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| February 11, 2006 | Saturday | Muharram 12, 1427 |
Ankle injury forces Shoaib Akhtar to miss today’s ODI
ISLAMABAD, Feb 10: Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar will sit out Saturday’s second One-day International against India because of a troublesome ankle that requires an extended rest.
“He is not fit and team physio has told us that the injury could be aggravated if it is not rested properly,” captain Inzamamul Haq told journalists on the eve of the match at the Rawalpindi Stadium.
Shoaib also missed the first game at Peshawar and may also not play at Lahore on Monday. “If the physio’s report is not encouraging, there are chances that he will be sidelined for that match too.”
The “Rawalpindi Express” as he is commonly known, bowled barely an over at the early morning nets Friday before going off.
The news on Sohaib comes just two days after Inzamam had said the speed king would return to action in Rawalpindi in front of his home fans.
But the injury continues to nag the bowler who also struggled with it during the England series.
Although Shoaib, who has 199 wickets in One-day Internationals will be missed, the home side goes into the match 1-0 up following their seven-run win at Peshawar on Monday.
Inzamam knows that winning on Saturday will put more pressure on the Indians.
“A victory tomorrow will give us a good advantage in the remaining matches.”
Pakistan who won the high-scoring first game under the Duckworth and Lewis method after bad light hit that match, do not expect the Rawalpindi strip to be a 300-plus wicket.
“I don’t think it will produce as many runs as the Peshawar pitch. This one has some grass on it and should help the bowlers.”
In Peshawar, India made 328 and Pakistan replied with 311 for seven and needed 18 runs off as many balls when the light turned bad.
The hosts are likely to play Rawalpindi all-rounder Yasir Arafat in place of paceman Umar Gul who went wicket-less in the first game where he was forced out of the attack by Irfan Pathan. Off spinner Arshad Khan looks set to continue as the super sub.
India on the other hand will be without Harbhajan Singh for the second successive game with the off spinner still nursing an injured finger.
“He is not fit to play tomorrow,” coach Greg Chappell said as his side arrived for nets at the Rawalpindi Stadium. The tourists have called up Ramesh Powar as cover.
Chappell who thought the pitch looked good for batting said that his side were approaching the game with a positive frame of mind and just wanted to win it.
“We have played competitive cricket in the Tests and the one-dayer against a Pakistan side that is ranked among the top teams.”
He said that each match his side played was a stepping stone for the World Cup.
“It allows us to assess our strengths and weaknesses as we build for that tournament.”
Inzamam called upon his bowlers to be careful because it wasn’t easy chasing big totals every day.
“Although the batsmen have done well, I think the bowlers have to show more discipline.”
Dismissed for “obstructing the field” at Peshawar, a decision that led to a heated debate, Inzamam refused to say more on the subject.
He also refrained from predicting the favourites.
“It is the side that plays better on a given day which wins, and although we lead the series, it is going to be a tough match.”
Teams:
Pakistan (from): Inzamamul Haq (captain), Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Abdul Razzaq, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar, Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Arshad Khan, Salman Butt, Rana Naved, Imran Farhat, Faisal Iqbal, Umar Gul, Mohammad Asif, Yasir Arafat.
India (from): Rahul Dravid (captain), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Gutam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Mahendra Dhoni, Irfan Pathan, Sri Sreesanth, Murli Kartik, Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar, Harbhajan Singh, Rudra Pratap Singh, Ramesh Powar.
Umpires: Simon Taufel (Australia) and Asad Rauf (Pakistan).
TV Umpire: Zameer Haider (Pakistan).
Match referee: Chris Broad (England).
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