Gibbs in the 'magic zone'

It is commonly accepted that sub-continental wickets, with their absence of grass, make batting at the top of the order a little less perilous than it might be elsewhere.

At the same time, Herschelle Gibbs and Gary Kirsten batted with such easy authority against India on Wednesday night that one might be forgiven for thinking that they were playing against the "Klipdrift revellers" rather than a fully-fledged international attack.

"They're very comfortable batting together and they do complement each other nicely," said Graham Ford of the two openers.

"Particularly back at home, opening the batting can be a real challenge. Here, where the wickets are a bit more batting friendly, it is a bit easier."

This has to be the understatement of the tour. Gibbs looked so majestically at ease on Wednesday night that he could quite easily have been walking his dog at the same time.

He seemed bored by Sachin Tendulkar's bowling at times - so often the bane of the South Africans back in India - and was similarly dismissive of poor Sunil Joshi, who he hoisted over the long-on ropes for several cleanly hit sixes.

"The ball doesn't hold up on these wickets as much as it does in India," explained Ford. "The result is that the spinners - and shrewd bowlers like Tendulkar - are neutralised."

Ford made the observation that the wickets in Sharjah are uncannily similar to those found back home in South Africa - something which should suit the Proteas down to the ground. It will also do wonders for Gibbs's confidence, already presumably reaching supernova-type proportions.

"When I was on tour in New Zealand as assistant coach, I realised that Herschelle started to believe that he could perform at this level," said his coach. "He's just so much more confident about his game now, he knows that he's meant to be on this stage."

Cricket, being the nasty game that it is, will undoubtedly provide some surprises for Gibbs yet. At the moment, though, after his elegant 87 not out on Wednesday night, he is batting as though his bat has magical powers.

The Pakistani attack, who Gibbs will face today, should provide the Capetonian with a stiffer test. It should be a treat to watch the collision.

Reuters reports that Mohammad Azharuddin hit the only half-century of the match to guide India to a five-wicket win over Pakistan with more than six overs to spare in the Sharjah Cup on Thursday.

But India, thrashed by 10 wickets by South Africa in the opening match of the triangular tournament on Wednesday, made somewhat heavy weather of reaching their victory target after dismissing Pakistan for only 146 in 45.3 overs.

Pakistan raised hopes of a fightback when they removed openers Saurav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar by the 12th over with 41 runs on the board, but former captain Azharuddin steadied the innings.

He and Rahul Dravid added 70 for the third wicket to put Indian on the road to victory. Dravid fell for 26 off 70 balls while Azharuddin, playing his 329th one-day international, struck 54 from 89 balls with seven fours before he was caught off the bowling of Arshad Khan.

Although India also lost Robin Singh, run out for seven, they still registered a comfortable win.

Earlier, Pakistan had lost their last seven wickets for the addition of just 38 runs.

Only opener Imran Nazir and the experienced Ul-Haq offered protracted resistence to the Indian bowlers, who maintained a tight line and length.

Nazir weighed in with 43 off 51 balls with five fours and one six while Inzamam-ul Haq made 41 from 77 balls with three fours.

Pakistan looked to be recovering after a bad start when they reached 108-3, but then lost three wickets in the space of six balls and never recovered.

One of those was the almost expected tragi-comic run-out involving Inza-mam. This time the big man ran out Yousuf Youhana just as their partnership had begun to blossom.