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Pressure on India to save series
Jolted by three consecutive defeats, India will need a huge spark of inspiration to stop Pakistan from clinching a remarkable one-day series win at Delhi.
Jolted by three consecutive defeats, India will need a huge spark of inspiration to stop Pakistan from clinching a remarkable one-day series win in the high-profile sixth and final cricket tie to be witnessed by President Pervez Musharraf in New Delhi on sunday.
Having frittered away a 2-0 lead to find themselves trailing 2-3 in the series, the hosts are in total disarray and have no option but to plug their bowling loopholes in the crucial match being held amidst unprecedented security arrangements.
Inzamam-ul-Haq and his band of glory-seekers crossed the border last month as under-dogs and, after having drawn the Test series 1-1, are now in a position to script a stunning come-from-behind one-day series win in what promises to be another absorbing contest between the traditional rivals at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground.
The Indians will go into the match without Sourav Ganguly with the cricket board deciding not to make any changes in the squad though the out-of-form skipper is eligible to play pending a resolution to his appeal against the six-match ban.
Although the series has reached a climax, the focus will surely be on President Musharraf and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who will watch the initial stages of the proceedings alongwith a galaxy of VVIPs and political leaders.
The presence of so many dignitaries has led to an unprecedented security cover at the Kotla which had raced against time to be ready for the grand occasion, though the renovation work has still not been fully completed.
But despite all the VVIP movements, the real action will unfold on the 22-yard strip which holds the key to the fortunes of both the teams who are equally determined to win the last match.
Nobody is willing to predict as to how the newly laid track at the Kotla will behave but going by the few trial matches held at Kotla, the ball is likely to keep low.
In other words, it could mean a low scoring match as the low bounce will make strokeplay a difficult proposition, unlike the other matches in the series which have all been high-scoring affairs.
