kenya. Ijaz was to spend a couple of days at home before joining his team-mates. "Two-two is good," he kept saying. "You can go home in peace and so can I. If we lose 3-2 these guys will go away to Kenya but I will have to face the anger for two days." That is the reality in Pakistan, something tolerant Indian fans have never subjected their team to. Fear of course might also pump a side up, but only for a while. That is why a short series should suit Pakistan fine because now they only need to get their act together for two Tests, for three weeks. That may not be long enough for the commando to overwhelm their psyche. On the other hand, it may be just enough for the Sena glue to hold together. But as all stories on Pakistan cricket invariably end, "you never know".
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But the commando could also be the
strongest reason for a Pakistani win. For he can unite the team, torn at the very fabric.
India's best chance lies in letting the discontent within the Pakistani ranks boil over.
Pakistan was on the path to self-destruction. The Shiv Sainik has changed that, for the
enemy is no longer within. The magic glue that Javed Miandad was searching for has come
packed in a Sena bottle. 
