Spinners, not pacers, hold key

It hasbeen said that the Pakistani squad setting foot in India is the weakest ever.What with the drubbing dished out by the Aussies (3-0 in the Test series), thismight just be true. But let us not forget that little was expected from Indiawhen they toured Australia the last time round. There was no pressure on Gangulyand his men with critics already writing off Team India even before the tourbegan. But India surprised everyone by their spirited performanceand one suspects that the Pak squad will similarly not feel the pressure thatmuch. Former Pak cricketers have already written off the squad and frankly forInzamam and his boys it cannot get any worse than the tour Down Under.The key to Pak success or lack of it lies in their bowling. With theabsence of the flamboyant Shoaib Akhtar from the team, the fear factor will bemissing though the Indian batsmen have in the past made a meal of the RawalpindiExpress. Interestingly, while the focus is on the seamers –Mohammad Sami, Abdul Razzaq, Naved-ul-Hasan and Mohammad Khalil, the Pakspinners might just provide the twist in the tail.It is no secret that in the pastfew series India have been troubled by opposition spinners in their ownbackyard. One might even say that some of the top Indian batsmen have forgottenthe art of playing spin. Seen in this light Danish Kaneria, the talland wily legspinner promises to be Pakistan''s trump card. Only the second Hinduto play Test cricket for Pakistan (the first was his cousin Anil Dalpat whoplayed as a wicketkeeper), Kaneria has a great googly which he disguises well.The legspinner who has 102 wickets at an average of just 29.47 andbest figures of 7/77 has already made his intentions clear – bag 20-25wickets in the Test series! A great admirer of Rahul Dravid, Kaneria has saidthat he will be targeting Dravid who he feels is the greatest threat in theIndian batting lineup. He has also made no secret of a ''secret delivery'' that hehas up his sleeve to catch the Indian batting stars on the wrong foot. To help Kaneria reach his objective, the Pak selectors have roped inoff-spinner Arshad Khan, who has been recalled after a five year hiatus. ArshadKhan stakes no claim to being a big turner of the ball and nor is he asattacking as Saqlain Mushtaq. But this man from Pashawar is patient and verygood at eliciting false shots from the batsmen and keeping things quiet from oneend. If Khan manages to do that, then Kaneria from the other end can really gethis act together.Coming on to the seamers,Pakistan will be hoping that Razzaq, Sami, Hasan and the newcomer Khalil canexploit the conditions at Mohali in the first Test. If the Pak quickies can makean impression at Mohali, it might just set the tone for the series.Abdul Razzaq poses a problem for Pak cricket. It is still not clearwhether he is an all-rounder who can bat and bowl a bit or the other way round!There has been a notable slump in his bowling performance but he has come goodwith the bat. He is the most experienced bowler that Pakistan have and if hefalters then India stand a very good chance of dictating terms in the Testseries. Razzaq has a great reverse swing going but seems to bowl too short onoccasions and also gives a lot of room for batsmen outside the off stump to freetheir arms. Mohammad Sami, is one bowler that Pakistan will behoping to deliver the goods. With a hat-trick in only his third Test, Sami isone of the new breed of seamers that Pakistan have produced. From a shortishrun-up and high action he generates surprising pace, consistently around the 90mph mark. He has also mastered the outswing and the yorker-lengthreverse-swing.Naved-ul Hasan has the makings of an all-rounder andhad been competing with Razzaq, Azhar Mehmood and Shoaib Malik for the slot. Butnow with Mehmood out of the equation, Razzaq proving more to be a batsman andMalik unable to bowl, Hasan has finally got a chance to peddle hiswares.The left-arm medium-pace bowler Mohammad Khalil who had playedonly six first-class matches, remains an unknown quantity for the Indianbatsmen. This is a great opportunity for the youngster to perform. And he can beheartened by the fact that India have this uncanny ability of rejuvenatingcareers and making new stars as they play perfect host to the opposition!