Ahead of the Indian team's arrival in Pakistan on Thursday for the Test and one-day international series, home captain Inzamam-ul Haq sounded a warning to the visitors that they would find paceman Shoaib Akhtar "too hot to handle".
It will be a battle between Indian batsmen and Pakistani bowlers, the veteran Pakistani batsman said.
Inzamam unveiled his strategy against the top-line Indian batting, saying his bowlers need to get opener Virender Sehwag early because he can destroy any bowling attack. He fancies his chances against Sachin Tendulkar and said the Pakistani bowlers can restrict him.
The burly Pakistani skipper still feels that Indians are the favourites although he is pleased to hear that Pakistani are being billed as such.
"I know the Indian batsmen have not done as well as they should have in the recent past. But we cannot ignore their track record which is of the highest class. Similarly, Pakistan bowling, especially the fast bowling attack, will not be the same as the Indians faced in 2004 and I am sure the Indians would have realised it after last year's series," Inzamam said.
The Indians arrive in Lahore on Thursday evening on their second tour of Pakistan in three years for a three-Test and five-match one-day international series. The Test series starts in Lahore on January 13.
"It is going to be a battle between the Indian batting and Pakistan bowling. Spearheaded by a rejuvenated Shoaib Akhtar, I fancy my team's chances more than the Indians but we have to remember that every Indian batsman has earned respect and recognition after performing consistently over the years.
"It's heart-warming to read and pleasing to hear that Pakistan is billed as series favourite, but I still believe that India will start as favourite for the simple reason that they have experienced, matured and proven cricketers," said Inzamam who scored 1,000 runs in eight Tests last year.
A veteran of 105 Tests and 351 one-day internationals, Inzamam said Pakistan had been unfortunate that, except for the series against England, it had not played with its best bowlers.
"In 2004, Shoaib was struggling and so was Mohammad Sami. Then Umar Gul broke down in Lahore. So, if you analyse our last two years, you will know that we have not played with our best fast bowlers.
"The only time we played with them was against England [late last year] and we convincingly beat them although Shabbir Ahmed had to sit out. Shoaib Akhtar is probably the most improved bowler in terms of fitness, approach, attitude and discipline. He has inspired the other fast bowlers to do even better.
"Not necessarily that Shoaib would always take a fiver, but his aggressive bowling allows the bowler from the other end to pick wickets," he said.
"If Shoaib remains fit, which I am sure he will, and maintains the same form, I think he will be too hot for the Indians to handle," Inzamam said.
Inzamam, who has scored 8,052 Test and 11,141 one-day runs, said Indian batting is a mixture of aggression and solid defence. In Virender Sehwag, he said, the Indians had an opener who, if not dismissed early, could destroy any bowling attack like he did against Pakistan at Multan on way to scoring 309 to set up an innings victory for India.
"Sehwag likes to play his shots and if not dismissed early, he can single-handedly take the game away from you or at least, set up a platform for others to post a huge target. It's difficult to set a field against someone like Sehwag, who relies more on his eye than footwork.
"I also know that the bowlers don't like to bowl to him because he picks the ball very early and punishes even the good balls. But if we bowl straight, give him little space to free his arms and contain him, we can get him early.
"Naturally in international cricket, you plan against every batsman and we have also done that for this series. In the past, we used to chalk out plans but could not implement them. But in the series against England, we did manage to exploit the weaknesses of the English batsmen and it makes me believe that we can do the same again," Inzamam said.
He disagreed with former captains Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis that Rahul Dravid would be under pressure in the series because of the additional duties of the captain.
"People call him 'The Wall' simply because he handles the pressure better than most of the batsmen. Yes, captaincy adds responsibilities but if a batsman has performed in crunch situations and alone steered his team to victories or rescued them from complete disaster, not once but time and again, then pressure is nothing new to him.
"I think pressure is the second name of Rahul who is immune to this. However, if he struggles with the bat, then pressure can get to him and then he can start wondering what to do next. But instead of getting into a debate now on Rahul's potential as captain, we should wait till the series ends."
Inzamam is also full of respect for Sachin Tendulkar but fancied his chances against the champion batsman who missed most of last year with tennis elbow.
"He played against Sri Lanka and also broke the record for most centuries. But he did not look like the Sachin we know. He was also struggling against us last year and then in 2004, we picked him well after he scored 194 in the first Test. It can be a dangerous prediction but I think we can restrict Sachin in this series as well."
The Pakistani skipper is a trifle worried about the weather playing a spoilsport.
"If the weather doesn't improve, I fear that the first two Tests might not provide the excitement we are anticipating. And then, all will boil down to Karachi Test that will decide the series. It would be cruel to both the teams if that happens because in a high profile series like this, you want to play all the three Tests to have a chance of even staging a comeback."
Fog, rains and freezing weather in Lahore have badly affected the two Patron's Trophy first-class matches that could not start on Tuesday even after two days. In Faisalabad in 1998, not a single ball was bowled against Zimbabwe because of fog.
Commenting on his team, Inzamam admitted that opening is a concern. He accepted that Shoaib Maik and Salman Butt provided three half-century starts in five innings against England but stressed that Malik is not an opener, while indicating that the all-rounder might be replaced.
Inzamam, who has 24 Test and 10 one-day centuries, said the series against India is a personal challenge for him.
"It's nothing like revenge or something because in sports, you win some and you lose some. But for me, it is a big series and I would like to maintain my form with the bat.
"Frankly speaking, the pleasure and satisfaction you get after performing against India, you don't get against any team and if you ask the Indian players, they would have similar sentiments," said the Pakistan captain.
Photographs: Getty Images
