Azhar Ali joined Chetan Chauhan, Ken “Slasher” Mackay and Mike Brearley among others as specialist batsmen with 1000 Test runs and no centuries, but spent only 37.1 overs in their company, reaching a maiden hundred in his 11th foray past 50. In the process he helped Pakistan recover from the early loss of their openers, and with support from Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq set up the platform for a substantial first-innings lead.
The Sri Lanka bowlers toiled honestly for the best part of the day, but all they could manage was to slow down Pakistan’s march towards the lead, especially after they had raced away to 42 in the nine overs bowled on the first day. Pakistan’s run-rate might have been similar to their attempt in the first Test, which played a role in the eventual draw, but this was completely different from that go-slow. For starters the intent was obvious last evening. Then Suranga Lakmal’s outswing early and the quick loss of the openers to Dhammika Prasad made them put their heads down.
Crucially both the big partnerships featured acceleration. In the first 13.1 overs of their stand leading up to lunch, Azhar and Younis had added just 31. By the time they had batted 27 overs together, the partnership read 75. When the two were separated three minutes before tea, they had put together 117 in 39.5 overs. Azhar and Misbah added only 18 in the first 10 overs together, in the next 10 they scored 45.
By then, though, the new ball had been taken, we were in the final hour of the day, and Azhar was 14 short of his century. He went from 86 to 90 with a thick edge over the slips. Over the next 30 balls he faced he sucked you into the drama of a man trying to reach that elusive century. He hit short-and-wide deliveries and half-volleys straight to the fielders, he jumped out to spin to recover just in time, he ran anxiously, he smiled, he agonised. Misbah kept telling him, in Punjabi, to do it in singles.
Azhar finally played a paddle sweep on 98, the ball hit the keeper’s pad, deflected towards third man, and Azhar started to celebrate as he turned for the second run, giving the umpire Tony Hill no chance to even consider the possibility of byes. The replays of course were inconclusive, but it was just as well because he would soon be given lbw off an inside edge, with his score still 100.
Azhar could be forgiven for taking the focus off the rest of the game for the last 10.1 overs, during which only 26 runs came. If not for a full year of solidity he has brought to the middle order, for today’s work alone. When he and Younis came together on this new-ball pitch, the ball was still seaming around a bit, and two wickets had fallen in 2.2 overs. Sri Lanka, though, couldn’t have been entirely happy at that time. Tillakaratne Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardene had dropped both the openers off successive deliveries from Lakmal, costing the side 11 runs and more importantly six valuable overs with the new ball.
The wickets had come nonetheless, and both the dismissed batsmen had been troubled consistently by the movement. Mohammad Hafeez, though, was unlucky, falling lbw to a ball headed down leg. The man responsible for both the dodgy lbws in the day was Hill, but the rest of his day was a big improvement on a horror first Test. He was alert enough to warn Prasad twice for running onto the danger area, and rightly rule against a caught-behind appeal off the bowling of Dilshan. Azhar’s bat had hit the ground creating the sound, but in live time he looked in real trouble.
Azhar was 32 off 82 then, and had been through a nervous moment or three. Twice he had tried to hit spin over the infield but found mid-off and mid-on on the bounce. Lakmal’s mix of yorkers and short bowling asked questions too in the post-lunch session. On one occasion Azhar fended with his eyes off the ball. In comparison Younis remained almost inconspicuous, falling seamlessly into his defend-nudge-sweep routine against the spinners, striking at around 50 per 100 balls without seeming to make an effort. He played both the regulation and paddle sweep well, not letting Rangana Herath and Dilshan bowl where they would have wanted to.
Turn, though, wasn’t Pakistan’s main concern. It was the nibble in the morning and the slight reverse in the afternoon that asked questions. For strange reasons, though, Dishan tried his best to get the reversing ball changed. Equally strangely, Rangana Herath prematurely moved over the wicket, which allowed Azhar to open up by helping himself to free runs on the on side.
From the time Azhar paddled Herath’s over-the-stumps line for four, he scored 62 off 111 before reaching his 90s, a big improvement on his strike-rate otherwise. The fast bowlers were now tired, the ball was old, and the sense of adventure got the better of Younis, who reached his fifty with a six before playing Dilshan on in the penultimate over before tea.
Misbah started cautiously, broke free with a six over midwicket, and then found the accumulation mode. He was the calming voice during Azhar’s nervous 90s, and now holds the responsibility of batting Sri Lanka out of the game, at a pace that allows Pakistan enough time to win the match.
Pakistan 281 for 4 (Azhar 100, Younis 55, Misbah 40*, Dilshan 2-48) lead Sri Lanka 239 by 42 runs
(ESPN)
October 27, 2011 at 7:24 pm
On the 59th anniversary of their first Test win, Pakistan’s fast bowlers moved on sensationally from the demoralising fielding debacle in Abu Dhabi, but the spinners didn’t enjoy such good fortune. Even though Misbah-ul-Haq took three slip catches off the quicks, Taufeeq Umar dropped Kumar Sangakkara on 27 and Younis Khan reprieved Rangana Herath off the first ball he faced. Consequently 73 for 5 became 154 for 6, and 154 for 8 turned into 239 all out. However, the early damage was so severe that the day still belonged to Pakistan, especially because the openers brought the deficit under 200 in the nine testing overs bowled at them.
That the successful completion of regulation catches came as a huge relief in the morning tells the story. Three days after they had been ground into the Abu Dhabi dust thanks largely to their own fielders, Umar Gul and Junaid Khan somehow found the heart to create opportunity after opportunity once again. It was a new-ball pitch, and the two hit the seam with regularity to take five wickets in the first session.
Both teams misread the track to an extent. Pakistan dropped the big-hearted Aizaz Cheema in favour of left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman. Expecting a flat track, Sri Lanka chose to bat first. As it turned out, with the ball seaming around in the first session, Gul and Junaid had to make up for the absence of the third seamer with 10-over spells before lunch, including a wicket in the last over of the session.
Pakistan 42 for 0 trail Sri Lanka 239 (Sangakkara 78, Welegedara 48, Ajmal 3-45, Gul 3-78) by 197 runs
(ESPN)
October 26, 2011 at 8:01 pm
On the 59th anniversary of their first Test win, Pakistan fast bowlers moved on sensationally from the demoralising fielding debacle in Abu Dhabi to take five wickets in the first session. More crucially, Misbah-ul-Haq replaced Mohammad Hafeez at first slip, accepting all three edges that came his way at catchable height. Saeed Ajmal’s spin, though, could do with some luck: even before he had conceded a run Taufeeq Umar reprieved off his bowling the man whose sight Pakistan ought to be sick of by now, Kumar Sangakkara.
Umar Gul began the demolition, taking out the openers and Mahela Jayawardene inside his first five overs. Junaid Khan joined him soon with Tillakaratne Dilshan’s wicket before ending a rebuilding attempt by Sangakkara and Angelo Mathews. Even though Pakistan missed the third seamer during that 28-run fifth-wicket stand, the two quicks bowled extended spells to make sure they didn’t repent too much.
Sri Lanka misread the track too. Missing one of their first-Test heroes Prasanna Jayawardene, they chose to bat first on what looked like a flat grass-less pitch. The track, however, offered the new ball some seam movement and inconsistent bounce. Pakistan exploited every bit of life on offer. Gul got the ball to swing into the left-hand top three, and on odd occasion got the ball to seam away after shaping up to swing in. The variable bounce was obvious from how two early edges didn’t carry to the cordon, and how on two occasions Gul missed out on lbws because of extra bounce.
Both Lahiru Thirimanne and Tharanga Paranavitana did the instinctive correction of planting the front foot across to cover the movement. Thirimanne survived one such shout because of the height, but was trapped dead plumb immediately after. Paranavitana found himself a shell before finally playing a reckless cut. At first slip Misbah held the ball close to his chest. Finally a non-wicketkeeper had held a catch in more than 176 overs of bowling.
Gul would go on to create more chances for Misbah. Mahela Jayawardene soon got the classical delivery that angled in, pitched short of a length, drew him into the shot, then held its line, and took a healthy edge. Misbah was there to accept the low catch again. Tillakaratne Dilshan, who many believe should be opening the innings in order to the upset the rhythm of the opening bowlers, then played a loose punch outside off to give Misbah his third. Junaid’s contribution to the dismissal cannot be overstated, though. In his sixth over now, he went round the stumps, angled the ball in, making Dilshan play, and the open face did the rest.
At 45 for 4, after six overs each for the new-ball bowlers, Pakistan would have bitten his hand off if Aizaz Cheema had offered to bowl first change. However, they had left out the big-hearted performer from the first Test in favour of left-arm seamer Abdur Rehman. Consequently Gul had to bowl a 10-over spell, and Junaid had to make a quick comeback from the same end. The ball still kept seaming, though. Even as Mathews walked down the track to counter movement, both his edges kept getting beaten. Twice he survived lbw shouts because he was hit on the thigh, twice his outside edge was beaten, one of his edges fell short. Finally, in what turned out to be the last over before lunch, Junaid produced the edge that went to hand. Again it happened from round the stumps, with the ball holding its line against the angle. For good measure this kicked off too.
(ESPN)
October 26, 2011 at 2:06 pm
Sri Lanka won the toss and decided to bat first in the 2nd test against Pakistan played at Dubai a short while ago. One of the heroes for Sri Lanka in the first test, Prasanna Jayawardena has been ruled out of the 2nd test due to groin injury. He will be replaced by Kaushal Silva who will be making his debut. Furthermore, Dhammika Prasad is also in for Nuwan Pradeep who did not had an impressive debut.
Pakistan has also brought in Abdur Rehman, surprisingly replacing Aziaz Cheema who bowled pretty well in the first test. The match is scheduled to begin shortly.
(JNW)
October 26, 2011 at 11:07 am
Tillakaratne Dilshan, the Sri Lanka captain, has said that his team have the psychological advantage over Pakistan after salvaging a draw in the first Test when a defeat appeared to be the most likely result. Sri Lanka trailed Pakistan by 81 runs with just five wickets in hand on the fourth day, but Kumar Sangakkara and Prasanna Jayawardene thwarted the hosts with a 201-run stand.
“I think it’s [the draw] a huge advantage for us,” Dilshan told AFP. “We were well behind in the match and we survived, and since this is a long series we have to come out strongly in each match.”
Sri Lanka were in trouble after being bowled out for 197 in their first innings and Dilshan said the Sri Lanka batsmen have to do a better job in the second Test. “We were bowled out for under 200 runs and it was very difficult to come back and win the match. We have to come out strongly in the second Test, especially the first innings, we have to put runs on the board so that this young bowling attack has some confidence while bowling. We can’t ask them to bowl with just 200 runs [behind them].”
Dilshan took over as captain from Kumar Sangakkara after the 2011 World Cup and under him Sri Lanka have suffered two 1-0 Test series defeats, away to England and at home to Australia. His own form has been patchy over the same period, and he admitted it was a concern. “Yes, it’s a worry but I am sure that I can get runs in the middle order and I look forward to that in the second Test, because five-day cricket needs everyone to perform.”
The second Test begins on October 26 in Dubai.
(ESPN)
October 26, 2011 at 6:00 am
England‘s Eoin Morgan, Ajantha Mendis of Sri Lanka and Shane Watson of Australia were announced as the number-one ranked batsman, bowler and all-rounder, respectively, in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Twenty20 International (T20I) player rankings, which were released in Dubai today(24).
In 18 T20Is, Morgan has scored 569 runs at an average of 47.41 and only Matthew Hayden (308 runs at 51.33) andAndrew Symonds (337 runs at 48.14) have better averages than the left-hander.
Mendis leads the field in the bowlers’ category, as he is the fourth leading wicket-taker behind Pakistan trio – Shahid Afridi (53), Umar Gul (47) and Saeed Ajmal (45) – with 39 wickets in 20 matches. His bowling figures of 6-16 against Australia in Pallekele in August stand as the best bowling figures in T20Is to date.
“I feel honoured and humbled to be ranked as the top bowler in a list which includes some of the finest current bowlers,” Mendis said.
“While celebrating my number-one ranking, I cannot thank my team-mates enough for their continued support and guidance. If fact, our number-two position on the Championship table illustrates how well we have gelled as a team and consistently produced good performances,” he added.
Meanwhile, Reigning world champions England top the inaugural Twenty20 rankings announced for the popular format of the game on Monday. England, who won the the third edition of the World Twenty20 under Paul Collingwood in the West Indies last year, have a rating of 127 points and lead second placed Sri Lanka by just one point.
England are already world number one in Tests, while Australia top the one-day rankings.
(Yahoo cricket)
October 24, 2011 at 5:15 pm
Captain Richie McCaw paid tribute to his All Blacks after they survived the most nerve-racking of scares to end 24 years of pain and clinch their second Rugby World Cup title with an 8-7 win over France. “We had to dig deeper than ever before and it’s hard to get it to sink in, but I am so proud of every single one of them,” said McCaw after Sunday’s match at Eden Park.
“We couldn’t have been under more pressure at times but we stuck to our guns and got there in the end.”
In the end it was a second-half penalty by fourth-choice fly half Stephen Donald that proved decisive. McCaw, playing his 103rd Test, saluted the replacements who had been drafted into his injury-hit squad.
“When we had problems the next guy stood up and the next guy stood up, and I take my hat off to the guy (Donald, who replaced Aaron Cruden in the Final) but it’s not about one guy, everybody played as well as they can.”
In 1999 and 2007 Les Bleus had wrecked New Zealand’s dreams of glory with dramatic come-from-behind victories.
And they looked as if they might do so again as they battled to within a single point of McCaw’s team with half an hour of Sunday’s match remaining.
But in this re-enactment of the inaugural RWC 1987 Final, the French once again came off second best as a Tony Woodcock try and Donald’s penalty gave New Zealand the edge over a converted try by Thierry Dusautoir.
France were unrecognisable from the team that had struggled in the earlier rounds and the All Blacks had to dig deeper than they would ever have imagined to get their hands on the Webb Ellis Cup in front of a delirious home crowd.
(rugbyworldcup.com)
October 23, 2011 at 3:20 pm
Kumar Sangakkara and Prasanna Jayawardene defied Pakistan for six hours, batting almost till tea on the final day to earn a draw for Sri Lanka. After losing five wickets on the fourth evening while still needing 81 runs to make Pakistan bat again, Sri Lanka benefited from six dropped chances in the second innings. Pakistan’s bowlers toiled as much as the heat allowed them to, but their effectiveness was blunted by an unyielding pitch, abysmal catching and resolute batting. Both Sangakkara and Jayawardene achieved personal landmarks, with the former reaching his eighth Test double-century, putting him behind only Don Bradman and Brian Lara.
The sixth-wicket partnership between Sangakkara and Jayawardene – easily the highest for Sri Lanka against Pakistan – ate away whatever advantage remained with Pakistan after yesterday’s five dropped chances. Azhar Ali finally ended Pakistan’s despair after 73 fruitless overs, trapping Sangakkara leg-before with a legbreak just before tea. Aizaz Cheema had Jayawardene caught behind with the third new ball but it was too late to make up for the largesse of all those missed chances in a match affected by some average umpiring from Tony Hill. Umar Gul cleaned up the tail, leaving Pakistan an improbable 170 to get in 21 overs. Pakistan’s top order did not give the slightest impression of going for it, and the game was called off after ten rather pointless overs as Tillakaratne Dilshan let the game meander beyond the start of the final hour.
Sri Lanka 197 (Mathews 52*, Junaid 5-38) and 483 (Sangakkara 211, P Jayawardene 120, Gul 4-64) drew with Pakistan 511 for 6 dec (Taufeeq 236, Hafeez 75, Ali 70) and 21 for 1
(ESPN)
October 22, 2011 at 6:45 pm
Kumar Sangakkara’s and Prasanna Jayawardene’s defiance of Pakistan touched six hours, as they batted almost till tea on the final day to nearly earn a draw for Sri Lanka before Azhar Ali’s maiden Test wicket gave the hosts fresh hope. Pakistan’s bowlers toiled as much as the heat allowed them to, but their effectiveness was blunted by the unyielding pitch and the resolute batsmen. Both Sangakkara and Jayawardene achieved creditable personal landmarks, with the former reaching his eighth Test double-century, putting him behind only Donald Bradman and Brian Lara.
The sixth-wicket partnership between Sangakkara and Jayawardene – easily the highest for Sri Lanka against Pakistan – ate away whatever advantage remained with Pakistan after yesterday’s five dropped chances. Azhar finally ended Pakistan’s despair trapping Sangakkara in front with a legbreak in the last over before tea, but time was running out for Pakistan with Sri Lanka having built a healthy lead.
Sangakkara – who had looked near-immoveable after a couple of reprieves yesterday – allowed Jayawardene to take charge, but still put the loose ones away, reaching 200 with a nudge to the fine leg boundary off Aizaz Cheema in the 143rd over. Jayawardene lofted Ajmal for a straight boundary in the 148th over to bring up a match-saving century after having got a duck in the first innings. The duo defended safely throughout the day, the slowness of the pitch allowing them to get behind deliveries. Not at any stage did they show even a hint of getting bogged down, though, unlike batsmen from both teams in the first innings.
Tea Sri Lanka 434 for 6 (P Jayawardene 110*, Herath 0*) and 197 lead Pakistan 511 for 6 dec by 120 runs
October 22, 2011 at 4:20 pm
Five dropped catches and four wickets summed up a profligate day for Pakistan, on which their bowlers toiled to create numerous chances only for their fielders – led by Mohammad Hafeez – to spill them. Kumar Sangakkara’s fighting century was the only positive for Sri Lanka, and his continued presence their only hope of saving the match.
The bowlers created pressure and some panic but Sri Lanka emerged relatively unscathed, with Sangakkara and Pakistan’s fielders taking the match into a fifth day. After four catches had gone down during a 153-run second-wicket partnership that was beginning to hurt Pakistan, they were given an opening via Lahiru Thirimanne’s suicidal attempt at a second run. Thirimanne and Sangakkara had survived for more than 50 overs; Sri Lanka then lost three batsmen in little over ten, before an astonishing fifth let-off kept them afloat.
Saeed Ajmal and Junaid Khan, who had both been denied by the slippery hands of Hafeez, took the fielders out of the equation, bowling Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan respectively for single-digit scores. An inside edge off an attempted cut against an offbreak accounted for Jayawardene while Dilshan drove loosely at one that sneaked through the gap between bat and pad.
Sri Lanka 298 for 5 (Sangakkara 161*, Thirimanne 68) and 197 trail Pakistan 511 for 6 dec by 16 runs
(ESPN)
October 21, 2011 at 7:31 pm
Twelve hours of monkish accumulation in the Abu Dhabi heat earned Taufeeq Umar only the seventh double-century by a Pakistan opener, and the first since 1992. It also left a tired Sri Lanka waiting for a declaration as Pakistan’s batsmen, barring Misbah-ul-Haq, favoured accumulation over urgency. Misbah finally relented about an hour before close of play, after the lead was 314, leaving the Sri Lanka openers a testing period to survive.
Sri Lanka’s day got worse when umpire Tony Hill, who is having a rough game, harshly adjudged Tharanga Paranavitana leg-before first ball. Several close shaves against the new ball followed, which was the last thing Sri Lanka needed after Taufeeq had ground them out of the match.
Sri Lanka 47 for 1 and 197 trail Pakistan 511 for 6 dec (Taufeeq 236, Hafeez 75, Azhar 70) by 267 runs
October 20, 2011 at 7:30 pm
The painstaking efforts of Pakistan’s top order put their side in control against a helpless Sri Lankan attack which was remorselessly taken apart on an unresponsive surface, first by the positivity of Mohammad Hafeez and then by the self-denial and accumulation of Taufeeq Umar and Azhar Ali.
After Hafeez had batted with purpose in a productive morning session, Taufeeq and Azhar stonewalled at under two runs an over till tea before displaying some urgency in the final session to leave Sri Lanka deflated in the Abu Dhabi heat. Taufeeq played second fiddle to Hafeez, blocked half-volleys after lunch along with Azhar Ali and displayed refreshing freedom after tea to reach his second century in three Tests. Azhar, mostly bordering on the over-cautious, continued to display the solidity that has marked his short career with another half-century in a partnership which grew to 141 by the end of the day.
Pakistan 259 for 1 (Taufeeq 109*, Hafeez 75, Azhar 60*) lead Sri Lanka 197 by 62 runs
(ESPN)
October 19, 2011 at 7:03 pm
Pakistan’s openers survived a testing spell from Sri Lanka’s spinners, who managed to restrict the scoring rate but could not strike after the fast bowlers struggled to make an impact in the morning. Sri Lanka would have wanted more from their seamers after the batsmen failed yesterday, but an in-form Mohammad Hafeez proved hard to crack on the flat surface.
The heat also restricted the length and effectiveness of the seamers’ spells; only Rangana Herath, the left-arm spinner, consistently troubled the batsmen and tied them down with clever use of flight and variations.
Herath and Tillakaratne Dilshan bowled a spell of nine overs for only 11 runs after the Pakistan openers had taken Chanaka Welegedara and debutant Nuwan Pradeep for 37 in the first eight overs of the day. Herath beat Hafeez with flight and turn off his third delivery and almost sneaked a carrom ball through him but for a late inside edge.
The Pakistan openers’ response, as with their Sri Lankan counterparts had done yesterday, was to withdraw from scoring almost totally. Four consecutive maidens from Herath and Dilshan followed and suddenly there were plays-and-misses, caught-behind appeals, edges past slip and general tentativeness among the batsmen.
Lunch Pakistan 115 for 0 (Hafeez 73*, Taufeeq 35*) trail Sri Lanka 197 by 82 runs
(ESPN)
October 19, 2011 at 2:00 pm
Sri Lanka squandered away what seemed to be an inviting proposition in the morning – being put in to bat on a flat wicket under the hot sun against inexperienced bowlers – by refusing to score, and ultimately succumbed against a relentless Pakistan attack. Angelo Mathews, however, batted intelligently with the lower order, as he had done during the recent series against Australia, to lift Sri Lanka from the lows of 114 for 7 before Junaid Khan’s maiden Test five-for kept them to a first-innings tally of 197.
Pakistan’s bowlers were nearly sold short at the toss by their captain who thought that any chance of taking wickets lay in utilising the scant moisture on a flat and deceptively green-tinged pitch. With a large heart and perseverance, though, they prised out six wickets in the second session after Lahiru Thirimanne’s guide to slip off Saeed Ajmal gave them an opening at the stroke of lunch.
Aizaz Cheema epitomised Pakistan’s hunger with a relentless spell, either side of the break, that claimed Kumar Sangakkara cheaply and troubled Mahela Jayawardene with consistent pace and zip off the placid surface. Jayawardene managed to survive Cheema’s spell but soon joined Tillakaratne Dilshan in the dressing room. Dilshan had earlier briefly breathed life into the doddering innings, before being wrongly adjudged caught-behind by umpire Tony Hill, as Sri Lanka slipped to 112 for 4.
Jayawardene went in the next over, prodding at Junaid outside off stump and edging to slip. Junaid capitalised on the panic in the line-up to claim Prasanna Jayawardene and Rangana Herath with searing full deliveries to reduce Sri Lanka to 114 for 4, but the fight had gone out of the Sri Lanka innings some time ago.
Cheema, 32, displayed the tireless zeal of a player made to wait almost ten years for his Test debut. He even hit Jayawardene on the helmet grill when the batsman failed to get out of the way of a short one. Cheema’s aggression was in contrast to the way Thirimanne and Tharanga Paranavitana added 26 runs in the first hour, treating the benign Sheikh Zayed Stadium surface with the extreme respect that an overcast Headingley morning would deserve.
Though the three Pakistan fast bowlers, Gul, Cheema and Junaid – chosen ahead of the quicker and more experienced Wahab Riaz – ran in with heart, they were rendered ineffective in the first session by the lifeless pitch.
The openers’ approach, however, bordered on the extreme of being over-cautious. The first boundary came in the 14th over from Paranavitana off the part-time offspin of Mohammad Hafeez. Having played sedately all morning, Thirimanne guided Ajmal straight to slip in the penultimate over before lunch. Sri Lanka had managed only 50 runs in the session.
Cheema struck with the first ball of the second over after lunch, getting Sangakkara to edge behind for Adnan Akmal to take a flying one-handed catch in front of first slip. Paranavitana contrived to survive longer with his defensive mindset but the manner of his dismissal – gloving an attempted pull to the wicketkeeper off a Gul short ball down the leg side – showed that patience without purpose inevitably comes unstuck against sustained pressure.
Just as Pakistan had used Sri Lanka’s diffidence to spark a collapse, Mathews took advantage of Misbah’s listless field-settings to add 54 – the highest partnership of the innings – with Suranga Lakmal. Mathews did everything that the earlier batsmen had not – he did not get tied down and attacked when allowed to, shielding Lakmal initially and taking advantage of the spread-out fields. Misbah helped Mathews by repeatedly keeping the field back even for the final two deliveries of the overs. On the rare occasions when he brought them in, Mathews went after the bowling, slicing and punching Cheema for consecutive boundaries off the final two balls of the 61st over.
Pakistan eventually got through the tail when Junaid cleaned up the last two wickets to end with 5 for 38, and set up the game for the Pakistan batsmen.
Pakistan 27 for 0 (Hafeez 17*, Taufeeq 8*) trail Sri Lanka 197 (Mathews 52*, Paranavitana 37, Junaid 5-38, Gul 2-37) by 170 runs
(ESPN)
October 18, 2011 at 7:24 pm
First test of the three match series between Sri Lanka and Pakistan will get underway at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Both teams will be keen to improve their test rankings by gaining a win. However, Pakistan will have the edge with experienced seam department. The match is scheduled to begin at 11.30 a.m. Sri Lankan time.
(JNW)
October 18, 2011 at 9:00 am
Tillakaratne Dilshan has said the future of Sri Lanka’s bowling lay in the hands of the fast men, and not spinners who have been their traditional strength.
“In the past 20 years or so we have depended on the spin of [Muttiah] Muralitharan for our success,” Dilshan said before the team left for the UAE to meet Pakistan in a series of three Tests, five ODIs and a one-off Twenty20 International. “Murali is a bowler who can take six-eight wickets in an innings, we have still not found anyone who can do it consistently as him.
“The future for our success lies with our fast bowlers. In the spin department only Rangana Herath has proved himself a top-quality bowler. If we hope to win Test matches we will have to have the support of the other spinners as well.”
Sri Lanka suffered a blow when one of their most promising young fast bowlers Shaminda Eranga was ruled out of the tour with a shoulder injury to his bowling arm. He has been replaced by allrounder Kosala Kulasekara.
Sri Lanka are taking five fast bowlers and two spinners to the UAE. Dilshan said that he was not duly worried that Sri Lanka had yet to record a win in their previous 11 Tests. “We have lost two matches and drawn nine and that is not a bad record. We lost the two Tests to very good sides England and Australia, one of them was due to a poor batting performance at Cardiff and in the other at Galle the toss played a crucial role. If you look back on the rest of our performances I am quite satisfied.”
(ESPN)
October 16, 2011 at 8:54 pm
The chance to repeat history awaits the All Blacks following their dominant 20-6 semi-final victory over Australia at Eden Park on Sunday night(16). A try by centre Ma’a Nonu, four penalties by Piri Weepu and a cool drop goal from Aaron Cruden secured New Zealand a place in the Rugby World Cup 2011 final against France, the team they beat the last time they lifted the Webb Ellis Cup, in 1987.
“It’s awesome,” captain Richie McCaw said. “We realised that we were going to have to front up and be on the job for 80 minutes.
“The intensity was there. Every single man out there did their bit tonight. That’s what you have to do in World Cup rugby.”
New Zealand’s ferocious play left the Australians scrambling to respond for much of the match, with the Wallabies now set to face Wales in the play-off for bronze.
“There’s not much to say,” wing James O’Connor said. “They beat us in every facet. They used the ball well and the physicality was up there. I guess that’s what you need to win a Rugby World Cup semi-final and the All Blacks had it.
“They deserved that win. They lifted their physicality and we’ve never met physicality like that before.”
(rugbyworldcup.com)
October 16, 2011 at 3:20 pm
