Pakistan Cricket: Not for the faint hearted
The http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 Cricket team has a love affair with unpredictability and living on the edge. Be it a test match against the Australians where they lose from a position where even a randomly gathered group of 11 boys playing on the street would have been able
to pull off a victory or the third one dayer in the ongoing one-day series against England.
Pakistan, led by an inspired and completely rejuvenated Umar Gul, managed to defeat England by a margin of 23 runs. Umar Gul’s career best figures of 6 for 42 runs has given Pakistan a hope of winning the 5 match one-day series, provided they manage to win
the next two one dayers as well.
Batting first, Pakistan posted a mediocre total of 241 all out with Fawad Alam top scoring with a well played knock of 64 off 86 balls. All the other batsmen failed to impress, getting starts but failing to convert them into bigger scores. Asad Shafiq scored
40 off of 59 balls scoring 4 boundaries, a well played innings overall from the youngster.
England in reply to Pakistan’s total of 241 looked in control of the match in terms of the run rate throughout the duration of the contest but for Umar Gul’s sensational bowling spell. Three of England’s batsmen played well with the bat - Andrew Strauss
carried his form into the match with 57 runs off 54 balls, Eoin Morgan showed his batting prowess in the middle order with an innings of 61 runs from 74 balls and Luke Wright got blessed with good luck and had the umpire to thank when he was out stumped to
Saeed Ajmal on 26 to finish with on 48 not out. With the exception of Steven Davies who scored 18 runs, none of the English batsmen made it to double figures on a chilly evening at the Oval as Pakistan fought back to defend beautifully and limit England to
within 21 runs of their target. The Oval has proved to be a lucky venue for Pakistan in the recent series against England as Pakistan won the third test here last month by a margin of four wickets. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Razzaq-c84421 dealt the last blow to the English when he bowled James
Anderson for 3 to secure the win for Pakistan.
England at one stage were in a comfortable position with 200 on the scorecard for the loss of five wickets and well insight of victory. However, that was precisely when Umar Gul decided that the losing streak had to end.
Gul took his first scalp of the day when he bowled Andrew Strauss when England’s score was at 95. He then trapped Yardy plum in front of the stumps to claim his second wicket with the score on 103. Gul’s third wicket of the day was that of Eoin Morgan who
was batting superbly on 61. England’s score at this stage was 201 for the loss of 6 wickets. The match was still within England’s grasp but Umar Gul had other plans for them. Bresnan was beautifully bowled out for a duck on the very next ball and Gul was on
fire.
It was a display that reminded the Pakistani fans of the era when their bowlers could diminish the best batting line-ups in the world in the space of a few beautifully bowled overs. Gul’s control over his line and length was superb throughout the evening
and it was like a scene out of The Ghost and the Darkness where Gul was the like the lions, thirsty for blood (read wickets). Gul’s haul of five wickets was complete with the score on 207 when he bowled Broad with a beauty after contributing just 4 runs.
With England staring down the barrel of defeat on 207 for the loss of 8 wickets, Gul’s thirst for wickets remained un-quenched and he bowled a ball to Swann with the score on 211 that Swan chipped into the hands of the Pakistani captain http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482 and
the Pakistani fans present at the Oval were surely appreciative of the beast that was Gul. The final nail in the English coffin was struck by Razzaq when he bowled Anderson to seal the deal.
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