Battle sure to end in a draw

As we predicted two days ago, the battle between Pakistan and India at Kolkatta may have come to a premature end -- all thanks to a supremely docile pitch.

It is quite clear by lunch on the fourth day, with Pakistan managing to avoid follow on, that this match will almost surely end in a draw.

If we take the ten sessions so far of this match, only one has produced more than one wicket. And that was the pre-lunch session on the third day when Pakistan lost four wickets. Two of the remaining nine sessions have gone wicketless while seven have produced just one wicket each.

The point is, what is the point in producing such pitches in times when results take precedence over processes. It is such a waste of time to see such meaningless matches where teams keep on piling runs at the expense of hapless bowlers.

Hopefully, the bowlers will get some of their lost pride back in the next five sessions. But result still looks an impossibility.