Bangladeshi Tigers: Not ready to roar just yet
It seems they are not quite ready for the big games after all. The cricketing fraternity was quite pleasantly surprised with the Bangladesh resurgence at the Asia Cup. They defeated the current world champions India, former champions Sri Lanka and came quite close to defeating Pakistan – also a former champion – on two occasions. In fact, the final went down to the wire, and was not decided until the last ball. Bangladesh dominated the entire match; they bowled brilliantly and restricted Pakistan to what seemed like a barely adequate score of 236. Had it not been for the heroics of Sarfaraz Ahmed ...
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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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Wasim and Waqar: the deadly duo
In recent times, cricket has undergone a fast bowling renaissance of sorts. Watching James Pattinson harass a much vaunted Indian batting line-up with speed and bounce in Melbourne and Sydney was a sight to behold. Pattinson is just 21, and he along with fellow Australian Pat Cummins (18) and the South African duo of Vernon Philander (26) and Marchant De Langle (21), represent a growing young breed of top class fast bowling prospects. There is no dearth of fast bowling talent in Pakistan either. Junaid Khan and Wahhab Riaz, two of the more recent entrants into the Pakistani bowling hall ...
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The outrageous cricket that Pakistan played
Outrageous would be an apt term to describe Pakistan’s show on the fourth afternoon in Abu Dhabi. How the team produces such cricket when you least expect them to is beyond belief. Pakistan were expected to stir up a few surprises – on the cricket field this time – against England but a series-win, despite the home-like conditions, remained a hope rather than an aim. Die-hard optimism notwithstanding, it was always a push from God that the team management and the captain sought considering the gulf that existed between the two sides prior to the series. Pakistan’s batting line-up remained meek – ...
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Flashback 2011: Pakistan in all its glory
Team Pakistan entered 2011 under the dark clouds of the spot-fixing scandal. With the backbone of their squad ripped apart as a result of the suspensions of Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif, and Salman Butt, few expected them to achieve anything significant in the next 12 months. However, as they often end up doing, Team Pakistan fought back magnificently and achieved a number of milestones. Here’s a look at some of the memorable events of the past year: 1. Series win in New Zealand Pakistan started the year with a closely fought series against New Zealand. Under alien conditions, Pakistan’s new squad showed tremendous determination to seal ...
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