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FOLLOWING a week of political mudslinging<\/a>, the cricketers of India and Pakistan resumed<\/a> the unequal music of their rivalry on Sunday.<\/p>\n Pakistan\u2019s only chance was posting a total that could pressurise India\u2019s formidable batting line-up. Encouragingly, they took that chance in the first half of their innings and at the end, but a baffling seven overs of lethargy in the middle terminally damaged the team\u2019s prospects.<\/p>\n India\u2019s openers, Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill, thrashed Pakistan\u2019s bowling all around the Dubai International Stadium. By the 10th over, India had full control of the game and had lost no wickets.<\/p>\n This shows that India produces batsmen while Pakistan unearths hitters. The latter also selects too many nudgers and blockers, so when the best teams in the world go hard at the opposition throughout an innings, it\u2019s hard to understand why Pakistan persist with a bygone strategy.<\/p>\n Fakhar\u2019s dismissal was just the latest example of the unwritten laws of cricket, which state that Team India \u2014 not the batsman \u2014 should receive the benefit of the doubt<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The PCB might respond by saying that these are among the best players available. However, what the PCB must ask itself is why it oversees a system that fails to produce batsmen of sufficient quality to perform consistently in international cricket.<\/p>\n \n