Misbah-ul-Haq: A valiant half century with no reward – ICC World Cup 2011
Known for staying calm and composed when things around him are not, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Misbah-ul-Haq-c1972 is a true stroke playing cricketer. Very rarely is he seen slogging away recklessly, but rather he has a history of consistency and well constructed innings.
Playing against India in a semi-final is no small task, especially if one is from Pakistan and the match is in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750. That is the position Misbah found himself in and that too in not the most ideal of circumstances.
Misbah entered the fray when Pakistan was 103 for the loss of three wickets at the end of the 24th over, and Pakistan was looking shaky. His first partnership with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Younis-Khan-c98325 did not last long, as his partner lost his wicket two overs later.
Misbah however adapted well and seemed to gel with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Umar-Akmal-c94595, as the pair looked to get a partnership going with Misbah content with rotating the strike while Akmal was doing the hitting, so to speak.
When Akmal departed in the 34th over, Misbah carried on batting the way he was, and soon found himself having to adapt to a new partner every few overs or so, as wickets fell at regular intervals around him.
His partnership with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482 entered the fray. Misbah seemed to enjoy having to play the supporting role while his batting partner
did all the hitting.
So when Afridi, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Umar-Gul-c94604 did not stay for long either, as Misbah did his best to retain the strike, as he did not wish to expose the last man Saeed
Ajmal to the Indian bowling attack.
Sacrificing singles in order to retain the strike became the norm for Misbah, as he tried to find a way to get Pakistan within reach of the 262 run target. That did not mean he was not scoring any runs, as he reached his half century in style with a six
straight down the ground.
The half century seemed academic though, as only a miracle could save Pakistan at that stage. In the end Misbah’s unwillingness to rotate the strike or inability to find the boundaries on a more regular basis meant that by the last over Pakistan needed 30
runs.
Misbah went out with an attempted bang when his huge heave on the penultimate ball of the last over went straight to Kohli as Misbah’s valiant innings of 56 runs came to an end.
One could call Misbah-ul-Haq’s innings slow or wasted, but the fact remains that he kept his side in the game when the team fell around him for that at least he deserved a few plaudits.
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