Runs galore in another grinding draw

My second article for PointCricket is published. Go to www.pointcricket.com for my review of the second test match.

The brilliant National Stadium in Karachi, venue for the third and final test match between Pakistan and India.

Condolences to Malik and family

Heart felt condolence to Shoaib Mallik and his family . May the Almighty Allah give strength to Shoaib Mallick and his family to bear this loss .

Karachi back in business

Tour blog

On the eve of the first test in Karachi in a long, long time, let’s re-visit an older article (. My article on Karachi called “Karachi back in business” was published @ Chowk.com. Click the link to check it out if you haven’t read it before.

http://www.chowk.com/show_article.cgi?aid=00006089&channel=gymkhana

Younis murders Indian bowling once again, in Faisalabad. (c) AFP 

Dhoni builds on his reputation as a big-hitting keeper. (c) AFP 

Afridi smashing a career-best 156. He went from 50 to 150 in only 62 balls. (c) AFP  

Asif living by his reputation

Asif bowls a strict line/length and i am quite surprised by that since this is only his 2nd game. Brings the bowl in nicely and could be quite a handful in England. I think he is still working on the ball that shapes away. He bowled a few that straightened or moved away but I think he'll get that with time. Ovreall a good prospect. As for his pace, on grassier pitches he shd touch 140K's on ore then one occasion. For the few who have criticized him, sorry to say, but you weren't watching the game everyone else was!

RP as man of the match?

Tour diary blogs

RP as man of the match was a joke of a decision. I couldn't believe myself. The 4 wkts he got were all gifts. He was just abt average in the 1st innings, throwing it all over the place. Was better in the 2nd though. Perhaps Arun n Shiva were the judges. Zaheer has been by far the best Indian bowler on tour. Danish also got 3 wkts and certianly was way better then RP Singh. Just a retarded decision this. Younis shd have been the obvious choice.

On both captains being hauled in by the Ref

Tour diary blog

Thats bull-crap. Happens all the time in intl cricket. As far as you dont abuse opposition's players its all good. The ref is just trying to show off his authority. How much do u wanna bet that would've stayed mute if it was shane warne instead of afridi. BTW pathan is a girl! I thought he was big enough to reply to it on his own rather then whining about it.
    

Another run-mania follows...

This time Faisalabad witnessed a run mania as Pakistan piled up almost 600 runs, with centuries to Afridi and Inzamam. India look good as well with 440 odd, for them Dravid and Dhoni have followed with centuries. Its a shame that the pitches have nothing in them for the bowlers because there certainly are some great bowlers in both teams. I'm not sure if many of us would like to remember these first two tests too fondly. The PCB's got to look strongly into making any possible changes in its pitch-making staff across Pakistan.

To throw, or not to throw? Muralitharan in action against South Africa.

(c) Getty Images

Stunning isn't it. The Adelaide Oval in a game between Australia and South Africa. (Copyright unknown)

Malik as a long-term opener

Akays tour diaries

He curbed is big hitting natural instincts which is y he succeeded in the one-down role in odi's. An opener needs similar attributes to that of a one-drop batsmen to succeed at intl level, both in tests n odi's. Let's hope he can do that more consistently in the test arena.

On Abdul Razzaq's inclusion...

Akays tour diaries

Abdul Razzaq has played alot of games, and he hasn't done enough to show that he desreves a place in the present test side, especially after the emergence of afridi. y he's in the team is obvious to me, n its annoying. if rana was injured, another frontline bowler [read: umar gul] shd have played. simple.

Sami and abdul razzaq are two of the most fortunate pakistani test cricketers ever. since the last couple of seasons, i have been of the opinion that both dont deserve a place in the test squad, let alone the final 11. still both of them end up playing somehow. boggles my mind.

Quote ... unquote by Cricinfo

"My grandma has a crush on Richie Benaud"

A banner at the Gabba which prompted Mark Nicholas to ask "Is
that necessarily a good thing?" of his fellow commentator. "Depends on the
grandma," replied Benaud, quick as a flash

Click here for more http://usa.cricinfo.com/quote/content/page/156062.html

© Cricinfo

Faisalabad's Iqbal Stadium - venue for the second test match between India and Pakistan

© Getty Images

Indo-Pak players share great rapport off the field
© Cricinfo

Pitch Fever

After the huge non-contest between bat and ball at Lahore, a lot is expected off the wicket at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad. The pitch, for starters, has never been too result-friendly. Since test cricket’s inception in this city, a total of 23 matches have been played. The home team has won six and lost five out of the 11 matches that have produced an outcome.

Recently against England, Pakistan almost forced England into submission in the final day of the second test match, until the English lower-middle order fought back to salvage a tense draw. It was during the same match that Inzamam-ul-Haq scored two brilliantly-crafted centuries despite niggles in his back.

Over the last few days, one man has taken more spot-light then either Inzamam or Rahul Dravid; and that man unquestionably is Agha Zahid, PCB’s chief curator. While some media sections and experts have lambasted him for making such a lifeless pitch, others have laid the blame squarely on the Pakistani team management, who they feel gave specific directions to Zahid to shave off any grass available on the pitch. Inzamam, however, in his column with Pakistan’s Daily Jang has emphatically refuted the claims.

Zahid claims that weather had a part to play in improper preparation for the track in Lahore. One does feel that while that argument is acceptable, but to say that it was just the weather that led to such a batting haven is beyond acceptance. In England, the weather is dark and gloomy almost throughout the year. The curators there, however, are still able to produce tracks that are reasonably lively – tracks that have something in them for everyone. A testimony to this is the fact that most test matches there in the recent past have went into the final day.

Nevertheless, moving on to Faisalabad, Inzamam has openly stated that he wants dead grass on the pitch and nothing else. Dead grass, he explains, results in little but consistent movement for the entire length of the test match. Also, a grassy wicket (even if it is dead grass) tends to stay firm for a longer period of time, resulting in consistent bounce and movement for the better part of a test match.

However, the nature of soil in Pakistan could neutralize the effect of dead grass on the pitch; the movement would be only slight and fairly slow to pose any real problems for the batsmen.

In the end, though, a lot will depend on the whether, which has remained bright and sunny for the last two days. Further sun-shine will bake, and thus harden, the surface resulting in greater bounce and pace from the pitch.

Pitches and curators have never been under such pressure before. With India’s mammoth media contingency essentially breathing down the throat of the beleaguered Agha Zahid, the pitch-maker would spend a few sleepless nights until the test match draws to a close.

© Adeel Khan

Apologies for the last two weeks

Due to tough work schedule, I have been unable to update this website regularly. There is some new material now to keep you busy :)

Adeel