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Posts Tagged ‘shoaib malik’
Pakistan in India, 2007, Test Series Review
I have never seen an India-Pakistan test series that was this boring and dull. Except for a few moments of brilliance, the intensity just wasn’t there. With injuries to key players and some defensive approach from Pakistan, the series was really dead from the moment the second test began. Saurav Ganguly was the “find” for India in this series, his best ever in 11 years of cricket. He also crossed 1,000 runs in one calendar year for the first time in his career and will be the man to watch out for in Australia.
For Pakistan, it was Misbah ul-Haq all the way. Had it not been for him, the final score would have been 3-0. Younis Khan seemed to have regained his form in the second test. Kamran Akmal got amongst the runs in the final test. Shoaib Malik’s captaincy was thoughtless and questions must be asked about the coach and team management. There was no plan or strategy in the bowling and field placements. On the other hand, Kumble looked to be in full control. Had it not been for the placid pitches which failed to offer turn to the spinners, India would have a better series win.
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IPL vs ICL - Take 5
In recent news, BCCI has made advance payments to a host of international players who are signed up to play in next year’s Indian Premier League. It has been reported on Cricinfo.com that Shane Warne is the highest paid of all with $400,000 as his sign-on fee. Glenn McGrath and Stephen Fleming were the second highest paid stars getting $350,000 each. The following is a list of all the players who have received their contracts so far:
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Pakistan vs India, 2007, 5th ODI - Highlights
Pakistan vs India, 2007, 4th ODI - Report and Highlights
A one man show can only be done by a legend such as Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar who was at his deadliest best in yesterday’s day-night match. His performance won the series for India and despite missing out on YET another century, the end result would have been far more satisfying. India finally managed to beat Pakistan in a home ODI series. With another game to go, India can well afford to rest some seniors and get their younger generation a chance to display their skills.
For most part of his 18 year career Sachin has been regarded as the best batsman in the world, ever. Yesterday he showed that age is no bar when it comes to playing at the big stage. For the most capped player in ODI history, Sachin also defies critics on a regular basis. Most of 2007 has been spent in speculation on whether the time has come for the Big 3 to retire. I don’t know about the other two, but this man should be left alone. Yet again he has silenced his critics as he let the bat do all the talking. And his bat did not just talk, it screamed.
Winning the toss, Shoaib Malik decided to bat first knowing fully well that the dew would play an important factor in the second innings. RP Singh gave his team the perfect start by getting rid of Salman Butt for a duck and Pakistan never recovered from the 2nd ball of the innings. The powerplays were wasted as only 79 runs were scored in the first 20 for the loss of 2 wickets. RP, Pathan and Zaheer were bang on target and barring the odd boundary kept things nice and tight.
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