Ind vs. Pak, 3rd Test, 5th Day

Pakistan wins!

India took the wrong approach by being defensive. At one point, a partnership was yielding a run-rate of less than 1. The Pakistani bowlers relentlessly kept on attacking and the Indian wickets kept on falling with regular intervals till only Kumble was left standing. The Indian batsman should play more like Sehwag.

This was truly a remarkable series where we saw some hard fought cricket. The 1st Test match ended in a draw, the 2nd was won by India on the 5th day, and now the 3rd went down to the last 6 overs.

PAKISTANI BATSMAN
Inzi continued his good form. His average in the series was in the high 70s. His 184 helped in setting up the big total in the 3rd Test.
Shahid Afridi showed his utility as an all-rounder. He broke the last wicket partnership of India on the 4th day, and then ripped the Indian bowlers to shreds by racing to his half-century. He took 3 wickets in India's 2nd innings which was more than any other Pakistani bowler. These weren't just tail enders. The wickets were of Tendulkar, Laxman, and Ganguly. Afridi thus destroyed India's middle order.
Younis Khan. What can I say. I had been very harsh when he scored a total of 10 runs in the 2 innings of the 1st Test. However, he came back to score a big century in the 2nd Test, and then exceeded all expectations by scoring 351 runs in the final Test. Younis Khan has truly arrived. I can only think of one other series where a single batsman annihilated the opposition in such a manner. VVS Laxman vs. Australia, 2001.

PAKISTANI BOWLERS
Sami toiled for many long hours. He doesn't have the firepower of Akhtar but he does have a big heart. This man has a long career ahead of him.
Kaneria was the other half of Pakistan's bowling. He had to prove himself in this series. Everyone knows that the Indians play spin well; can Kaneria survive the onslaught? Oh, yes he did! In the 1st innings of the 3rd Test, he got the needed wicket of Sehwag and the golden wicket of Dravid. Enuff said.

MoM: Younis Khan for his massive compilation of 351 runs.
MoS: Sehwag for his consistency and a series average of over 90.

The epic Test series is over. The spectacular ODI series is about to begin.

Further viewing and reading:
Scorecard and final bulletin.
Photo gallery for the 3rd Test.
The Pakistani verdict from Cricinfo.
The Indian verdict from Cricinfo.
And, of course, Cricinfo for your cricket fix.

Comments

[vishnu]

ganguly plz plz plz get out of the team.put gambir in the side.plz.