Magic in the air

It wasn't the finale that the series deserved, but perhaps it was inevitable that one of these days a score of nearly 300 would be defended with comfort. But the striking aspect of India's comprehensive series-deciding victory was that Pakistan didn't owe their top-order capitulation to the manic hitting that a massive chase often induces, but to the finest display of swing bowling exhibited in the tournament so far. The irony of it won't be lost easily, for it came from an Indian bowler who had been dismissed by Javed Miandad - trying, perhaps, to score a psychological point - as of a kind found in every back street of Pakistan.

Irfan Pathan claimed three of the first four Pakistan wickets in a decisive spell that claimed a victory for the bowlers, who have often found themslves been reduced to slavery by the obscene demands of market forces, which mandate the last ounce of life to be squeezed out of pitches, as was the case here. At Peshawar, Shabbir Ahmed used the early life to devastating effect, and Shoaib Akhtar has managed to trouble Indian batsmen with sheer pace, but Pathan's was an exhibition of classical swing bowling, a rapidly diminishing art.

He was lucky with the wicket of Yousuf Youhana, as David Shepherd failed to detect a faint nick, but for the second time running Youhana was trapped in front in the same fashion. Either Youhana is a poor learner, or, more likely, Pathan has cricket savvy beyond his years.

Pathan's first eight overs cost only 20 runs, a magical figure on these killing fields for bowlers. While it could be argued that Younis Khan perished chasing a wide one, it must be pointed out that it wasn't the first time in his short career - and indeed in this very series - that Pathan has claimed a wicket with a ball that's full, slanted and sprayed slightly wide. It is a sucker ball because Irfan manages to swing it late. Youhana fell for it in the third one-dayer, edging it to first slip; this time Younis managed to get more bat on it, but only sliced it to point.

Pathan's is one of the more poignant stories in cricket. Son of a muezzin from a small town in Gujarat, the state that was ravaged a couple of years ago by communal violence that targeted Muslims, he is a confident member of New India, with the fine old virtues of swing bowling. He has belonged to the international stage from the moment he stepped on it, refusing to be cowed down in Australia, where he dismissed Adam Gilchrist and Steve Waugh within the space of a few overs with scorching late swing. He took severe punishment in his first match in Pakistan, a practice game at the start of this tour, when Imran Nazir greeted his first over with six fours, and that kept him out of the first two matches.

On being drafted in for the third one-dayer, following an injury to Ashish Nehra, Pathan made an instant impact, castling the dangerous Shahid Afridi in his second over, and then claiming two more. He was India's best bowler in the fourth match too, pegging Pakistan back with two wickets in his opening spell. But more than his wickets and his parsimony, he has shone by defying convention. Abandoning the safety-first method of pitching the ball just short of a length, he has dared to pitch the ball up, trusting his ability to swing it. Apart from Peshawar, the seam has hardly been a factor in this series, but showing his craft in the air, Pathan has managed to defeat the lifelessness of the soil. India have unearthed some gems in the last couple of years, and Irfan has the promise to be one of brightest.

This series was worth the hype, and in the end India won because they made better use of their resources. Some would once again fault Inzamam-ul-Haq's decision to bowl first on a pitch that promised plenty of runs, but his hand was forced by the unpredictability of his bowlers. He decided to have faith in his batsmen's ability to chase, rather than exposing his mentally vulnerable bowlers against the might of the Indian batting. For most of the Indian innings, his decision appeared correct.

The Indian innings always looked stable, but it never acquired the velocity to assume the aura of invincibility. Shoaib Akhtar turned in his best performance of the series, and despite Sachin Tendulkar briefly reclaiming his off-side mastery, the Indians were kept in check by a regular fall of wickets. Ultimately, they owed their competitive score to a century of pedigree from VVS Laxman, and a late flourish from Pathan and L Balaji. At the innings break, it seemed at least 30 short. But, thanks to Pathan, it was already looking 100 too many by the first 15 overs.