|
|
| December 3, 2005 | Saturday | Shawwal 30, 1426 |
Only bad light can save England from defeat
LAHORE, Dec 2: Batting records tumbled like nine pins, as Pakistan, assured of nabbing the series, went on to amass 636 for eight on the fourth day of the third and final Test against England.
At close, the visitors were 121 for two still needing 227 runs to avoid an innings defeat.
To save the Test and salvage some pride England batsmen will have to show more grit and determination on the fifth day and a couple of them will have to get centuries to achieve the daunting proposition.
Friday proved the worst day for overs wasted due to fading light. No less than 23 overs were lost as umpires offered light to the England batsmen at 4.30 pm who had no hesitation in accepting.
A two-wicket burst with the new ball by Shoaib Akhtar removed England openers Marcus Trescothick in his first fiery spell to reduce the visitors to 30 for two. Trescothink was beaten by sheer pace and adjudged lbw while Vaughan offered a return catch completely deceived by a slow full-toss.
But a gutsy third wicket stand between Ian Bell and Paul Collingwood survived the new ball onslaught to give England a fighting chance of saving the match.
The unfinished stand had so far put on 91 runs with Bell on 60 and Collingwood 37. Bell, who needed medical attention after having been struck by Shoaib on his left elbow, had faced 100 balls and hit nine fours.
For Pakistan the Test will be remembered for batting milestones. Mohammad Yousuf, Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Akhtar and Rana Navedul Hasan all posted their career-best Test scores.
The sixth-wicket stand of 269 between Yousuf and Kamran also erased the previous best of 204 against any country established in 1964-65 against New Zealand by Hanif Mohammad and Majid Khan.
Yousuf, overnight 183 not out, was finally dismissed for 223 in search of quick runs, caught by Kevin Pietersen off Shaun Udal. He smashed 26 fours and two sixes in his 373-ball stay at the crease.
Kamran went on to score 154 having hit 14 fours while Navedul Hasan remained unbeaten at 42. Shoaib Akhtar on Thursday also registered his highest Test score of 38.
Pakistani batsmen made their intentions clear from the first ball of the day to smash 190 runs in 29 overs, the fastest scoring rate of the series before Inzamaul Haq, unlucky to miss a century by three runs, ran himself out, declared the innings closed at 636 for eight after the hosts resumed from overnight 446 for five wickets.
Inzamam who came to bat after the fall of Yousuf, clubbed two sixes and nine fours in his 97 off just 101 deliveries. The Pakistani skipper, going for a sharp single failed to beat an underarm direct hit by his counterpart, Vaughan.
England bowlers were again disappointing on a track still holding no demons for batsmen and the three wickets that fell were due to Pakistani batsmen going for quick runs.
Andrew Flintoff, Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard and Liam Plunkett made little impression on rampaging home batsmen and conceded more than 100 runs each.
ENGLAND (1st Innings) 288 (P.D. Collingwood 96, M.P. Vaughan 58, M.E. Trescothick 50). |
| ENGLAND (2nd Innings): M.E. Trescothick lbw b Shoaib Akhtar 0 M.P. Vaughan c and b Shoaib Akhtar 13 I.R. Bell not out 60 P.D. Collingwood not out 37 EXTRAS (B-5, LB-2, W-1, NB-3) 11 TOTAL (for two wkts, 36 overs) 121 FALL OF WKTS: 1-0, 2-30. BOWLING (to-date): Shoaib Akhtar 9-0-34-2 (1nb); Rana Navedul Hasan 12-1-46-0 (1nb); Mohammad Sami 9-4-20-0 (1w); Shoaib Malik 2-1-1-0; Danish Kaneria 4-1-13-0 (1nb). NOTE: Inzamamul (35), who retired hurt at 148-3 on Wednesday, resumed his innings at 516-6 on Friday. |
708 v England The Oval 1987 |
|
|
