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Alok Kapali’s dazzling 97-ball 115 against India on Saturday could well prove to be the watershed of his career. He couldn’t have chosen a better time to come good after he was recalled to the squad after close to two years as a replacement for the injured Aftab Ahmed in the Kitply Cup earlier this month.Kapali said he was confident coming into the Asia Cup considering his record while playing in Pakistan. “I had made some runs and taken a hat-trick when I was here the last time [in 2003]. I was just at the right place to start all over again,” Kapali told TigerCricket.com. “My late father believed in reincarnation and, from my cricket’s perspective, I hope this is a new beginning also.”He failed to get a berth in the squad during Dav Whatmore’s time as Bangladesh coach, but he blamed the situation on his own form. “I can’t blame Dav or anyone for that. I was not scoring runs and had to accept the fact that I was out of the Bangladesh team. I held no grudges. In fact, I always wished the team well when they were playing,” Kapali said. “When I was out of form, I spoke to coaches and players about what I should be doing. Maybe I tried too many things after listening to them. That did not help at all, and I became a confused cricketer.”Kapali, however, attributed the turn-around in his fortunes to himself. “I identified the weaknesses in my batting myself. There were slight changes I had to make technically,” he said. “Earlier I went across too much early on and that brought about my downfall often. I practised playing with a straight bat and made runs in the National Championship and the Dhaka Premier League this season.”There were two distinct phases in Kapali’s knock. He played with a defensive approach on the way to his first fifty, which came off 65 balls, after which he cut loose, needing only 21 balls more to reach his hundred.”All the while I was thinking of the team score and did not for once look at my score. I planned my innings and followed the team management’s instructions,” he said. “I knew that if I was there after 40 overs then I could play those big shots.”Rather than getting carried away, Kapali was focused on the challenges that lay ahead. “There is so much work to be done. I was out of the national set-up for a long time, almost two years, and now I need to earn my place again. I have to improve my fitness level also as I have not trained in the same pace as the national team. There is a lot of catching up to do.”

Local cricketers have been urged to stick to the rules laid down by KCCA when playing in Ramazan tournaments.”Cricketers are strictly advised to observe the sanctity of Ramazan-ul-Mubarak in true spirit when they participate in various tournaments during the holy month,” said Sirajul Islam Bukhari here Thursday during a press briefing for eighth Tapal Trophy Ramazan Festival Cricket Tournament.Giving details of this major event, Bukhari, the KCCA honorary secretary, said that 16 top local teams from various departments and clubs will be vying for honours in the tournament, scheduled to be played at UBL Sports Complex from Nov 7 to Dec 3.Winners of this year’s edition will pocket Rs 150,000 while the runners-up will receive Rs 75,000.Besides there will be individual cash awards, such as Man-of-the-Tournament (Rs 10,000), Best Batsman (Rs 5,000), Best Bowler (Rs 5,000), Best Fielder (Rs 5,000). Man-of-the-Match in every game will be given Rs 1,000 each.Defending champions Tapal CC have been placed in Group ‘A’ with Malir Companion, Shalimar CC and UBL Academy.Group ‘B’ comprises of KESC, Pak Gymkhana, Southern Sui Gas and A.J. World Wide.Group ‘C’ includes Dewan Sugar Mills, A.O. CC, Customs Academy and Karachi Building Control Authority.Baqai Dolphins, Omer CC, DHA and Godhra CC are in Group ‘D’.The semifinals will be played on Dec 1 and 2, followed by the final on 3rd.

Auckland, the defending State Championship holders, named a predictable squad of 14 to contest this year’s competition.Again under the leadership of Brooke Walker, the squad of 14 will be trimmed to 12 before next week’s first match for the side against Northern Districts in Gisborne.Auckland have come off a strong batting effort, especially from Tama Canning, who scored 105, and Tim McIntosh, who hit 77, in their warm-up match with ND at Eden Park’s outer oval.The squad has been named for the first three matches, the other games being against Wellington and Central Districts in Auckland and Blenheim respectively.The squad is: Brooke Walker (captain), Andre Adams, Tama Canning, Matt Horne, Rob Lynch, Richard Morgan, Rob Nicol, Tim McIntosh, Craig Pryor, Kyle Mills, Mark Richardson, Gareth Shaw, Lou Vincent, Reece Young.

The England batsman Graham Thorpe has announced his retirement from one-day international cricket. Thorpe, who missed the last four games of the NatWest Series, made the announcement shortly after England’s narrow defeat by India in today’s final.The Surrey left-hander, who turns 33 next month, says he wishes to concentrate on Test cricket, and spend more time with his young children.Thorpe was thought to be a leading candidate for England’s World Cup squad in South Africa next year. But he said this evening that the demands of combining Test and one-day international cricket were becoming too great for him.”In terms of keeping my body fit it’s becoming harder to do, playing both Tests and one-day internationals so I’ve decided to concentrate on just playing Test matches,” Thorpe said.”I also want to have more time to build a relationship with my two children,given my new personal circumstances at home.”Thorpe has played in 82 one-day internationals, scoring 2380 runs at an average of 37, with a strike rate of 71 runs per 100 balls. He returned home early from England’s tour to India last winter following the breakdown of his marriage.The England coach Duncan Fletcher said: “Graham’s been a fantastic one-day player for England and we’ll miss him but we look forward to him continuing to be a key player in our Test match side.””Graham got an injury half-way through this series, which allowed us to playMichael Vaughan,” Fletcher added.”Given that he let us know his decision to retire from the one-day team at that time, we decided it was a good opportunity to continue with Michael in the side and let him gain further valuable experience in one-day international cricket.”

ISLAMABAD, Sept 3: Islamabad pace bowler Saif-ur-Rehman ripped through Kohat batting Tuesday taking an impressive six for 58 as the rain-hit National Junior (Under-19) Grade-I Cricket Championship match ended in a draw at Shalimar Ground.After a barren second day, Islamabad resumed their first innings on the third day at 279 for five to bat out the three overs that were remaining out of the allotted 80. This allowed Shakir Mahmood who was 95 not out when play began, to complete his century and stay unbeaten in his side’s total of 287 for five.When Kohat batted they found Saif too hot to handle and capitulated for 173 off 38.2 overs, conceding a first innings lead of 114. Only Usman stood at the wicket for a good while in scoring 65.Islamabad then quickly hit 96 for five in 22 overs before declaring their second innings giving Kohat a target of 210.But Kohat did not go for the run chase and were 44 for one when play ended. Islamabad earned three points from the match by virtue of having gained first innings lead.Summarised scores:ISLAMABAD 287-5 in 80 overs (Mohammad Altaf 106, Shakir Mahmood 100 not out) and 96-5 declared;KOHAT 173 in 38.2 overs (Usman 65, Saif-ur-Rehman 6-58) and 44-1.Meanwhile, at the KRL Stadium in Rawalpindi, the match between Karachi Blues and Fata also ended in a draw after the first two days were lost because of rain.Nasir Aziz cracked a fine unbeaten 147 off 248 balls, hitting 12 fours and three sixes, as Karachi Blues accumulated 241 for five off their 80 overs.Fata were 67 for one with Johar Hussain 29 not out and Sajid Afridi unbeaten on 26. No team gained any point from the match.Summarised scores:KARACHI BLUES 241-5 in 80 overs (Nasir Aziz 147 not out);FATA 67-1.Our Sports Correspondent adds from Lahore:Atif Ijaz (62 not out) and Mohammad Saeed (45) helped Lahore Blues earn a respectable draw against Sheikhupura at Sheikhupura Stadium.Replying to Sheikhupura first innings total of 294 after Monday’s wash-out, Lahore Blues nose-dived to 31 for six before recovering to 161 for seven in 59 overs through Atif and Saeed who put on 99 for the seventh wicket.Pacer Faisal Rasheed was the main destroyer with fine figures of five for 35.Summarised scores:SHEIKHUPURA 294-9 in 80 overs (Khalil Ahmed 61, Shahid Siddique 59, IrfanHaider 50; Khurram Irshad 3-53);LAHORE BLUES 161-7 in 59 overs (Atif Ijaz 62 not out, Mohammad Saeed 45; Faisal Rasheed 5-35).APP adds:Salman Qadir scored 88 to help Lahore Whites salvage an exciting draw against Karachi Whites at National Stadium.Karachi Whites declared their second innings at 253 for five 30 minutes after lunch, setting their opponents a target of 282.Lahore Whites finished at 205 for eight in their second innings.Salman, who hit 77 in the first innings, rescued his team after they were reeling at 126 for seven by adding 78 runs for the eighth wicket with Omar Javed.Salman showed his attacking approach, hitting 10 fours and a brace of sixes off in his 141-minute innings, facing just 95 balls. Tailender Omar also made a telling contribution with 13 not out in 87 minutes while consuming 68 balls.Opener Jahangir Mirza was the other major scorer with 67 off 82 balls.Earlier, Faraz Patel hit his second unbeaten half century of the match. Having made 54 in the first innings, finished 61 not out with the aid of six hits to the fence.Summarised scores:KARACHI WHITES 267-9 (Mubashir Ahmed 106, Faraz Patel 54 not out; Raza Ali Dar 5-90) and 253-5 declared (Faraz Patel 61 not out, Khalid Latif 41, Asadullah Sumairi 40);LAHORE WHITES 239 (Salman Qadir 77, Kashif Mahmood 41 not out; Tabish Khan 3-49, Aftab Ahmed Khan 3-68) and 205-8 (Salman Qadir 88, Jahangir Mirza 67).The other match at NBP Sports Complex between Quetta and Bahawalpur ended in a tame draw.Bahawalpur declared their second innings at 204 for eight with paceman Arun Lal taking four for 43 in 21 overs.Quetta, who finished at 52 for two in their second knock, secured three points for the first innings lead.Summarised scores:BAHAWALPUR 189-9 (Asif Iqbal 53, Abdul Hameed 4-42) and 204-4 declared (Arun Lal 4-43);QUETTA 227-9 (Mohammad Kaleem 44; Farrukh Kamal 4-68) and 52-2.Meanwhile, defending champions Peshawar were held to a draw by Rawalpindi at Arbab Niaz Stadium.The visitors struggled to 178for seven after being set atarget of 305 when the match ended.Rawalpindi’s hero was left-hander Mohammad Shiraz, who finished with an undefeated 74 off 163 deliveries going in as an opener.Peshawar, who made 318 in their first innings, closed their second innings at 176 for five.Summarised scores:PESHAWAR 318 (Aftab Khan 86, Abdul Nasir 61, Mohammad Nawaz 50; Najaf Shah 4-52, Mazhar Malik 3-82) and 176-5 declared (Abdul Nasir 55, Aftab Khan 45; Shahid Mahmood 4-75);RAWALPINDI 190 (Sheriyar Khan 5-58, Abdul Nasir 3-53) and 178-7 (Mohammad Shiraz 74 not out).

Erapalli Prasanna, in his analysis of the third Test at Barbados,mentioned that Harbhajan Singh needed to attack the batsmen much more.A fine exponent of the off-spin art himself, Prasanna averred thatHarbhajan, as a wicket-taking bowler, should be plotting the batsman’sdownfall with every ball.

A look at Harbhajan’s bowling in the West Indian first inningsconfirms this view. He returned figures of 34.5-7-87-3, so his fansmay argue that he wasn’t completely ineffective. But his first wicketwas that of Carl Hooper after the West Indian skipper had plundered115 runs off the Indian attack, and his other two were of PedroCollins and Adam Sanford, two minions in a woefully weak West Indiantail.Harbhajan’s wagon-wheel against all batsmen in the West Indian firstinnings is telling. Only 20 runs were scored off him in front ofsquare, whereas 23 runs went to the point region and 32 to square leg- an indication that Harbhajan was bowling much too short.A large percentage of an off-spinner’s wickets come from making thebatsman drive against the turn, and although Harbhajan did make thebatsmen play to cover to the tune of 15 runs, that was not nearlyenough. His dropping short made it particularly easy for the batsmanto comfortably turn him behind square for runs; Hooper took 15 runsoff him in this manner.As the sole attacking spinner in the side, Harbhajan shouldundoubtedly follow Prasanna’s advice. He can definitely do so byflighting the ball more and keeping the ball up to the batsman.Knowing that most of the West Indians are not too proficient at playingspin, this tactic may help Harbhajan get back to his old ways ofbamboozling the batsmen.

Shahid Afridi geared up for this month’s Sharjah Cup with an electrifying knock that set up a comfortable 139-run victory for Habib Bank over Wapda in the National One-day Championship semifinal at the National Stadium Tuesday.Shahid clobbered 13 boundaries and three sixes in a 63-ball 86 and featured in a 153-run first wicket stand with Taufiq Umer (90) to help the bankers amass 306 from 50 overs. The two young guns belted 120 from the first 15 overs.Wapda, lucky to be playing the knock-out match of the premier competition, were shot out for 167 in 46.5 overs with seamer Sajid Shah picking up four for 33.Shahid added another couple of wickets to his name to share the Man-of-the-Match award with Taufiq who has scored heavily and consistently since the selectors dropped him from the Sharjah tour.Flambouyant Shahid, playing his first match in the competition, made a cautious start when he scored six runs from the first 16 balls with two scoring shots. But the charismatic allrounder turned ruthless and devastating when he reached his half century off 35 balls laced with 10 boundaries and a six.Shahid was severe on Pakistan Under-19 paceman Waqas Ahmad who conceded 50 runs from his four overs. He didn’t come into action again.Capitalizing on a missed stumping when 42 but failed to convert his 86 into century when he holed out to Kashif Rasheed off Aqeel at mid-wicket. Aqeel finished with two for 63. But left-handed Taufiq kept a cool head on his shoulder. His 85-ball innings of controlled aggression included 10 boundaries and a six.Salim Elahi, who replaced Shahid, further mauled a below-par Wapda attack by slamming 78 off 83 balls with five boundaries. He, however, failed to throw his bat around in the slog overs when he was run-out after a mix-up with Younis Khan.The bankers failed to cash in on the perfect platform set by the top order when they could add only 64 runs in the last ten overs while losing six wickets.Younis, a permanent one-down batsman for Pakistan, surprisingly came out at No 6 as Habib Bank named four openers in its lineup. Furthermore, skipper Ijaz Ahmad promoted himself to No 4.Younis didn’t take the field under lights complaining of a back trouble. It is to be seen if he regains complete fitness for the April 4 final against PIA and then for the Sharjah tournament starting April 8 and also including Sri Lanka and New Zealand.

Habib Bank secured their fourth win in as many matches in Pakistan’s President’s Trophy when they defeated State Bank by 129 runs in Faisalabad. State Bank’s win was grounded on a first innings total of 327, which featured a Younis Khan ton and 91 from Rameez Aziz. Fast bowler Ehsan Adil took 8 wickets for 79 in the match, ensuring State Bank never breached the 200-run mark, while part-timers Ahmed Shehzad and Aftab Alam also took 4 wickets apiece.Younis made 101 after Habib Bank won the toss and chose to bat first, and shared a 101-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Aziz. Saad Altaf and Mohammad Ali ground out five top-order wickets between them for State Bank, before legspinner Kashi Siddiq took care of the tail with 4 of his own.In response, State Bank could only manage 198, as Adil accounted for four of the top five. Only Usman Saeed made a fifty for State Bank, before Shehzad decimated the lower order with 4 for 7 in 2.5 overs. With a first innings lead of 129, Habib Bank declared their second innings at 148 for 5. Adil and Alam then completed the victory, taking eight wickets between them as they dismissed State Bank for 148 on the final day.Habib Bank sits atop the President’s Trophy ladder, with 33 points.National Bank drew with Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in a high-scoring match in Lahore, where both teams posted first innings totals in excess of 300, before National Bank made 428 in their second innings. There was only time for two overs in the fourth innings before stumps were drawn on the fourth day.Qaiser Abbas’ 106 provided the backbone for National Bank’s 323, after being asked to bat first, and though PIA had them at 151 for 5 on the first day, a 136-run partnership for the sixth wicket propelled National Bank towards 300 before the tail took them beyond it. Aizaz Cheema took 4 for 81 among the PIA bowlers.PIA also produced a lone centurion in response, though they had seemed headed for a large first innings deficit before he sparked a revival. Wahab Riaz and Abbas had reduced PIA to 144 for seven before Shoaib Khan snr batted alongside the tail for his unbeaten 121, taking part in a 125-run partnership for the eighth wicket, before putting on 53 for the ninth. When PIA were eventually dismissed, they had a 13-run lead.National Bank then made 428 in the second innings, effectively making a result impossible, despite the urgency with which Amim-ur-Rehman compiled his 137 from 168 deliveries. Bilal Munir and Umair Khan made half-centuries, while Anwar Ali took 5 for 115.Sui Northern Gas Pipelines ground out a 32-run victory against Port Qasim Authority (PQA) in Sialkot, after PQA were dismissed for 215, having been set 247 to win. On the final day, PQA had progressed to 161 for 5, needing 87 to win, but lost their last five wickets for 54 as Samiullah Khan and Mohammad Hafeez took four second-innings wickets apiece. Samiullah finished with 7 wickets for 112, but PQA’s left arm spinner Azam Hussain’s 10 for 91 could not prevent defeat for his side.Mohammad Rizwan’s 91 and Ali Waqas’ 56 took Sui Gas to 266 in the first innings. Rizwan struck 13 fours in his innings, striking at 77.14. Azam dismissed Rizwan and Waqas, as well as Misbah-ul-Haq as he took 4 for 41 in the first innings. In response, PQA made 244, with Saniyal Ahsan the only batsman to make a half century, with 61.A six-wicket haul by Saeed Ajmal was one of the highlights of a drawn game between Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited and Water and Power Development Authority. It was Ajmal’s 27th five-for in a first-class game but it was not enough to turn the momentum completely in favor of ZTBL, who were behind by eleven runs in the first innings.Batting first, WAPDA rode on Sohaib Maqsood’s 110 to get to 294 all out after Abdul Razzaq helped remove middle-order cheaply. The allrounder took his twelfth five-wicket haul but ZTBL began poorly in their reply. Only Haris Sohail withstood the challenge, hammering 115 in his first first-class appearance of the season. He had been away in South Africa playing in the Champions League T20s for Sialkot Stallions, and missed the first three games for ZTBL.Ajmal then took six wickets in WAPDA’s second innings which was kept alive by Kaleem Ahmed’s staunch 70 which he made in more than five hours at the crease.Mohammad Irfan and Yasir Ali fashioned Khan Research Laboratories‘ (KRL) fightback as they beat United Bank Limited (UBL) by four wickets at their home ground in Rawalpindi. The pace duo picked up three wickets each in the UBL second innings to reduce them to 143 all out, which added little to the 29-run deficit KRL had sustained in the first innings.After being put into bat, Abid Ali’s first century of the season helped UBL post 319 all out, despite a four-wicket haul from left-armer Irfan. Half-centuries from Zain Abbas, Saeed Anwar jnr and Naved Yasin got KRL close but they were bowled out for 290 runs. Fast bowler Mohammad Irshad took five wickets and four were taken by left-arm spinner Kashif Bhatti in the KRL first innings.Irfan and Ali broke through early in the second innings, to restrict UBL to 143. It left enough time for KRL to chase down the 173-run target, which they did in 39.4 overs, picking up their second win. UBL are winless after four games.

The blundering Pakistan cricket selectors continued to play musicalchairs with next month’s England tour aspirants when they named a 20-man provisional list on Tuesday instead of naming the final 16.All the “walking wounded” that toured New Zealand but forced to returnincluding former captain Wasim Akram were named in the provisionallist. The sole casualty being Moin Khan who had lost his captaincy toa lucky Waqar Younis earlier this month.”Moin has been left out because of his inconsistent performance,”chairman of selectors Wasim Bari explained without elaborating if itwas his wicket keeping or batting that led to his ouster.To benefit from Moin’s unceremonious exit was another former captainRashid Latif who last represented Pakistan in Harare, Zimbabwe, on the1997-98 tour. Rashid is the only wicket keeper in the list, whichguarantees him a third successive tour to England for which the teamleaves on May 2.Inconsistent Imran Nazir and Shahid Afridi, who were described by theselectors as one-day specialists and were not considered for the Testseries in New Zealand after the limited overs rubber, were retained.In-and-out, Mohammad Wasim, who has played 18 Tests since making hisdebut in 1996, was also recalled after 12 months in wilderness.Also amongst the probables was paceman “joyrider” Shoaib Akhtar whosefitness was unknown though his controversial bowling action wascleared by the University of Western Australia.”The formal official report on his (Shoaib), will be forwarded by thePCB’s bowling advisors for onward submission to ICC,” a PCB statementsaid.On a day of chaos and confusion, powerless chief selector Wasim Bari,said in the afternoon that he had submitted a squad of 16 to thePakistan Cricket Board (PCB) advisory council for approval andannouncement.However, the PCB in the evening came up with the names of 20 probablesclaiming that the squad would be finalized in the next couple of daysbecause the medical reports of several players were still beingawaited.Later in the evening, Bari took a somersault when he claimed he had,in fact, submitted the provisional squad and not the 16- man team.Nevertheless, Bari left the PCB officials red-faced when he confirmedthat he had been conveyed by the cricket managers in Lahore that allthe players were available for selection after clearing medical tests.Contradictions after contradictions and repeated communication gapbetween the selectors and the PCB hierarchy once again reflect the sadstate affairs of Pakistan cricket. If there is no planning and coordination amongst the administrators themselves, to demand cohesionand unity from the team is perhaps asking for too much.Brig Munawwar Rana, the director of the PCB, said from Lahore that themedical reports on some players were expected within the next 48 hoursafter which the team would be announced.He, however, didn’t reveal the names of the players whose selectionswere subject to medical clearance.Wasim Akram had appeared before the three-man medical team on Sundaywhile Moin had cleared his medical test on April 13. The remainingplayers could be Yousuf Youhana, Azhar Mahmood and PCB’s blue-eyed boyShoaib Akhtar.Sequence of events confirm apprehensions that the PCB administratorswere adamant to show Moin the door. Initially named skipper until thetour to England, Moin was removed as captain on fitness grounds eventhough only two days before, he had been given a clean bill of healthby the medical experts of the board and along with Wasim Akram alsoappeared in the on-going one-day competition.The statistics of Moin, who was also dropped in 1993 before regaininghis number No 1 slot in 1996, in the last 16 months doesn’t justifythe claims of the selectors.Moin, who was bestowed with lifetime achievement award by the PCB lastyear, in 11 Tests as captain, scored 369 runs at 24.60 whileaccounting for 28 batsmen behind the wickets. In 63 Tests, Moin scored2,493 runs and dismissed 134 batsmen. In 190 one-day internationalsMoin has scored 2,853 runs. His 256 dismissal is a world record.But the factor that played the decisive role in his dismissal was thathe made more enemies than friends in the PCB. Moin repeatedly objectedto outside interference in team matters which didn’t please PCBofficials and the selectors.Needless to say that the PCB sacked two selectors earlier this yearwhen they protested against outside interference. Last month anotherselector Sikander Bakth also resigned.The unnecessary delay in the announcement of the 16-man squadobviously smells rat. And the bone of contention or debate is noneother than Wasim Akram.Sources within the PCB have confirmed that skipper Waqar Younis, oncedeclared by the PCB chief himself that he (Waqar) was not a certainityin the team, was in no compromising mood and flatly refused to acceptWasim in the squad. Sources say Waqar feels that Wasim’s inclusion inthe team will not allow the skipper to enjoy total command over theaffairs.”The PCB are trying to buy time, hoping that they will convince Waqarto change his heart,” sources said.Wasim’s allout effort to get into the squad has helped him retain hisplace in the 20. But whether he would find a place in the touringside? Only time will tell.Provisional squad (in bracket are age and number of Testsplayed):Saeed Anwar (32, 52), Imran Farhat (19, 3), Mohammad Wasim (23, 18),Imran Nazir (20, 5), Shahid Afridi (21, 11), Faisal Iqbal (20, 3),Inzamam-ul-Haq (vice-captain) (31, 72), Yousuf Youhana (26, 30),Younis Khan (24, 12), Salim Elahi (25, 8), Abdur Razzaq (22, 12),Azhar Mahmood (26, 19), Wasim Akram (34, 100), Waqar Younis (30, 71),Shoaib Akhtar (26, 15), Fazle Akbar (21, 4), Mohammad Sami (20, 2),Saqlain Mushtaq (24, 34), Mushtaq Ahmad (30, 50), Rashid Latif (wicketkeeper) (32, 22).

There was a time when the legendary Rodney Marsh – the former world-record holder of most number of dismissals by a wicket-keeper – was nicknamed “Iron Gloves” for his dismal performances behind the stumps.And it was on Marsh’s advice that Deep Dasgupta, the modern “Butterfinger” wicketkeeper, got his first international breakthrough in South Africa – what a coincidence!Whether Dasgupts will be able to iron out his flaws and earn a name for himself in the Indian Test history, only time will tell. At the moment, he is in the toughest tour of his career and he readily admits it.”Yes, it’s important with a capital I. I’ve to bat well and keep better – it’s so simple to say, but so difficult to execute! And I have to do so at the first available opportunity. Otherwise my dream of continuing to play for as many days for my country will get a severe setback,” he admitted to this correspondent on the night before the first Test.He and Ajay Ratra are very good friends and good competitors for the wicketkeeper’s position in the Indian Test team. When Ratra made his debut at the Eden Gardens against the touring English side in the limited-over match there, Ratra thought Dasgupta should wish him good luck. Here, Dasgupta must have asked the same of him.In fact, Deep’s morale received a tremendous boost when Sachin Tendulkar decided to talk to him over the telephone during the Indian team’s stay in Kolkata. “It was so nice to receive that call from Sachin. He is a great cricketer yet he didn’t forget to call me, and sounded hopeful that I would soon be back in the team. I was overwhelmed,” Dasgupta said.He followed a tight schedule for practice and played well in the Deodhar and Duleep matches to earn another call from the national selectors.There is no mistaking the fact that he likes challenges. That’s why, as the established seniors went behind the curtains when the question of opening the innings came up, Dasgupta, with only one Test behind him, persuaded his captain to put his faith in him to open the innings. He, then, went on to get a 50 in only his second innings as an opener, saving the match for his country with Rahul Dravid.His batting saved him from being ousted from the team. “Yes, I like to open the innings and here my duty will be to give the team a good start so that the middle-order can capitalise on it. I am always in love with batting and I can bat wherever the team wants me,” he said.But keeping wicket for four sessions and changing gears to bat within ten minutes is not the easiest of jobs. Dasgupta, however, is not feeling it. He has to cement his place in the team and he is ready to do so with his trademark smile on his lips.Tackling pressure, according to his captain and statemate, is what international cricket is about. Dasgupta will have to do it for the team and himself at the very next opportunity, or he might never get the opportunity to do so again.