DHAKA, January 15: It is as if organisers at the National Stadium have suddenly woken up with just two more finals to go in the Independence Cup. Painters are doing the rounds for the odd touch-up jobs, more banners are being propped up and there is a general fluctuation in activity levels.For an explanation, you just have to corner any one of those tense busybees shuttling between the local cricket board office and the ground. And as one of them whispered, the top guns have touched down.The ICC President, Jagmohan Dalmiya, the chief executive of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Majid Khan and the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India JY Lele figure prominently in that star cast. Tomorrow then, would be a big day for the Bangladesh Cricket Board; time to keep the big bosses happy with the ICC Knock-out championships scheduled here for the year-end.
So, as deals and fixtures are finalised, the cricket -- at least for the power brokers -- should be incidental, even if India is poised to start
the year with a Championship win under a new captain.
It is not known to what extent the BCCI secretary's arrival will inspire the Indians before their final assault, but Majid Khan's presence has certainly send a tingle down the Pakistan team. The PCB chief will obviously have a significant message from home, which might prod the Pakistanis to higher performance levels. And, for a change, it was nice to hear their coach Haroon Rashid borrow Madan Lal's lines while talking about the second final tomorrow: ``We have to start clicking now.'' But there seemed to be much more in Rashid's second statement, when he called for a ``collective effort.''
The Pakistanis, anyway, have backtracked after captain Rashid Latif's dramatic announcement of a change in the XI after the eight-wicket loss in the first final. Now, all that they are prepared to divulge is a change in batting line-up by which Aamir Sohail will pair up with old partner Saeed Anwar, leaving Afridi to swing his bat a little later.
On the other
side of the ground, the Indian coach was a smug onlooker as the youngsters in the side went through the practice routine. With Azharuddin, Sachin Tendulkar and Srinath taking a break, it was Anshuman Gaekwad who was in demand. There was the usual stuff about how ``cricket is a funny game'' but the coach did warn against an element of over-confidence that a desperate Pakistan might pounce upon.
Besides, the Indian camp, as is their practice, was quite guarded about the final XI with Gaekwad dismissing any assumptions about the winning combination being retained. This despite the fact that the turf on which the match is being played was tagged by Azharuddin yesterday as the best of the lot.
Both coaches did not attach much importance to the toss either as the weather in Dhaka has improved sufficiently for some even cricket. Anyway, as Rashid quipped, nothing counts once Tendulkar gets going.
Teams
India (from): Mohammed Azharuddin (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Navjot Sidhu,
Ajay Jadeja, Robin Singh, Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Robin Singh, Nayan Mongia, Javagal Srinath, Debashish Mohanty, Harvinder Singh, Sairaj Bahutule and VVS Laxman.
Pakistan (from): Rashid Latif (captain), Saeed Anwar, Aamir Sohail, Shahid Afridi, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Ijaz Ahmed, Azhar Mehmood, Aaqib Javed, Saqlain Mushtaq, Mushtaq Ahmed, Manzoor Akhtar, Mohammed Hussain, Fazl-i-Akbar and Yousuf Youhanna.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
