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Posts Tagged ‘shahid afridi’
Pakistan vs India, 2007, 3rd ODI Report and Highlights
So India have bounced back and the see-saw battle between these two countries continues on. But a 2-1 lead in a 5 match series is always handy. The turning point in the match was the first six that Yuvraj hit off Abdur Rehman and from there on the momentum shifted tremendously.
The toss was won by Shoaib Malik and he elected to field first citing reasons that his team chases well and he wanted to make use of the early conditions. Pakistani new-ball bowlers lost the plot early on as they gave away far too many runs to the best opening combination in ODI history. Both Sachin and Saurav made use of the chances given to them, especially Saurav who was dropped of the first ball by Kamran Akmal.
Sachin took his own time to settle down but the boundaries started to come and he looked set for a big innings. Before he played a loose shot to give Sohail Tanveer his first wicket. Akmal, in complete contrast to the dropped catch, leapt to his right to snatch it out of midair. The man in form, Gautam Gambhir, walked in to replace the Little Master.
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Pakistan vs India, 2007, 2nd ODI - Report and Highlights
Yet another India-Pakistan match, yet another thrilling finish. This has been a trend that goes for over 50 years. Nothing, I repeat, nothing can compare to an India vs Pakistan match. Chasing 322 for a victory, I would say Pakistan bounced back in spectacular fashion.Dhoni won the toss and decided to bat first on a pitch that was going to assist the pace bowlers early on. Ganguly showed his intentions as he square cut Shoaib Akhtar to the boundary off the second ball of the innings. However that was short-lived as Shoaib had the last laugh in this short battle. Ganguly inside-edged to his stumps and India were 6-1. Not the start the wanted but what followed was arguably India’s best partnership of the day. Gautam Gambhir joined Sachin and the two smashed the bowling to pulp in a calculated run of play. Sachin batted like only he can. In fact, Gambhir was the slower of the two.
The run rate picked up from the 9th over when Umar Gul was spanked to all parts of the park. To Gul’s credit he came back strongly in a match defining spell later on. Sachin was at his dominant best. And since the England series, he has really made an effort to play like he has always had, without any extra burden of captaincy, or trying to anchor the innings. He knows that with the likes of Dhoni, Yuvraj and Uthappa in the middle order, he can play his natural game. And play he did. Shoaib tried to make fun of Sachin early on, but the little master let his bat do the talking.
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Pakistan ODI squad for India series, 2007
Pakistan have announced the ODI squad for the tour to India and named the following 16 players:
- Shoaib Malik (capt)
- Younis Khan
- Mohammad Yousuf
- Shahid Afridi
- Misbah-ul-Haq
- Kamran Akmal (wk)
- Salman Butt
- Yasir Hameed
- Imran Nazir
- Fawad Alam
- Abdur Rehman
- Shoaib Akhtar
- Mohammad Asif
- Umar Gul
- Sohail Tanvir
- 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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Pakistan vs South Africa, 3rd ODI, Match Highlights
South Africa in Pakistan, 2007. Pakistan vs South Africa, 3rd ODI at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad, October 23, 2007. South Africa innings. Pakistan won the match by 6 wickets thanks to an all-round performance by Shahid Afridi. Chasing 198 for a win, Pakistan reached the target in 48.1 overs on the back of an unbeaten 58 from Mohammad Yousuf. Earlier, the South Africans were brought down by some excellent bowling from the Pakistanis. Shahid Afridi and Iftikhar Anjum ripped through the South African middle order. Only Graeme Smith and Justin Kemp made valuable contributions. The rest of the batsmen got the starts but failed to capitalise.
Afridi then took center-stage when the Pakistani innings started. Boom boom Afridi rattled the South African bowlers by smashing the ball all over the place. His 32 came from only 18 balls and had 4 boundaries and 2 sixes. However, South Africa came back sharply by picking up 3 quick wickets and Pakistan were 68/3 all of a sudden. Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Malik then played a test match brand of cricket with some good rear-guard action. The required run rate was never going to be a problem and the only way they could have lost this match was by being bowled out. That wasn’t to be and Pakistan now lead the series 2-1. Afridi was given the man of the match.
Click here for the full scorecard
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