Pakistani Players to watch out for, in match against South Africa- 1st ODI
Pakistan will be taking on South Africa in the upcoming One-day international series at http://www.senore.com/Cricket/United-Arab-Emirates-c3033. The series will be of great interest to both teams as they prepare for the World cup 2011 in the Subcontinent.
Proteas dominated the team from the subcontinent in the recently concluded T20 international series, both with the bat and the ball. Batting has been an Achilles heel for Pakistan throughout the series and the whole summer.
Moreover, they have shown great inability to apply themselves at the international level in different conditions and circumstances, a lack of experience at the wings and mental maturity. But this time it might be a different ball-game altogether, because
few experienced players will be coming back after indifferent layoffs. So it will be interesting to see how Pakistan's batting will fare in the ODI series in U.A.E.
It totally depends on how the immensely talented Umar Akmal matures himself as a batsman on the crease and takes on the responsibility as Pakistan is missing some of its key players.
A great concerning factor is http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-c89347 Afridi's temper. He must control his ill temperament and lead his team by example as a captain and a senior member.
Younis Khan adds a lot of things to this fragile batting line-up, a sense of reliability, with his ability to apply himself in different conditions and experience with the willow in his hand.
We have to watch out for some players who will be making a definite impact in the first match.
Younis Khan
Younis Khan is about to make a comeback after almost 9 months and he will not be getting a lot of breathing space as he will be taking on one of the best sides in the cricketing world. As everyone knows, the fragile middle order doesn’t have the experience
of Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Yousuf, so it will be entirely up to Younis to help the team cope up with the international pressure.
Mainly, his duty will be to hold the innings tightly together. The one down batsman hasn’t been up to the mark in the last two years as he has struggled off-late. It might be the pressure of the captaincy or politics in the team.
He has played 27 matches, during the period of his struggle, scoring a modest 678 runs at an average of 25 with a best of 101. To everyone’s surprise, in his last five matches, he has gathered 67 runs at a poor average of 14 with a best of 46.
Furthermore, his record against South Africa is not one to talk about. In 29 matches against them, he has gathered 726 runs at an average of 25.92 with a best of 93.
The Mardan born player will look to make an impact straight away as he is all set to make a comeback in the international arena.
Umar Akmal
A monstrously talented cricketer, it’s time that Umar realizes his potential and discovers his strength with the bat. Umar Akmal has been one of the highest run scorers for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 in the last year or so. The talented batsman, has shown the world that he
certainly belongs to the highest level.
The Lahore born batsman has played 23 matches in his short career, racking up 724 runs at an impressive average of 36 with a best of 102. He is yet to play an ODI against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757.
In the recent T20 series, he hasn’t been able to make an impact as he only managed 19 runs in two games. The time has come for Umar to become consistent and showcase his immense talent.
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