Now that the emotions have receded, the nerves have calmed and the security threat has taken a back seat for now, there is a mixture of freedom and competition in the series.
Cricket is deservedly the focal point and both teams have gone back to the drawing board to sort out their common worrying denominator -- the bowling.
Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami, who had threatened to tear the vaunted Indian batting line-up, had their knickers in a twist. After giving away 129 runs in their 20 overs in the first one-day international at Karachi anything less than a match-winning performance in Rawalpindi will spell trouble for the duo and for Pakistan's fortunes in the series.
Former Pakistani consulting coach Darryl Foster told rediff.com that the two bowlers have never performed together.
"These guys are the best in the business and they should be spearheading Pakistan in the post Wasim Akram-Waqar Younis era. But they don't seem to be doing it. They just don't bowl well in tandem," he said.
Pakistan coach Javed Miandad sounded just as he has all his life at Monday's press conference -- confident.
"True, we did not do well in the Karachi game but we have worked out our shortcomings and we will play much better in the Pindi game," he said.
He explained how Sami is struggling because he has been in and out of the side due to injury and lacks rhythm
"India has taken responsibility well and the Pakistanis must learn from that. I am sure Tuesday's match will be different."
Rahul Dravid defended the Indian bowlers saying they were inexperienced and bowling on the Pakistan tracks was not the easiest thing to do.
"We have to work on the bowling. Since the batting has been doing well for the last three months we hope to get better overall as the series progresses," he said.
But the Indians cannot keep relying on their batting to see them through the tour.
The bowling will need to fire in the game at Rawalpindi because the Pakistanis have ensured that the wicket will not be a batsman's paradise.
"We cannot afford to have a batting track because that means playing into India's hands again. The team management wants to ensure there are not more than 500 to 520 runs in the wicket," a Pakistani player told rediff.com
"Another defeat could spell trouble for us. The public pressure will be enormous if Pakistan lose the next game," he felt.
Miandad said the first 15 overs bowled by his bowlers in Karachi actually amounted to 20 overs with just two fielders outside the ring because of the no balls and wides. That in the final analysis tilted the balance in India's favour, he said.
Dravid turned the knife in Pakistan's wounds when he said the extras the Indians got in the Karachi game helped them amass the huge total.
Inzamam-ul Haq, who Miandad said played the finest one-day innings ever played, is under severe pressure from former Pakistani greats for electing to field first after winning the toss.
Miandad though told rediff.com it was a very good decision because with four bowlers in the side including Sami and Akhtar it was logical to bowl first and knock the Indians out for below 240.
"No one dreamt of the Indians scoring 350 runs. This is cricket. These things happen all the time. But to criticise Inzy would be unfair," Miandad said.
He also had a go at the Indian attack when asked if it was the weakest Indian attack he had ever seen.
"We have seen weaker Indian attacks," he quipped.
Miandad is also being criticised for his animated messages from the dressing room during the course of the Karachi match.
He said he had always guided whoever had batted with him; now that he is no longer a player he would guide the players from the dressing room.
"You don't see the hard work that goes on in the field during the nets, but you wait to criticise me when I coach from the dressing room," he shot back.
The Indian batting will get stronger with the addition of V V S Laxman while Shabbir Ahmed returning from injury will strengthen the Pakistan bowling, replacing Naveed-ul Hasan in the playing eleven.
With Murali Kartik struggling, Mumbai off-spinner Ramesh Powar is likely to make his international debut. Irfan Pathan will replace the injured Ashish Nehra, which might add more muscle to the tail.
Bowling will be the key and Indian coach John Wright would do his team a huge favour if he sat down with his bowlers and forced them to watch the last over Nehra bowled in the Karachi one-dayer over and over again.
If India can bowl 10 overs like those, Sourav Ganguly will probably stop running a fever before matches. :-)
The toss will be key since sides chasing have won six of the seven day-night affairs played at Rawalpindi.
Inzamam can probably elect to field if he wins the toss this time around.
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