India lost a golden opportunity to take a 1-0 lead in the first Test at Mohali as Pakistan battled hard to enforce a draw. Though the Pakistanis must be complemented for their stupendous achievement, India have only themselves to blame for allowing Pakistan to get away with a draw.

Looking back, India's snail-like approach towards batting in the last two sessions on day three made a big difference to the end result. The middle-order scored at just over two runs an over and that too after Sehwag had smashed a belligerent 173. Though there is no guarantee that India would have won the game had they batted quickly, at least they would have given the bowlers a better chance of pressing for victory. Tendulkar, Ganguly and to some extent Laxman must take the blame for this draw, which is as good as a victory for Pakistan. Complacency can be the only logical reason why the Indian middle-order let Pakistan off the hook and they paid dearly for it in the end.

The visitors were in deep trouble once they had to bat to save the game. But as expected, Inzamam-Ul-Haq stood like a rock between Indian bowlers and victory. Despite losing three early wickets in their second innings, he took the attack to the Indian bowlers showing the Indian middle-order how to bat on this wicket. He got great support from Yousuf Youhana who has had a torrid time against India of late. But Inzamam's knock spurred him on as the two put the Indian bowling to the swords.
 

Though Inzamam and Youhana departed on day four, they had given the Pakistanis a reason to fight. And the team did not disappoint their captain. After behind in the race for four days, the Pakistanis came up trumps when it mattered the most. Kamran Akmal and Abdul Razzaq batted gallantly over after over, hour after hour as India's dream of securing a victory was slowly but surely going up in smoke. When Balaji finally got rid of Akmal, it was all too late as the Pakistani wicketkeeper had registered his maiden Test century to follow the one he scored in the VB series against West Indies not long ago. More importantly, the lead had stretched beyond 200, which meant that it was almost an impossible target for India to chase even if they polished off the tail. Pakistan added insult to injury when they declared the innings and asked India to have a bat.

The Mohali Test saw more than one sparkling performance. The star for India was undoubtedly Laxmipathy Balaji. Making a comeback after a long injury lay-off, the skiddy medium-pacer made a fairytale comeback against his favourite opposition. The cynosure of all eyes both on and off the field during India's tour to Pakistan, he swung the ball both ways and troubled most batsmen with his accuracy. With nine wickets in the match, Balaji played a huge role by setting up the match for the Indian batsmen who messed it up. He even taught the middle-order a lesson or two by smashing a quick fire 31 with impressive strokes off Danish Kaneria.

Virender Sehwag was another who left his stamp on Mohali. But the Indian opener has every right to be disappointed that the team could not pull off a victory despite his heroic effort. This is the second instance when the Indian batsmen have not taken advantage of a Sehwag blitzkrieg. Early last year in Melbourne, Sehwag smashed a scintillating 195, only for the rest of the batting to capitulate and hand the Aussies an easy victory.

Anil Kumble strived as hard as always but for some reason was not as effective as his opposite number. The veteran leg-spinner claimed six scalps in the match - the last being his 450th. More was expected of him though on a fifth day track. Apart from Kumble, the other two medium-pacers also did not have much success. Pathan bowled decently but he did not have the wickets to show, while Zaheer was disappointing to say the least.

Pakistan, on the other hand, also had quite a few heroes. Apart from Kamran Akmal and Abdul Razzaq who saved the day for Pakistan, Danish Kaneria stood out. Against a team which even Shane Warne could not bother, Kaneria brought all his confidence gained from the Australian tour into play. He literally bamboozled the Indian batsmen considered great players of spin. Ganguly, who usually lofts the spinners with ease, struggled to pick him while Laxman too fell prey to his googly. What's more, even the great Sachin Tendulkar could not take the attack to Kaneria, which speaks volumes for the leg spinner's talent and ability.

Amongst the batsmen, Asim Kamal's knock in the first essay was worth its weight in gold. His 91 helped Pakistan reach a respectable total which otherwise would have been a paltry one. At the end of the day, Pakistan will definitely be the happier team even though India held the upper hand for most part of the game.

Going into Kolkata, both teams are likely to make some changes to their squad. India will most probably bring in Harbhajan Singh in place of either Zaheer or Pathan. The axing of the former seems more likely. The wily off-spinner will be back on the ground where he revived his international career against the Aussies. With Laxman's half-century at Mohali, it seems his place in the team is secure at least for the second Test. The selectors would be keeping a close eye on wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik too, as both his batting and glove work have been pretty ordinary.

For the visitors, Younis Khan's spot in the team seems to be in danger. After failing in both the innings and having a wretched time in the field, the new vice-captain may give way to some other youngster like Yasir Hameed. Another batsman whose place in the team is likely to be put under the scanner is opener Taufeeq Umar. If India plan to bring back Harbhajan, we can also expect Arshad Khan to be part of the Pakistani squad. The tall off-spinner has been out of contention for more than a couple of years, but brilliant domestic performances have brought him back in the reckoning.

Overall, Pakistan will go into the second Test with a lot of confidence gained from this face-saving performance while India will be definitely hurt by the result of this Test. That doesn't mean the visitors will be favourites at Kolkata. Knowing the mercurial nature of Pakistan, one is not quite sure what to expect from them. It's better to wait and watch that predict.