The great thing about the Toronto games are the pitches. They usually make three of them for the five games. And both years, they have been incredibly sporting wickets which afford fair chances to both the bowlers and batsmen. Quick bowlers get plenty of lateral movement, but once batsmen weather this, it's not impossible to play a long innings.

Although both sides are without a few of their top players there is still plenty to shout about. India, for one, has put together what surely is the finest opening attack in a long time. A rejuvenatedSrinath, a lethal Agarkar and a canny Prasad can be a handful for any side and a disjointed Pakistan should be smelling plenty of leather. If they pitch it up and let the ball do the talking, the Pakistanis may not stand have an autumn leaf's chance on a blustery day.

But the amazing thing about the Pakistan is that they turn into "tigers when they play India", to borrow an expression used by that old dog who has just been appointed coach of the team. Javed Miandad, India's nemesis for many years, returns to the centerstage. And although he will be plotting strategy in the pavilion, he is sure to leave his imprint on the game. He has promised `explosive' cricket, and hopefully it has no reference to the nuclear tests both countries have conducted since they last met here last September.

Pakistan will need all its guile. The shadow of doubt in the betting scandal over Salim Malik and Ejaz Ahmed who blossomed against India last year, will weigh heavily on the team. Still, they are fighters and the lionisedMiandad could make the difference.

Fortunately, soothing Toronto tempers all such wild thoughts. Even given the razor sharp atmosphere in an Indo-Pak match, the balmy autumn weather somehow dilutes the insane partisanship and edgy competitiveness that the hotter weather of Asia cooks up.

With the weather forecast for the region generally agreeable, another nail-biting round of India-Pakistan one-dayers unfold in tiny Toronto.

Teams

Pakistan: Aamir Sohail (captain), Saeed Anwar, Inzamam-ul Haq, Shahid Afridi, Salim Malik, Ijaz Ahmed, Azhar Mahmood, Moin Khan, Mohd Zahid, M Ahmed and A Javed.

India: Mohammed Azharuddin, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Rahul Dravid, Saurav Ganguly, Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Nayan Mongia, Ajit Agarkar, Venkatesh Prasad, Javagal Srinath, Sunil Joshi and Sanjay Raul.

Umpires: Steve Dunne (New Zealand) and Ian Robinson (Zimbabwe).

Third Umpire: PT Manuel (Sri Lanka).