Expect a Pakistan counter-attack

Younis Khan, at the centre of Pakistan's comeback in the Test series, will have a huge role to play, especially if Pakistan bat first © AFP

The Dhoni frenzy has caught on in the Steel City, the Indians are on a roll, and scorching temperatures or not, the Keenan Stadium will be choc-a-block when the third one-day international gets underway at Jamshedpur tomorrow. From the organisers' point of view, Dhoni's blistering 148 at Visakhapatnam couldn't have come at a better time - with Ranchi, Dhoni's hometown, just a couple of hours' drive from Jamshedpur, plenty of people are flocking to see their local hero in action, forcing the authorities to hoist temporary stands with which they hope to accommodate about 6000 more. If Dhoni fires again, and if India win tomorrow, the crowds will, to quote Dhoni, "go mad".

However, there are two teams involved in this series, and if the last few weeks are any indication, expect Pakistan to mount a strong counter-attack here. On many occasions on this tour, they have been down and ready for the taking; on most of those instances, they have shown the gumption to get up and fight hard. Younis Khan, who has recovered from his illness and is available for selection, said as much when asked about the pressure Pakistan were under: "We are used to it. We came back in the Tests, and we can do it here as well."

And in a one-day match, it doesn't take much for the wheels to come off for the team in the driver's seat. In both the matches so far, India have been lucky to win the toss and bat first. If the coin rolls the other way tomorrow, it's easy to visualise Pakistan's top order belting the ball all around the park. Salman Butt, Younis Khan, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Yousuf Youhana form a handy enough line-up, and with the firepower which follows in the lower order, the Indian attack may well have their task cut out for them if they have to bowl without the cushion of a huge total. More so, because the pitch seems a belter - its whitish shade is typical of the Keenan Stadium track, and a good layer of straw-coloured grass should ensure that the pitch stays firm throughout the game. Add a well-manicured outfield and short boundaries, and there's every reason to believe that the team batting first will target, and quite likely attain, a score in the region of 300.

Mahendra Dhoni: If he fires at his home ground, the crowd will "go mad" © AFP

From the Indian point of view, it's time for some of the big guns to fire. Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid have been consistency personified so far, but the rest of the line-up - apart from Dhoni, of course - has been virtually non-existent: Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif have together contributed 53 runs in eight innings. Those are damning statistics, and numbers which are in urgent need of correction.

What should encourage the Pakistanis is the record of the teams at this venue - Pakistan have won both their matches here - against India in 1986-87 and against Sri Lanka in the Pepsi Cup in 1998-99. The Indians, on the other hand, have a dismal record - their win against South Africa in 1999-2000 is their only one in seven tries. (Click here for the results of all matches at Jamshedpur.)

Meanwhile, the hectic schedules and the extreme conditions have already had their impact on the sides, with both teams making changes due to, or to prevent, injuries to their lead bowlers. India have been forced to omit Lakshmipathy Balaji, who has a side strain, while Pakistan will rest Mohammad Sami. Irfan Pathan or Ajit Agarkar will make the final XI - Dravid suggested at the press conference that there were enough part-time spinners in the team for the Indians to omit Murali Kartik - while Iftikhar Anjum will replace Sami. The other change Pakistan are almost certain to make is the inclusion of Younis, in place of Mohammad Hafeez. With the conditions so batsman-friendly, they might even be tempted to drop a specialist batsman - probably Shoaib Malik - and bring in Danish Kaneria.

India (probable) 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Sachin Tendulkar, 3 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), 4 Rahul Dravid, 5 Sourav Ganguly (capt), 6 Yuvraj Singh, 7 Mohammad Kaif, 8 Irfan Pathan, 9 Harbhajan Singh, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Ashish Nehra.

Pakistan (probable) 1 Salman Butt, 2 Shahid Afridi, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), 5 Yousuf Youhana, 6 Abdul Razzaq, 7 Kamran Akmal (wk), 8 Arshad Khan, 9 Iftikhar Anjum, 10 Naved-ul-Hasan, 11 Danish Kaneria.