My sources tell me that a retired Pakistani cricketer has been spotted shopping for burqas in Lahore's posh shopping district! I am told that he bought enough burqas to last a lifetime, saying that he is going to need them all! At the least, he should retire from writing about cricket too. Endulker ? You must be in the late stages of dementia, mate! (For a full response to his comments, check out archives - Falling short again - 6th. Feb. 06). 

Rahul won the toss and put Pakistan in. There was significant lateral movement early on and as we have come to expect, Irfan used the conditions very well. As in the last ODI, he had Salman Butt on the second ball, edging to Gambhir who juggled the catch. The Indian ground fielding was good but the catching today was woefull. First, Kaif dropped Afridi at third slip. Next, Rahul, of all people, dropped a sitter to grant Kamran Akmal a life. Gambhir then went on to drop a sharp chance from Shoaib Malik when he was on 12. Malik went on to score 108 off 120 balls. The bowler to suffer on each occasion was Sreesanth, who bowled with a lot of heart.

Afridi was the next to go, caught by Kaif off Pathan ( 39/2). It was a mindless shot that was horribly miscued. Wickets continued to fall at regular intervals till Razzaq joined Malik at 158/6. They took the score to 244 before Malik fell. Razzaq was chiefly responsible for taking Pakistan to 288, remaining unbeaten on 64 off 56 balls. I did not think they would get more than 270, but they batted well late.

Pathan's  bowling has looked very good this ODI series ( 10-2-49-3.) Sreesanth bowled a lot better than his figures suggest ( 10-0-74-0) and should have had three wickets. He also bowled during the most difficult periods of play. R P Singh was worse than his figures look ( 10-0-51-3). He did bowl a few good balls but served up some drivel and sprayed it around a fair bit. He does swing the ball appreciably but lacks the tight control over line and length required in ODIs. Unless that improves substantially, he may have to limit his ambitions to the test arena. Had he bowled at the death or first up, he would have been hit out of sight.

Gambhir came out to bat with Sachin and looked dreadfull. His shuffle across the stumps is very pronounced and he looks horrible technically. After a few lucky escapes, he was bowled round his legs off the pad, a dismissal that as waiting to happen since the first ball he faced.

Sachin was magnificent today. He grafted early on, when Asif was making the ball talk but stamped his authority on the game as it progressed. He scored 95 off 104 balls with 16 fours and one delectable six. His shot selection was immaculate. He scored at nearly a run a ball without taking too much risk or playing any ugly hoiks. This is the hallmark of the 'new' Tendulker. This is his answer to his critics who have frequently said that ' he is not the same batsmen any more '. They are right. He is actually better and more effective now. His drives on the off and the strokes off the pads were very pleasing to watch. When he fell, the score read 189/4. It was soon 190/5, as Kaif was lbw for nought.

This brought MOM Dhoni to the crease alongside Yuvraj, with 99 required at seven runs an over. If they felt any pressure, they certainly didn't show it. Dhoni belted an unbeaten 72 off only 46 balls. He hits so straight and hard - the way he picks the ball on the rise is remarkable. Yuvraj played a great knock, yet again. He kept his head and never looked in trouble. His timing is God given and nobody times his shots better. The ball was disappearing off the bat  with minimum visible effort. Yuvraj was unbeaten on 79 off 87. Dhoni and Yuvi made it look easier than it was, reaching 292 in 47.4 overs.

I thought the MOM should have been Sachin for his batting and the crucial wicket of Inzamam ( 10-0-52-1), but that is nothing to quibble over.  At the awards ceremony, General Musharraf asked Dhoni to keep his locks. It was nice to see so many vocal Indians in the stadium. As always, they were having fun and the atmosphere looked good. Sad to see many Pakistani fans leave the stadium late  as an Indian victory looked likely. A team needs it's supporters most when losing, not winning.

Sehwag's absence is a big loss for our batting but this team has been playing well consistently since the debacle at home to Pakistan last year. 

I had stuck my neck out yesterday in predicting a win. It is nice to know that I haven't yet lost it altogether!