Unorthodoxy is Misbah’s strength

With the result of the Bangalore Test more or less decided, unless of course something really dramatic happens on the morrow, this is a good time to talk a little more about Misbah-ul Haq, and why he has done so well on this tour.

In fact, everywhere I have gone people have been asking me about him, as well as his sudden ‘emergence’ from nowhere.

Misbah has become quite a hero in India, it seems. He first caught everyone’s attention during the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa where in both games against India, he did well but could not quite manage to win the trophy for Pakistan.

Since his arrival here, he has been in superb form and has come to his side’s rescue repeatedly.

What strikes me most about Misbah’s batting is its unorthodoxy. In many ways, he resembles Javed Miandad, who used to always fidget around in the crease and used the strangest of strokes on occasions.

Misbah is a lot like that, which is why he is able to play so many of those shots which a more correct and technically better-equipped batsman will not dare to do.

You would have noticed through this series that he mixes long periods of defence with some shots that I can only describe as ‘sneaking the runs’.

All that moving around in the crease also helps confuse, or at least unsettle, the bowlers and sometimes they are not sure what line to bowl at him. That is one reason why he has been so successful, despite batting twice in a row under tremendous pressure, once in Kolkata and now here in Bangalore.

If you look at more correct batsmen like Sachin Tendulkar or Rahul Dravid and then compare Misbah with them, you will see what I mean. They play so much straighter, but then Misbah can well point at his runs in this series and shrug it off by saying, “So what?”

I also felt that at least today, Anil Kumble gave the Pakistan batsmen too much space and freedom.

India needed a quick wicket to put pressure on Pakistan’s tail, but Kumble’s field settings were a shade too deep and it allowed the batsmen some amount of freedom.

Having said that, it must be said that there is so little life on this pitch — other than the occasional ball that squatted — that it may not have really made a difference.

Seeing Jumbo and Mohammad Yousuf having a heated chat yesterday was something of a surprise. Both are senior men and essentially cool customers who are rarely seen to be talking too loudly or too much in public.

But then even the coolest of people sometimes show anger, and I would not read too much into it. These things happen on the field, and I must say the atmosphere between the two teams this time has been exceptional.

A few words about Ishant Sharma. In the first innings, Yasir Arafat picked up five wickets on his debut. Sharma emulated it today. I think he has a bright future.

What I liked most about Ishant is that he is just around 19-20 years of age and already has good attributes for a fast bowler — height, a nice whippiness and is willing to work hard — and these are qualities that will help him as he goes along.

The important thing for him would be to stay injury-free. He is a young guy with a lot of promise and if he is willing to give his heart out like he has shown in this match, there is no reason why he will not continue to make progress with more experience.