Gul's Heroics Take Pakistan Past Follow-on
Umar Gul’s belligerent maiden half-century ensured that Pakistan avoided the follow-on on the morning of the third day of their first test match being played at the Trent Bridge in Nottingham.
Pakistan resumed their first innings from a precarious 147 for 9, 8 runs adrift of the follow-on mark of 155, but Umar Gul had other ideas.
The Pathan from http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Peshawar-c832 started the day’s play with a beautiful punch down the ground that went all the way to the boundary. He carried on the same vein in the next over from Finn, stroking a delightful boundary through the cover region to get Pakistan past the follow-on mark, before depositing the lanky bowlers integrity with a mightly pull shot that went into the stands.
He hit two more fours in the same over to reach his maiden test fifty. In the next over from Finn, Umar smashed two sixes off consecutive balls, and both times depositing short deliveries over the square-leg fence. Sadly though, Pakistan’s resistance ended in the same over when Mohammad Asif the last man was run out by a direct throw from Eoin Morgan as the pacer backed up for a single off the last ball of the over.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 folded for 182, a sizeable recovery from 42 for 6 last afternoon. Gul remained unbeaten on 65 which was an astounding knock that included four sixes and eight fours.
The English second innings got off to a dismal start as both openers perished cheaply, first to go was the captain Andrew Strauss who edged a Mohammad Aamer delivery into the slip region where Umar Akmal juggled about three times before helping the ball into the hands of his brother and wicket-keeper, Kamran Akmal who dived a full stretch to grab on to the ricochet.
In testing conditions for batting, Alastiar Cook's was the second wicket to fall. The left hander was unlucky to glance a delivery from Mohammad Asif into the hands of Kamran Akmal who gleefully accept the chance as the opener departed for 12 runs. Cook was Asif’s 100th wicket in test cricket, in what is his 20th test match. He became the second Pakistani bowler after current coach Waqar Younis to achieve the landmark in 20 test matches.
Meanwhile Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott steadied English nerves, taking the lead past the 200 mark. The two were at the crease on 17 and 18 respectively, with the English leading at 221 runs.
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