Cricket Blog

Day 1 Report

Pakistan needed desperately to bounce back as this was a do-or-die match for them. They have to win no matter what. But considering the first day’s play that may seem too far fetched now. Kumble won the toss and had no hesitation in batting first. Despite an early hiccup losing Karthik cheaply, Jaffer and Dravid ensured that there would be no further mishaps. The two put on a valuable 136 run partnership for the second wicket before Dravid was unlucky to be given caught behind to Danish Kaneria. India were 138/2. In walks the little master. Who would have thought that the master blaster would be overshadowed by someone called Wasim Jaffer, but that’s exactly what happened.

Jaffer was in the Zone and his strokes were sublime and effortless. He caressed the ball to all sides of the park and soon reached his first test century against Pakistan. India were 206/2 at the tea break from 55 overs. The partnership was going at around 5 runs per over. The final session saw the floodgates opened up. India amassed 146 runs from 29.3 overs and finished the day at 352/3 with Jaffer unbeaten on 192 from only 255 balls. He could very well be the second Indian ever to reach a triple hundred at the test level. Tendulkar was the third wicket to depart falling for a googly from Danish Kaneria. A long day awaits Pakistan tomorrow with Ganguly, Laxman and Dhoni to bat and Jaffer looking in ominous form. India need to get to 600+ and then declare. The pitch has been predicted to slow down and crumble during the third day making Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh as key weapons in the host’s arsenal.

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Day 1 ReportThe test series is finally here and Day 1 belonged to India and Kumble. Losing the toss, the home team was asked to field first. However, that turned out to be a blessing in disguise as the seamers ripped through the Pakistani top order with Zaheer Khan doing most of the damage and Munaf Patel providing able support.

After the Pakistanis were reduced to 83/5, there looked to be no recovery and the Indian bowlers continued to apply the pressure. A classy knock from Misba ul-Haq saved the day for the visitors as they managed to reach 210/8 in 85.4 overs with Mohammad Sami offering some resistance.

Before the day began, India were on the backfoot due to RP Singh and Sreesanth not being able to prove match fitness. India then had to go with Munaf Patel who was called in as replacement. I would have loved to see Irfan Pathan back in the team on the back of his terrific comeback into the ODI team. However, Munaf justified his inclusion by bowling a tight line and length and supported Zaheer Khan superbly.

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Well the first match was a damp squib considering the hype and hoopla before the start of the series. Pakistan were completely outmaneuvered by India in what should be described as a clinical performance. All the talk about missing Dravid in the middle order turned out to be just that - talk. A solid batting effort from the young guns - Dhoni, Yuvraj and Gambhir should keep the critics at bay.

Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat first. After the first three overs it seemed that this would be a big total chase. However, that was the only real challenge put forth by Pakistan. The Indian bowlers came back admirably and restricted the visitors to small, yet defendable, total on a pitch that was predicted to crack and turn in the second innings. Salman Butt started aggressively and was, perhaps, the only Pakistani batsman who looked like he had the better of the bowlers. Kamran Akmal was all over the place despite playing a couple of delectable strokes.

Irfan Pathan got the first breakthrough for India when he trapped Akmal LBW. Although the ball pitched just outside leg-stump the umpire had no doubts in giving Akmal out. Younis Khan walked in and the enormity of the situation/responsibility may have gotten to him. He was in his shell from the word go and just could not break the shakles. Butt on the other hand got himself run out to poor calling and his own mistake.

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Pakistan have announced the ODI squad for the tour to India and named the following 16 players:

1. Shoaib Malik (capt)
2. Younis Khan
3. Mohammad Yousuf
4. Shahid Afridi
5. Misbah-ul-Haq
6. Kamran Akmal (wk)
7. Salman Butt
8. Yasir Hameed
9. Imran Nazir
10. Fawad Alam
11. Abdur Rehman
12. Shoaib Akhtar
13. Mohammad Asif
14. Umar Gul
15. Sohail Tanvir
16. Iftikhar Anjum

I would suggest reading this article where the author has discussed in detail about each player. Case in point here is the warning for Shoaib Akhtar that this is his last chance to prove his worth, both on the field and off.

Click here for the full schedule of the tour and tips on how to watch live telecast for free.

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West Indies registered the first win in the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup when they beat Pakistan by 54 runs yesterday. Top run scorers for the host nation were Marlon Samuels (63 runs) and Ramnaresh Sarwan (49 runs). For Pakistan Shoaib Malik (62 runs), Mohammad Yousuf (37 runs) and Inzamam ul-Haq (36 runs) were the leading scorers.

After winning the toss, Inzamam put West Indies in to bat first. The move paid rich dividends as Chris Gayle, struggling for form, departed with the score on 7 runs. He made 2 before edging an Umar Gul delivery to Kamran Akmal. However solid performances from Sarwan, Samuels and Lara ensured that the partnerships kept on coming. A stunning cameo from Dwayne Smith at the end of the innings, he scored 32 from only 15 balls, helped West Indies post a defendable target of 242. For Pakistan, the bowlers were not impressive. Iftikhar Anjum picked up 3 wickets, Umar Gul and Mohammad Hafeez picked up a couple each. Danish Kaneria’s figures were the least impressive with one wicket for 45 runs from his 9 overs.

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