http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Zimbabwe-c3045: Only Test – Misbah’s quality leadership vital in team’s success
A new look Pakistan side overcame Zimbabwe by seven wickets in the only Test of the series at the Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo in Zimbabwe on Monday, September 5, 2011.
The tourists experimented with a fresh bowling attack, as two seamers http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sohail-Khan-c90647 was featuring in his second Test match.
Off-spinner http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Saeed-Ajmal-c87859 was the most experienced bowler in the line-up with 12 games to his name.
On the other hand, the Men in Green also had an inexperienced batting line-up. Their most capped player was http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Taufeeq-Umar-c92889, who has represented his nation in 32 games.
Apart from the above two batsmen, only skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Misbah-ul-Haq-c1972 has played more than 20 games (26) whereas all the other members of the side have featured in less than 20 matches.
The inexperience of the Pakistani squad suggested that the team might struggle on the African soil. However, they did a very good job and emerged victorious on the final day’s play of the Test match.
One of the most impressive things about the Pakistani squad was their captain Misbah. He led the team nicely and stayed calm and collective until the end of the match.
Misbah’s decision to field first might have appeared to be a wrong one to most of the people, but it turned out to be a good one eventually.
Pakistan team is known to struggle on pitches which have some assistance for the seamers and the Bulawayo wicket had grass on it. This would have forced the tourists’ skipper to field first, as he was well aware of his side’s potential.
Other than the toss, the 37 year old took some very good decisions during the match, especially in Zimbabwe’s second innings. He used Cheema nicely throughout the game, as the debutant finished with figures of 103/8 in the match.
The hosts had lost four wickets for just 31 runs in their second outing and were struggling to cope up with the pressure. All of a sudden Misbah introduced http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mohammad-Hafeez-c76898 into the attack, who is a part time spinner.
The ploy did not seem to be a very good one at that stage, as any other captain would have attacked the opposition with the front line bowlers.
However, the decision turned out to be a fabulous one in the end, as Hafeez dismissed four wickets in a span of just few overs. This changed the complexion of the game completely and the tourists went onto win it easily in the end.
Hafeez’s all-round performance in the game earned him the player of the match award. He scored a fabulous century in the first innings, collecting 119 runs and ended up with a quick fire 38 in his second outing.
The importance of a quality all-rounder has become significant in modern day cricket. Most of the top teams have some of the most exceptional all-round players in team and the Men in Green will also be pleased to have an in form Hafeez in their squad.
Other than Misbah’s good leadership in the match, he contributed some runs with the bat as well, scoring 66 and 6 not out in his respective outings.
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