Congrats to all the Indians for managing to beat Pakistan in a test series at home for the first time in 27 years. It could have been 2-0 or even 3-0 had the Indians prepared less batting friendly wickets. In my preview of the test series I had made some predictions and here's how wrong I was. To recap, I had said the following:

"I predict results in all 3 matches, a decider at Bangalore, 500+ runs for Sachin Tendulkar, 20 wickets for Shoaib Akhtar, a Yuvi 100 in the 3rd test where he would have replaced Laxman, 2 centuries for Faisal Iqbal, question marks over Dravid's lack of runs, a career ending series for Kamran Akmal, the retention of Anil Kumble as captain for the series against Australia, and praise for skipper Shoaib Malik."

There was only 1 result, Bangalore wasn't a decider, Sachin didn't get 500+ but Ganguly did, Shoaib didn't get 20 wickets and no one else did either, Yuvraj did get the 100 but he hadn't replaced Laxman, Faisal didn't get 2 centuries but Misbah did, Dravid's form is being questioned, Akmal's batting form saved his a$$, Anil Kumble has been retained and praised, and Malik conveniently sat out the series.

Clearly the crystal ball isn't functioning well.

Top 5 of the series

1. Misbah Ul Haq - The 464 runs at an average of 116.00 don't speak as loudly as the manner in which they were scored. Batting with the tail in each test he managed scores of 82, 161*, and 133* and bailed Pakistan out of trouble each time. Had he not jumped in the 1st test he would have walked off not out in that innings too. He was the difference between a 1-0 and a 3-0 scoreline in this series. Hats off to the man. Pakistan have found the perfect replacement for Inzamam.

2. Saurav Ganguly - 534 runs at 89.00, 4 wickets at 19.25, a test best of 239, and a man of the series award. Who would have thought that a man fighting for his place in the test side a year ago would deliver in this way. Many thought his international career was over and many were calling for Yuvraj to replace him but Ganguly ended the series as the top scorer on both sides. People may say that he got a double hundred, a hundred, and a 91 against a below average bowling attack but it was the same attack that Sachin and Dravid faced. For me his best innings was the 48 at the fag end of the 4th day of the 1st test - the way he played on a pitch that other batsmen found impossible to bat on showed the kind of form he was in.

3. Anil Kumble - As always he was at his best with the ball. He was the highest wicket taker in the series with 18 wickets at 26.50. He kept at it like he always does. His captaincy though I am not impressed with. In the 1st test he looked very good but then a victory makes every captain look good but in the following 2 tests he wasn't attacking enough, lacked innovation in the field, lost his cool several times when the wickets weren't coming, and appealed desperately. Australia will be a test for him, especially when his own wickets will dry up.

4. Wasim Jaffer - This man will open for India for the next decade and get plenty of runs. With the bat, he reminds me of Azharuddin in his younger days. The double hundred he got was an exquisite and flawless knock and he had a very bright future to look forward to. He was the 2nd highest run scorer for India after Ganguly and that is some feat considering he plays in the same XI as Sachin, Dravid, and Laxman.

5. Yuvraj Singh - In the only test he played he scored 169 on the 1st day and took 2 wickets on the last day. And yet he doesn't have a permanent place in India's XI. Goes to show how much stronger the Indian team was going into this series. Its hard to keep Yuvi out of a top performer list these days - he has been in the best form of his life this year and India need to find a way to fit him into the team sheet before Kumble goes out for the toss with Ricky Ponting in 2 weeks.

Players for the Future

Yasir Arafat - His morning spell on his 1st day of test cricket could have squared the series for Pakistan but Ganguly and Yuvi had different ideas. He bowled with pace and aggression and looked the fittest of all Pakistani pace bowlers. He has been on the fringes of selection for a long time now and had a brilliant debut with both ball and bat - looks like a bright future is ahead of him.

Ishant Sharma - are you kidding me? No chance in hell. Those who criticized him before he took his 5 wicket haul were right when they said the man doesn't have it for this level. He proved them right in Pakistan's 2nd innings as well. Ganguly's grand mom could have taken a 5-for against Pakistan's tail the way they played during this series.

Sohail Tanvir - He needs to work a bit with Wasim Akram and learn how to get the ball back in but he's a star in the making. I can feel it. The ball he got Dravid with in the 1st test will remain in memory just like Shoaib Akhtar's yorkers from the 99 tour to India.

Disappointments of the Series

Danish Kaneria - Much was expected from him and he flattered all of us with his shorter run up and all that jazz in the 1st test. But from thereon it was down hill. Pakistan need a quality spinner and they need one soon.

Mohammad Yousuf - his form of last season has ditched him and an average of 32.00 is well below his standards. Pakistan needed him more than ever without an Inzi to follow but Pakistan's premier batsman failed to deliver.

Dinesh Karthik - Prior to this series he was India's highest scorer in tests during 2007, but against Pakistan he just couldn't get going till his last innings of the series. Moreover his performance behind the stumps would have put a smile on Akmal's face.

Other Ramblings

The only reason I haven't put Shoaib Akhtar on that list is because I have realised that an unfit Akhtar is better than a fit Pakistan bowling attack put together. The man managed 3 tests in a row - how many times has he done this before?

Mohammad Sami gets full marks for trying but his days as a bowler look over. Maybe Pakistan can use him to solve their opening problems.

India go of to Australia now and I'm looking forward to that series - it has the potential to be a cracker!

Pakistan, on the other hand will host Zimbabwe for a 5 match ODI series and that should be a good opportunity to test some fresh legs. The likes of Khalid Latif, Anwar Ali, Fawad Alam, Najaf Shah, and Sarfraz Ahmed should get the chance to show their talent in that series. Let see if the selectors agree with me. Knowing how the selectors' minds and my crystal ball function, not many of those names will feature in the squad when its announced.

Soulberry asked me about a few young cricketers who are currently prominent in the domestic scene in Pakistan. This post is for you berry.

Anwar Ali
Anwar Ali was a member of the Pakistan U-19 team that won the world cup in 2006. He is a fast bowler and was the one who destroyed India's batting line up in the final of the U-19 WC picking up 5 wickets with his banana inswingers. Click here to view footage of those wickets. He has been playing for Karachi and PIA in the Pakistan domestic season for the last 2 years and many consider him to be the future of Pakistan's bowling attack. He's only 21 and should be playing for Pakistan in the next 2 years.

Imad Wasim, Ali Asad, and Adil Raza
All these 3 are members of the current Pakistan U-19 team that is playing a series against the touring Bangladesh team. Imad Wasim is the captain of the side and is expected to lead them in the U-19 world cup in February as well. He is a left arm spinner and a lower order hard hitting batsman. He's played a few first class games for Islamabad and has done very well with the ball.

Ali Asad is the wicketkeeper of the U-19 team and made his first class debut for Karachi this season. He is playing for Karachi as a specialist batsman and has already scored a 100 and a 50 in the current season while opening the batting. He was also a member of the U-19 team that won the 2006 world cup.

Adil Raza is ony 15 years old and is a pace bowler. During the U-19 camp this summer, Wasim Akram mentioned that he was the most promising bowler out of the lot that he saw. Adil is yet to play a first class game but he played for the U-19 side against Australia last month and Bangladesh recently. He took 5 wickets in one of the ODIs against Australia U-19, a series that Pakistan won 5-0.

It is still too early to say if they have the potential to play for Pakistan in the longer term.

Najaf Shah and Kashif Raza
Najaf Shah is a left arm fast bowler who opens the attack for PIA along with Anwar Ali. Najaf made his ODI debut this year in May against Sri Lanka in the series played in Abu Dhabi and went wicketless in his 10 overs. He's been on the domestic circuit for over 5 years now and is considered as one of the best pacers around - he has about 250 wickets in 50 odd games. He's only 22 and is always nudging the selectors with his domestic performances.

Kashif Raza is a right arm fast bowler and has played 1 ODI for Pakistan way back in 2001 against Sri Lanka in Sharjah and took 1 wicket. Since then Kashif has been a star performer for his first class side WAPDA where he's picked up close to 300 wickets in 80 odd first class games.

I never understand these one match wonders - why don't the selectors persist with them? Both Najaf and Kashif picked up 5 wicket hauls in their last first class game this week.

Zulqarnain Haider
He is a wicketkeeper and was in the Pakistan squad as reserve keeper on the tour of South Africa earlier this year and on the tour to England last summer. Despite Akmal's poor performance he was not given a chance in any of the matches apart from the 20-20 game against South Africa. He has been around the domestic scene for 4 years and many have called for him to replace Akmal in the side. For the current tour of India, however the PCB went ahead with U-19 world cup winning captain Sarfraz Ahmed as the reserve keeper who made his debut in the 5th ODI.

If Akmal is dropped from the side you can expect Pakistan to give both Zulqarnain and Sarfraz ample chances at the international level.

Hasnain Abbas
Hasnain is an opener and has been around the domestic scene for almost 6 years, but he hasn't done anything of note yet for the selectors to notice him. He hasn't played that much and is still a fringe player in first class cricket.