Archive for Pakistan
West Indies wins, Simmons and Bishoo give it to them
Posted by: | CommentsIn the first ever Twenty20 match between the teams West Indies began their latest New Era impressively, beating Pakistan by seven runs. Lendl Simmons made 65 to help West Indies set a competitive total before Devendra Bishoo’s four wickets brought them victory.
Ottis Gibson’s desperation for renewal after a disappointing World Cup campaign five debutants were fielded. Critics, though, could point to a desire for greater control as much as freshness after several senior players were jettisoned from the squad.
Chris Gayle, the former captain, who vented his frustration with Gibson and the WICB by joining Royal Challengers Bangalore and issuing a withering assessment of both in a radio interview. The off-field wrangling dominated the build-up to the match and is likely to rumble on for some time to come but West Indies fans could at least enjoy a moment of on-field catharsis.
To Pakistan such drama is familiar but of late they have been alarmingly stable. Their last game was a passionate spectacle against India in the World Cup semi-final in Mohali, so they could be forgiven for looking a little underwhelmed by St Lucia.
The few spectators who showed up were treated to an entertaining opening from Simmons. Filling the immense hole left by Gayle’s absence he cracked 65 from 44 balls and shared a 99-run stand for the second wicket with a fluent Darren Bravo, who made 42.
The pair struck 15 boundaries between them, which proved crucial as West Indies collapsed in familiar fashion after they were separated.
Bowlers, led by legspinner Bishoo, masked the errors in an energetic display. The six no-balls pointed to performance lacking polish but the attack used a tiring pitch to good effect.
Darren Sammy ensured Pakistan’s chase got off on the wrong foot as he had Mohammad Hafeez caught at fine leg for 3 before Ahmed Shehzad spooned Ravi Rampaul to mid-on for 12. Asad Shafiq threatened a revival with Umar Akmal before Bishoo intervened with two wickets in his first over. Shafiq was brilliantly caught for 25 by Danza Hyatt, diving forward from midwicket, before Misbah-ul-Haq was dismissed for a duck, treading on his stumps a ball later.
ALL legspinners have proved potent in 20-over cricket and Bishoo, who impressed on international debut in the World Cup, is better than that. Mixing his pace and flight nicely he got his third wicket when Shahid Afridi scythed a cut to point on 12 to leave Pakistan’s hopes entirely with Umar.
Umar was victim to his own misunderstanding, having reached a run-a-ball 41. The previous delivery he had alerted the umpires to a no-ball caused by West Indies not having the required three men in the ring but, thinking the following ball was a free-hit, swung Rampaul to Marlon Samuels on the square-leg boundary. Umar lingered but the umpires this time knew better.
To seal victory as Rampaul’s no-ball-ridden penultimate over cost 15, Andre Russell held his nerve in the final over.
Pakistan’s batsmen was in sharp contrast to Simmons and Bravo. Happy to use their feet, both were proficient against the pace and spin and used the small boundaries to good effect. West Indies passed 100 in the 13th over and looked set to post a really significant total but a trademark collapse punctured the optimism.
Bravo holed out to long-on off Abdur Rehman before Simmons was run out by Samuels two overs later. Samuels, on his comeback after serving a two-year ban for alleged involvement with illegal bookmakers, endured a torrid time as he laboured to 4 from 11 balls before running past a Saeed Ajmal doosra. Sammy followed quickly for 1 and it needed a last-over boundary to take the total past 150. Pakistan looked to have the edge but Bishoo ensured otherwise.
World Cup duo chopped by Pakistan axe
Posted by: | CommentsFor the upcoming one-day series with West Indies Pakistan have dropped Kamran Akmal and Abdul Razzaq from their squad.
Akmal, wicketkeeper-batsman was hugely criticised during the World Cup after dropping a number of catches and missing vital stumping opportunities.Chief selector Mohsin Khan said We have given Kamran Akmal a break because his wicketkeeping was not up to the mark during the World Cup.
After managing only five wickets and 104 runs during five outings in the tournament, where Pakistan were knocked out by India at the semi-final stage, all-rounder Razzaq also misses out.
Rookie wicketkeeper Mohammad Salman, batsman Usman Salahuddin, fast bowlers Aizaz Cheema and Junaid Khan as well as all-rounder Hammad Azam have been included in the 16-man squad.
There is also a place in the limited overs set-up for Test match opener Taufiq Umar, who gets the call-up for the first time in six years.
Younis Khan, former skipper and pace bowler Umar Gul have been rested for the tour, which begins with a Twenty20 international in St Lucia on April 21. With the Test squad to be named at a later date, Pakistan will then play five ODIs and two Test matches against the West Indies.
Afridi asks for rest
Posted by: | CommentsFor the upcoming West Indies tour that begins on April 18 Pakistan’s limited-overs captain Shahid Afridi and other senior members of the team may be rested.
Pakistan have had a very busy schedule in recent times, starting with the World Twenty20 in April 2010 followed by the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka and a tour of England, which included full series against Australia and the home side. Next was another full-fledged bilateral series in the UAE against South Africa, and a long tour of New Zealand, before the team returned to the subcontinent for the World Cup. In addition to their gruelling on-field commitments, the Pakistan team also hurtled from one off-field controversy to another, including the spot-fixing scandal and Zulqarnain Haider’s mysterious exit from the team hotel in UAE. The West Indies tour includes a Twenty20, five one-dayers and two Tests, and allows the players less than three weeks for rest.
India made their way to the biggest big match
Posted by: | CommentsAs the Indian bowlers showed an amazing performance in bowling and got their country a victory with the biggest rival in cricket world. India made their world cup dream one more step closer to the triumph as they won the semi final over Pakistan at Mohali. It’s now the host battle. The world cup final will be played between Srilanka and India.
In the end, India’s 260 for 9 was enough as their bowlers did a fine job, but had Pakistan helped themselves, the target could have been so much more gettable. Sachin Tendulkar was dropped four times in his 85, MS Dhoni was put down once and while Wahab Riaz was extremely impressive in collecting five wickets, Umar Gul had one of his most forgettable days, wilting under the pressure of a World Cup semi-final.
By contrast, India’s display in the field was much more professional, and that was the difference in a match that lived up to the extreme pre-match hype. The decision to leave R Ashwin out to make room for Ashish Nehra was an odd choice on a pitch offering plenty of spin, but Nehra and his bowling colleagues built the pressure and gave Pakistan’s batsmen little to attack after they made a promising start and reached 70 for 1.
The Indians didn’t give away an extra until the 37th over of the innings, and the way they put together strings of dot balls and tight overs was key to their success. Munaf Patel picked up two victims and Yuvraj Singh made up for his golden duck with a pair of wickets, but the most important breakthrough came when Harbhajan Singh bowled Umar Akmal for 29.
It was enough, but India’s batsmen will need to improve if they want to lift the trophy on Saturday. For now, they can dream of their first World Cup in 28 years.
Umar Gul concerned about India top order
Posted by: | CommentsIt will all come to a head in Mohali on Wednesday when Gul opens the bowling against the strongest batting contingent of the event. It is his first spell that could dictate how the rest of his team’s overs go, but Gul has identified what he needs to do. The first three wickets in the top-order are very crucial. They are depending on the top three.
Umar Gul is the man who operates in the shadows of his more colourful companions of the Pakistani bowling pack. Behind his captain Shahid Afridi among Pakistan’s leading wicket-takers at this World Cup – 14 wickets to Afridi’s 21 – Gul has emerged as the searing inquisitor with the new ball en route to Pakistan’s arrival into the semi-final.
Were Gul to run into India’s top three in their hotel corridor between now and Wednesday afternoon, there would be handshakes, smiles and pleasant chit-chat. It is a fact that most of the fans on both sides find hard to to digest, particularly two days before the World Cup semi-final that once again sets up one of the most over-heated rivalries in sport.
Gul said that given the strength of the Indian batting, the World Cup had taken his bowling to the rhythm it needed at the right time. Afridi is the leading wicket-taker. Gul is happy with the performance and form. Pakistan have a bit of an advantage with their bowling the way batsmen are playong in the quarter-final.
Batting numbers are nothing to worry about
Posted by: | CommentsAccording to Misbah the most important thing about a team is to win. If Pakistan can win the world cup without scoring hundred its good but the team gets knocked out after players’ scoring centuries is embarrassing.
Misbah-ul-Haq doesn’t care about history and is not impressed by statistics also. That helps, particularly with an India-Pakistan match due to break out at the World Cup at March 30.
The man with the team’s top score in the World Cup so far – 83 not out against Sri Lanka and One of the anchors of Pakistan’s batting – Misbah said numbers could be meaningless if they did not agree with the results column. Pakistan’s certainly don’t.
Umar Akmal is Pakistans’ heaviest run-scorer in this World Cup, but he is placed as low as 28th in the list of top run-getters. Never mind the batsmen from Test-playing nations, Umar follows players from Netherlands, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Canada in the table.
Umar has scored 211 runs from five innings, with a single half-century. Among his team-mates, he is followed by Misbah (192), Kamran Akmal (188), Younis Khan (172), Mohmmed Hafeez (172), Asad Shafiq (124 from two innings) and Abdul Razzaq (101). Of the batsmen, only Misbah and Younis have scored more than one fifty in the tournament, and the team have managed nine overall. When compared to India, those are paltry figures: India have five centuries, ten fifties and five India batsmen have scored more runs than Umar.
Yet Pakistan finished at the top of their group and, regardless of the weakness of some of its Associate opposition, had the more emphatic first four weeks of the tournament between the two teams. In Mohali, after a lengthy round of football, fielding and then the conventional nets, Misbah deconstructed the numbers down to their bare basics.
Pakistan is into the SEMI-FINAL
Posted by: | CommentsThe match represented a contest for as long as Chris Gayle was in the middle the sum total of 2.5 overs. His departure sucked the life and belief from West Indies line-up with the rest remaining rooted to the crease, managing just seven fours and a solitary Shivnarine Chanderpaul six as he nudged his way to a hollow, unbeaten 44.
Runs came at a painful rate, but at least the fourth-wicket pair were trying to set a platform. However, with the pressure building and Pakistan racing through the overs Sarwan felt he had to try some shots, but couldn’t clear cover as he cut a delivery which bounced more than expected. Not for the first time, Afridi stood with arms aloft and it was just the start for the Pakistan captain.
Pakistan are two games away from repeating the heroics of Imran Khan’s 1992 team after a crushing 10-wicket victory against West Indies in the first quarter-final in Dhaka. Mohammad Hafeez starred with bat and ball, beginning West Indies’ decline with two early wickets then ending it with a brisk 61, while Shahid Afridi is proving an inspirational force and led from the front again with four more scalps as the spinners produced a ruthless display to dismantle West Indies for 112.
Between the three of them, Pakistan’s slow bowlers had figures of 27.3-5-64-8 and gave another example of how there is a threat from every part of the attack. At no point did Afridi need to fill overs, especially when the weakest link of the bowlers Hafeez managed to take 2 for 16 in his full allocation. Hafeez then dominated an unbroken opening stand with Kamran Akmal which wiped off the target with barely an alarm and 29 overs to spare.
Some early aggression had proved the falsest of dawns. Devon Smith cut the first ball of the match to the point boundary and Gayle played two thumping shots, but in attempting his third boundary, he picked out Afridi at mid-off who did well to hold on to a stinging drive. With their talisman gone, West Indies became virtually scoreless.
Pakistan end Australia’s run to finish top
Posted by: | CommentsAfter their batting subsided with 20 balls unused, Australia’s only chance was to bowl Pakistan out, but in the event it required Lee himself to do most of the damage. He removed both openers in a fiery new-ball burst before returning to claim Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq with consecutive deliveries in 23rd over, leaving Pakistan wobbling on 98 for 4.
Despite not having either team’s progression at stake, the final group positions determine quarter-final opposition while momentum is also a factor. Both teams were hyped for the contest, and it came to an early head when Umar and Brad Haddin almost came to blows in the field. Australia were desperate not to relinquish a proud record dating back to May 23 1999.
Pakistan were the last team to overcome Australia at a World Cup and it was they who brought Ricky Ponting’s 34-match unbeaten run to an end with a four-wicket victory in Colombo to secure top spot in Group A. An impressive display in the field laid the foundations as the reigning champions were bundled out for 176 on a difficult surface, their lowest total in a World Cup since 1992, and despite a mighty effort from Brett Lee Pakistan were guided home by Umar Akmal and Abdul Razzaq.
However, support for Lee was too late in coming which didn’t leave enough runs for Australia to play with. Mitchell Johnson had Asad Shafiq taken at slip off the glove for a composed 46 and Shahid Afridi brainlessly carved to long-on against Jason Krejza. Surprisingly, Lee wasn’t immediately recalled with 34 runs still needed and by the time he came back the target was down to 10. Umar played one of his most composed innings yet, and Razzaq finished the chase with consecutive boundaries.
Shoaib Akhtar calls end to the career
Posted by: | CommentsOn Wednesday evening, at a Pakistan High Commission function in Colombo, he told a handful of reporters that he would make the announcement on Thursday. After Pakistan’s training session at the Premadasa, Shoaib arrived in jacket and trousers and told the press of a decision he had made, fittingly for him perhaps, in a hospital bed after yet another knee surgery two years ago.
Shoaib Akhtar will retire from the international game at the end of Pakistan’s World Cup, bringing to a close one of cricket’s most compelling and mercurial careers. Privately, over the last few months, Shoaib had been looking at the World Cup as a final hurrah for a body increasingly unable to cope with the rigours of the international game.
He said he had discussed the matter with the team management during the tour to New Zealand earlier this year, but decided to go ahead with it only now, dousing speculation that he might have been pushed into it. His Pakistan team-mates were told of the decision at the Premadasa on Thursday morning during an emotional gathering in the dressing room, where he delivered a farewell speech and was embraced by fellow players and support staff.
Waqar not worried about the quarter final
Posted by: | CommentsPakistan may have qualified for the knockout stages of the World Cup for the first time since 1999 but their coach Waqar Younis is not prepared to look beyond their final group game against Australia just yet. Pakistan slipped to second place in Group A after a seven-wicket win over Zimbabwe in Pallekele on Monday, but could still finish in any of the top four positions depending on what happens against Australia, and in other games.
Waqar said he is not worried about the team that Pakistan will face in the quarter right now he is concentrating on the next match with Australia.
Barring a shock loss to Canada, Australia will go into Saturday’s game on a 34-match unbeaten streak in the World Cup, stretching back to the 1999 tournament. Their last loss, in fact, came against Pakistan, at Headingley. Ricky Ponting’s team is the only unbeaten side in this tournament.
