'We should strike a right balance' - Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar looks forward to playing at Karachi, where he made his debut all those years ago © Getty Images

Sachin Tendulkar has said that he doesn't have any specific targets for the series but hopes to play as positively as possible and enjoy himself. Terming battles against Pakistan "special", he felt that India needed to concentrate on their gameplan, rather than worry about individuals in the opposition camp.

Tendulkar, who kicked off his fourth tour to Pakistan with a confident 74 in the warm-up game in Lahore, revealed that he would adopt the same approach that had served him well all these years and talked about the big challenges that India had to brace themselves for. "When I started off, I didn't think I would make 35 hundreds," he said while addressing a press conference three days prior to the first Test at Lahore. "It's always been that way and I don't have any specific targets for this series."

Looking ahead to playing at Karachi, the venue where he made his debut, he hoped that India could repeat their memorable performance in 2004. "We played at Karachi last time and it turned out to be a memorable match," he added. "I am hoping for a repeat performance this time. There is always excitement when India plays Pakistan. It's a very competitive atmosphere. But the real inspiration comes from wearing the India cap, and it doesn't really matter who you are playing. As long as you're playing for India, that is motivation enough."

Though he acknowledged the quality that Pakistan possessed in the bowling stakes, he refused to be drawn into personal battles when asked specifically about Shoaib Akhtar, who was instrumental in Pakistan trumping England recently. "He's bowling well at the moment and looks in good form. But we're not thinking about what they will do to us, we're more interested in what we can do to them. They have a quality bowling line-up with other good bowlers too. It should be a tough battle."

Asked whether the two teams were meeting too often, highlighted by three series in the last two years, Tendulkar spoke about the importance of finding the right balance. "Earlier people complained that we weren't playing that often," he continued, "now they are saying we are playing too often. We should strike a right balance so that there is no overdose and at the same time not deprive the public of India-Pakistan contests."

Tendulkar conceded that Pakistan are in prime form, after their excellent series win over England recently, and conceded India had their work cut out. "Pakistan has shown confidence and a right kind of attitude, so it would definitely be a tough series," he said. "Pakistan have been playing well and have carried a good momentum. I think this series will be more competitive than in 2004."

"To carry that 2004 experience would be important for us. But we don't need to be over-confident," he said. "When we came here last time we had really played well in Australia and followed that up by beating Pakistan. We want to do as well here this time.

"International cricket is always competitive but, to be honest, the excitement of an India-Pakistan series does affect the players because there is so much hype in both countries. One feels it is a special series. But it is all about competitiveness, nothing more than that. We eventually go out and play cricket but it gets very hard."