Australia gain momentum as Ponting finds form at Headingley
What started off as an all round Pakistan show on day one, gradually became another Australian fight back on the second day of the Headingley, Leeds test match.
Play on day two started with a slight delay due to light showers and the outfield remained a little wet.
However, once play did start, Pakistan came into bat with their score at 148 for the loss of three wickets and managed a total tally of 258 runs before losing all their wickets. Finishing with a 170-run first innings advantage over http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746.
The overcast conditions once again played havoc with batting conditions and like the Pakistani bowlers on day one, Australian pacers managed to get swing and bounce. Eventually, the last 5 Pakistani batsmen fell for only 36 runs as Shane http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Watson-c96326 took his career best test figures of 6 wickets for 33 runs.
As Pakistan went on to lose wickets in quick succession, the green camp did not seem that worried as they expected their bowlers to extract the same bounce and turn when they come into bowl for the second innings.
Thus when given the ball, Pakistan certainly started off on the right path as they were able to grab two early wickets for 55 runs. Mohammad Aamer and Umar Amin shared one wicket each amongst themselves.
However, with two wickets down, the Australians stepped up their game. Australian captain Ricky Ponting, along with Michael http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clark-c51118, went on to share an overnight partnership of 81 runs as play came to an early close due to bad light on day two.
With the equation as it stands, Australia will continue their batting on day 3, requiring an additional 34 runs to level the score line. Then they will try to build whatever lead they possibly can.
For Pakistan the game plan remains fairly simple and obvious, “get the Australian batsmen out” in as few deliveries as possible.
Pakistanis have lost test matches after being in the most favourable of positions. The most recent example of Pakistan’s ability to lose test matches from winning positions was against Australia in Sydney earlier this year. After dominating 4 days of play, Pakistan lost the match on the final day.
It remains very important for the Pakistani players to remain mentally and physically strong in the field today as they focus on bowling the Australians out on day three of the match.
The bad news for Pakistan is that Ricky Ponting is looking in great touch as he went on to make a half century yesterday. But day 3 will be a new start and with conditions remaining overcast, the Pakistan quickies are in a strong position to get Pakistan back into the game.
Pakistan need to make sure that they do not allow Australians a lead greater then say 130 odd runs as chasing anything close to around 150 would be difficult. Especially in the last innings of a test match where the pitch does not have much for the batsmen and the fact that weather conditions are expected to remain overcast throughout the remainder of the match.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 from the start of this test match have looked a unit that will be able to beat the Australians and need to finish what they started. A win also remains vital for the internal confidence of the team and its players as Pakistan have been winless in test matches against Australia ever since 1995.
Tags: