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| January 22, 2006 | Sunday | Zilhaj 21, 1426 |
Pakistan on song for another massive total
FAISALABAD, Jan 21: Pakistan’s middle-order batsmen, led by Shahid Afridi, set the platform for another massive first innings total against India on the opening day of the second cricket Test against India at the Iqbal Stadium on Saturday.
Taking advantage of ideal batting conditions and 90 mandatory overs possible without difficulty, Pakistan piled on the runs with a degree of arrogance to finish at 379 for four with Afridi batting on a robust 85 and the unruffled Inzamamul Haq cruising to 79.
Apart from Afridi and Inzamam, Pakistan were earlier boosted by good contributions from Younis Khan (83) and Mohammad Yousuf (65), both of whom would have easily reached three-figure scores in successive innings on what appears to be absolutely placid strip.
The over-publicized 22-yard playing surface was a wee bit different from the dull strip of Lahore since it had variable bounce and sideway movements for the bowlers willing to try to bend their backs.
However, the bat overwhelmingly held sway over the ball once the moisture dried out under warm sunshine in front of a sizeable turnout on a perfect day for cricket-watching. The fans were thoroughly entertained to a flurry of strokes from the Pakistan batsmen who between them struck 52 fours and four sixes with each of the three sessions producing over 100 runs.
Towards the closing overs, the impulsive Afridi thrilled his diehard supporters after uncharacteristically building his innings till he crossed 50 off 63 balls with eight fours.
Afridi changed gears soon after the second new ball arrived, lifting debutant paceman Rudra Pratap (R.P.) Singh straight into one of the commercial hoardings over wide long-off.
The charismatic right-hander then pulled Irfan Pathan twice on the trot into the back rows of the stands in the arc between long leg and mid-wicket for enormous sixes. The Indian seamer was carted around for 22 runs in the over.
So far, Afridi 84-ball belligerence had fetched him 11 boundaries and those three sixes while the unfinished fifth-wicket stand had been worth 163 off 195 balls in 133 minutes.
Inzamam’s 122-ball knock in comparison contains nine fours, some of them in the classic mould, in little over two and a half hours.
Until Inzamam and Afridi came together, the Indians stormed back into contention when R.P. Singh grabbed his third wicket, Yousuf being caught behind after having stroked eight fours and one six in his 24th half-century.
Both Younis and Yousuf, who together have radiantly become a major stumbling block for India, continued on from where they had left off in Lahore during that commanding partnership of 319.
This time, the Younis-Yousuf alliance yielded 142 runs off 214 deliveries in 138 minutes of scintillating batting display with the pair matching each other stroke for stroke.
On the way Younis had a miraculous escape on 11 when Sachin Tendulkar missed a run-out opportunity at the bowlers’ end after Yousuf, not for the first time of course, turned his back after making the call.
Otherwise, Younis barely found himself in discomfort as the pitch became easier to bat on. The Pakistan vice-captain was severe on anything short and on several occasions peppered the point boundary with rasping square cuts during his 12th Test 50.
After striking 13 lovely boundaries in a 131-ball innings lasting 171 minutes, Younis was spectacularly held by Yuvraj Singh who plucked a one-handed catch at point.
The Indian catching was exemplary as was the ground fielding. Skipper Rahul Dravid also pocketed a great left-handed catch at first slip to send back Shoaib Malik for 19.
As for the bowling, Zaheer looked the best of pace trio, R.P. Singh showed a lolt of promise, but Irfan Pathan was disappointing. The old spin duo of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh got some turn but only marginal.
Shoaib Malik’s technical shortcomings were again exposed. This time he ducked underneath a short-pitched delivery but hung his bat in the air. The end result: ball catching the bat’s bottom part before reaching Dravid at first slip.
Both teams made two changes to their respective playing XIs from the Lahore Test. All-rounder Abdul Razzaq came in for Rana Navedul Hasan and Mohammad Asif replaced an indisposed Mohammad Sami in the Pakistan side.
India awarded a first Test cap to the 20-year-old Uttar Pradesh left-arm medium-fast bowler R.P. Singh and recalled the experienced paceman Zaheer Khan.
Former skipper Saurav Ganguly and Ajit Agarkar, reportedly troubled by a hamstring problem, were left out from the first Test team. Ganguly’s ouster after his debatable selection in the previous Test ensured India had five frontline bowlers at their disposal.
The inclusion of both Zaheer and R.P. Singh to partner Irfan Pathan meant that India fielded three bowlers of the same type for the first time in 392 Tests.
Scoreboard
Pakistan (1st innings)
S. Malik c Dravid b R.P. Singh 19
S. Butt c Dhoni b Khan 37
Y. Khan c Y. Singh b R.P. Singh 83
M. Yousuf c Dhoni b R.P. Singh 65
Inzamamul Haq not out 79
S. Afridi not out 85
Extras (lb-4 nb-6 w-1) 11
Total (for 4 wickets, 90 overs) 379
Fall of wkts: 1-49 2-65 3-207 4-216
To bat: A. Razzaq, K. Akmal, S. Akhtar, M. Asif, D. Kaneria
Bowling: I. Pathan 11-1 - 70-0 (nb-1) R. Singh 17-1-77-3 (nb-1 w-1) Z. Khan 19-5-61-1 (nb-3) H. Singh 21-1-75-0 (nb-1) A. Kumble 22-3-92-0.
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