Wisden
Tour review

India v Pakistan, 2012-13

Dileep Premachandran

One-day international (3): India 1, Pakistan 2 Twenty20 international (2): India 1, Pakistan 1


Nasir Jamshed plays the pull, India v Pakistan, 1st ODI, Chennai, December 30, 2012
Nasir Jamshed scored match-winning hundreds at Chennai and Kolkata © BCCI
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The first bilateral series between India and Pakistan in five years was a big step towards restoring the cross-border cricket connection following the terror atrocities - blamed on Pakistani extremists - in Mumbai in November 2008. Between 2003-04, when India embarked on their first full tour of Pakistan in nearly 15 years, and 2007-08, these old rivals had played each other at every opportunity. Post-Mumbai, the on-field skirmishes had been restricted to global events. An Indian trip to Pakistan had been cancelled in early 2009, and the attack on Sri Lanka's cricketers in Lahore shortly after ensured there would be little talk of rescheduling.

Pakistani players had taken part in the first edition of the IPL in 2008, but been ignored since; no Pakistani team appeared in the Champions League until 2012, and Indian responses to their neighbour's proposals for playing at a neutral venue had been distinctly chilly. But a thaw in governmental relations coincided with a rare window in India's schedule. Five India-Pakistan matches were squeezed in, and the necessary visa hurdles cleared.

The teams had journeyed in different directions since India's World Cup triumph in 2011, when they saw off Pakistan in the semi-final at Mohali. India then relinquished their No. 1 Test ranking after being routed 4-0 in England; six months later, Pakistan beat England 3-0. Pakistan won the 2012 Asia Cup, despite losing to India in the group stages; and, although India won their head-to-head at the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, it was Pakistan who made the last four.

Given Indian cricket's state of flux now, it was no real surprise that Pakistan were the better side. Their bowlers bossed the opening Twenty20 match, at Bangalore, before a breathtaking innings from Yuvraj Singh at Ahmedabad gave India a share of the spoils. But there would be no such parity in the 50-over arena, with Pakistan's new-ball bowlers and off-spinner Saeed Ajmal exerting a stranglehold only M. S. Dhoni managed to escape. Halfway through the final game, at Delhi, Pakistan were well on course for a 3-0 clean sweep, but a combination of doughty Indian bowling and the sort of batting implosion that has occasionally bedevilled their opponents gave the vocal crowd a consolation victory to cheer.

Even so, India had gone down to their first home defeat in a bilateral one-day series since losing to Australia three years previously. As well as the Pakistani bowlers performed - India's highest total in the five games was 227 - the star of the show was the 23-year-old Nasir Jamshed. Solidly built and with no pretensions to athleticism, he preyed on India's traditional problems against left-handers, scoring match-winning hundreds at Chennai and Kolkata. He was often watchful early on, but timed the ball beautifully once he settled in.

India's own bowlers did not let them down, with Ishant Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and Bhuvneshwar Kumar - a seamer from Uttar Pradesh - all catching the eye. But the once-formidable batting had few answers to the seven-footer Mohammad Irfan or the pacy Junaid Khan, who swung his way through the top order in Chennai. Dhoni batted superbly for 203 runs for once out in the 50-over series, but no one else registered a half-century. Pakistan were not as reliant on Jamshed, and found cameos from elsewhere. In a low-scoring series, that was the difference.

Match reports for

1st T20I: India v Pakistan at Bengaluru, Dec 25, 2012
Report | Scorecard

2nd T20I: India v Pakistan at Ahmedabad, Dec 28, 2012
Report | Scorecard

1st ODI: India v Pakistan at Chennai, Dec 30, 2012
Report | Scorecard

2nd ODI: India v Pakistan at Eden Gardens, Jan 3, 2013
Report | Scorecard

3rd ODI: India v Pakistan at Delhi, Jan 6, 2013
Report | Scorecard

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