http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Saeed-Ajmal-c87859 - the magician in the Arabian desert - Part 2 - Opinion
Continued from Part 1...
The reasons are quite obvious and stand out in terms of statistics, match winning performances and his ability to turn the tables for his side when it needs it the most. With an average of just over 24 in 68 games and a tally of 99 wickets, his record speaks
for itself. Statistics are somewhat immaterial for a man of such proportions. Unlike his counterparts, his form with the ball has not weathered off, like Shahid Afridi or http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Umar-Gul-c94604, and neither has he witnessed a lean patch in his career. Ajmal has barely had
a bad game for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 World T20 of 2010 became quite distant. In any Pakistan match, Ajmal is expected to perform and seems to uplift his game when expectations from him are quite high. His
consistency stands in stark contrast to his fellow spinner, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482, who has had lean patches in an otherwise phenomenal career.
Another factor is the array of deliveries that Ajmal has in his repertoire. He can flight the ball, toss it up, bowl a straighter one and deploy the ‘doosra’, with impunity. Ominous signs loom high for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 as they have just a handful of players who
can play, read and stroke spin well. One of them is the skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MJ-Clarke-c1978. In addition, the Australians are accustomed to playing spin on tracks which do not offer much turn. To play against Ajmal would thus prove to be a challenge instead of a chore,
as using the front pad to smother the spin could prove to be futile. Batsmen such as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DJ-Hussey-c1380 are known for milking spinners for massive sixes, and there is no denying the fact that Australia looks the most lethal outfit when they embed
such a mentality into their batsmen.
Much to their disgust however, Ajmal is not a pushover. He is fiercely competitive and would gnaw his way into batting line ups as if they were a mathematical equation. Attacking Ajmal is pretty much rests on the batsman’s own peril, as a loose shot or an
extravagant heave could lead to a snappy stumping or a lobbed up catch in the air. In addition, Ajmal has the gift of stifling the run flow of the opposition which would irk a side like Australia. A team which is known to score five to six runs per over in
an ODI game could find Ajmal a nuisance, as scoring off of him would require a lot of patience, diligence and doggedness. Whether or not the Aussies exhibit such qualities in the series to tackle Ajmal is a different story altogether.
His match winning accolades are plentiful, and come in a team where individual brilliance counts more than cohesiveness. Regardless of this fact, Ajmal is a shining example for young spinners. To sideline him in spinning conditions against Australia is like
expecting praise from baking a cake with no sugar coating. It is simply implausible to say the least.
Pakistan’s surge in the ODI ranks along with their mission to push the former world champions into submission could well rest on how Saeed Ajmal performs. Much to the delight of the Men in Green, he seldom disappoints and is a magician in his own right.
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