Cricket: Pakistan 216 for the loss of four wickets at lunch interval
After an encouraging start to their world record chase at Lords on the fourth day of the first Test match against Australia, the Pakistan team was jolted with the removal of Azhar Ali. After scoring 42 runs, the debutant edged an out swinger by Ben Hilfenhaus. The odds are heavily stacked against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482’s men considering the brittle nature of the batting line-up.
Resuming at the overnight score of 114 for 1 306 runs adrift of the victory target, Salman Butt and Azhar Ali started confidently. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Salman-c88163 continued his imperious touch striking one boundary after another on the off-side.
The southpaw was especially severe on Mitchell Johnson whom he hit for two boundaries in one over, while Azhar Ali scored two fortuitous boundaries off Ben Hilfenhaus who troubled him with his out swing.
The seamer had the last laugh as he induced an outside edge from Azhar’s bat and wicket-keeper Tim Paine continued his good run behind the stumps taking a fine tumbling catch low to his right.
Butt, and the other Pakistani debutant in the match, left-hander Umar Amin took the score to 169 for 2 when the match was halted for a passing shower for a mere five minutes.
Umar Amin looked in good touch striking four boundaries in quick succession as he overcame his nerves in his maiden test match.
Just when the Pakistanis looked like staging a real comeback Butt fell to the most innocuous delivery imaginable bowled by Marcus North. North was brought into the attack by Ricky Ponting, and with his first ball he got the prized wicket of Butt, who was only 8 runs away from his third hundred against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746.
Salman Butt’s 92 was full of flowing drives on both sides of the wicket, the heft-hander struck 15 boundaries in all in an innings of immense concentration.
The left-hander was being touted as the key to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755’s chances on the last two days of the match as they looked to overhaul a world record target.
At lunch the Pakistani batsmen should be thinking that if they play proper cricket then the task is by no way insurmountable as the wicket looks benign and seems to have eased out.
However, on the eve of lunch break they were dealt a body blow as Umar Akmal was dismissed for 22, leaving Pakistan 216 for 4 needing an additional 224 runs to win the test.
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