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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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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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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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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