Pak vs England: A welcome green sweep
Pakistan cricket was burnt down in 2010 and from those ashes rose a green phoenix. This phoenix conquered all it faced, even before the start of the England series; it set up an epic encounter with the whites but was not given due credit and was instead written off as ‘winning against the minnows’. Critics felt that the series against England would expose the Pakistan side’s weakness. However, the encounter turned out to be lopsided as the whites were no match for the phoenix’s tenacity, determination and skill. England came to the Middle East with great confidence but was found wanting ...
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Why Younis Khan is king
The Pakistan – England Test series finally witnessed a century, and it came from none other than the most reliable batsmen out there – Younis Khan. I had been waiting for a Younis Khan century throughout the series and last week, he made it happen. Younis’ performance was most satisfying because I had been anticipating it for some time and to top it off, I was at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium to witness it. I don’t remember a Test series that Pakistan has played that has not involved a match-winning or match-saving century by Younis. Calls to drop Younis from the Test squad prior ...
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Battles at the Premier League
This mid-week in Premier League saw some interesting battles being fought at the top half of the table as well as between the relegation bound teams. It was also one of the rare occasions when the match day’s late kick-off (7:45 pm) nearly collided with the Transfer Day deadline that ended at 11:00 pm. All this made for an exciting day. Let’s start from football itself from the top half. Manchester City, fuelled by the Arab Oil-gazillions, started the week right at the top of the table and determined to tighten it grasp on the No.1 spot after being dumped out of the ...
Read Full PostPak vs England: Fantastic stats for Team Green
It still hasn’t sunk in that Pakistan have not only won the second Test, but also won the series; if that is how I am feeling then I can’t even begin to imagine what the critics and doubters are going through right now. Believe it or not, Pakistan are up 2-0 and the prospects of a whitewash are truer than ever. Pakistani magic against low totals This was only the second time that Pakistan successfully defended a total below 150 in a Test match. The last time this happened was against New Zealand in 1993 when Wasim and Waqar took five wickets apiece and ...
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Team Misbah did us proud
Victory against any opposition is sweet. But when you win against the world’s top Test team, it is memorable. Pakistan beating England by 72 runs last week has to go down as one of the best successes of the Pakistan cricket team. Defending just 145 against one of the best batting line ups of the world would have been a tough job in any case, but Pakistan never let England off the hook. Surprisingly, the chief destroyer was Abdur Rehman who grabbed six wickets for 25 runs in just 10.1 overs. Saeed Ajmal supported him well with three wickets for ...
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Team Pakistan: Back with a bang!
Can anything taste sweeter than victory? If you are a Pakistani fan who has gone through the spot-fixing case, the ensuing talks of banishing Pakistan from world cricket, the semi-final losses in the World T20 and World Cup 2011, clearly not. And what if that victory is against the number one side in the world? It just makes it all the more sweet. It might take a couple of days for this to settle in. Consider this- in 2010, the cricketing world was so irritated with a particular team and the board’s chairman that there were talks of throwing them ...
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Is Pakistan ready to host again?
In 2009 when the Sri Lankan team arrived in Lahore, much was said about their security, or the lack of it, after armed men were able to ambush their vehicle with ease. At the time of their arrival at the airport, the security protocol suggested that improvement was needed. But at that point the most worrying aspect was being hoarded by fans’ excitement or the media. Few thought a gun attack was in the making that would cause casualties and injuries. But it happened and, despite ‘intelligent’ reports, a targeted and planned attack was to take away international cricket and the ...
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Saeed Ajmal, the doosra Saqlain
Off-spin bowling has never been as glamorous and stylish an art as leg-spin. In fact, it wasn’t long ago when off-spin wasn’t event considered an art, as every part timer could roll over his arm for an end changing spell of off-spinning lollipops. From Benaud to Qadir and Warne to Mushtaq, leg-spin was the only form of slow bowling that was considered an essential ingredient of a potent bowling unit. All that, however, changed with the emergence of a skinny young man from Lahore who not only reintroduced off-spin as a genuine threat but also added such artistry to his repertoire that his invention laid the foundation of ...
Read Full PostThe end of India’s golden era
It is hard to say whether Australia have rediscovered their mojo or whether India are in a free fall. The latter seems more plausible considering that India have lost seven away Test matches on a trot with four against England. Barring the series against West Indies at home, the team that was ranked number one about six months ago has been in a continuous free fall since the start of the ill-fated tour of England last year. The major issue leading to this has been the inability of the heavyweight batting order to pull its weight. The Indian batting line-up comprises of some ...
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Adnan Akmal: Chirping away towards success
For all the banter that Adnan Akmal parts with behind the stumps, he comes across as a rather shy, no-nonsense individual away from the cricket field, unlike his siblings that have played for Pakistan. Adnan doesn’t ooze defiance and arrogance like Umar and hasn’t mastered the smooth flow of the bat that Kamran often offered. He doesn’t have a bag full of big hits and isn’t likely to attract an IPL or a BPL contract anytime soon. But he does approach every outing with the dedication – however limited and unappealing his talent might seem right now – and conscientiousness of ...
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