High potential

India-Pakistan series are often touted as the ultimate, the greatest, cricketing contest of all, putting the Ashes and the World Cup to shame. In the minds of their supporters thats certainly true (Pakistani fans for instance, love to draw conclusions about the nation based on cricket results). And perhaps at one-day internationals that might be true as well (OK, I exaggerate because nothing really comes close to the World Cup - and you know which World Cup I'm talking about - no, not the cricket one). But in fact, their encounters are often crashing bores. Tests don't excite Indian or Pakistani crowds very much, and if past history is anything to go by, a combination of dead pitches, unseasonal scheduling (in an unseemly haste to indulge in golden-goose killing), and weak bowling attacks can often make for dull, inspid cricket. A quick look at the terrible series played from 1983-1985 would be instructive in this regard. And perhaps the 1989-90 series as well. Thankfully, we've seen some attacking batting in this series, and thats about all we've gotten out of it. Now, on to Karachi, fingers (and various other body parts), crossed, hoping for the best. (Yeah, I know I did this before this last test, and it didn't help either).