Umar Gul – he’s back with a bang!
It was heartening to watch Umar Gul bowl in the third one-day international between England and Pakistan at the Oval. He seemed to be bowling in the same fashion like he did back in the 2007 and 2009 T20 World Cup, where he successfully managed to become
the leading wicket taking bowler in both the tournaments. Gul bowled wicket to wicket deliveries with a nagging line and length which was why he clinched career best figures of 6-42.
Umar Gul displayed a master class of fast bowling, which took the English side by storm, tearing through their batting order. He dimissed Andrew Strauss, Michael Yardy, Eoin Morgan, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad and finally Graeme Swann. His swinging deliveries
proved to be devastating for the home team who were stumped as to how they should bat.
It was a brilliant way for Umar Gul to come back into full form after struggling on the English tour. He was proving to be a very expensive bowler and didn’t take too many wickets either. However, this match changed everything for the 27-year-old.
He won the man of the match award for his efforts. When he was interviewed by an unusually animated and excited http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Aaqib-Javed-c41431 helped him a lot. He said that
the tips from the legendary duo proved to be very fruitful for him. In response to another question, he said that he was able to get the ball to reverse swing in his last spell, and he was really happy that he was able to take wickets on such a dry and flat
pitch which usually plays in favour of the batsmen.
This was Gul’s second 5 wicket haul after his first came against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747 where he took 5 wickets for just 15 runs.
The only factor that becomes a huge hurdle for Umar Gul is his injuries. His injury prone past has cost him to stay away from international cricket for almost two years. This could be the reason why his performance at times is not consistent, often rusty
and makes him give unnecessary extras in the form of no-balls and wides.
Umar Gul saved http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 from a series whitewash and prevented the English side to win the ODI series. His last spell certainly changed the mood and eventually the result of the entire match, which would have otherwise turned out to be a comfortable victory
for the home team.
Besides the exceptional bowling that Umar is famous for, he can also bat and get some crucial odd runs lower down the order. One of the exceptions, however, have been his batting performance in the 3rd ODI which was less than ordinary as he was
struggling to connect with the ball, and had a very low strike rate.
But otherwise, his batting has historically contributed in difficult times usually when a partnership down the order is required to make sure that Pakistan is successful in playing out the allotted overs. A great example of a brilliant knock by Umar Gul
is his 67 not out runs in the test match against England in this ongoing tour, where his innings played a crucial role in avoiding the follow on which at one point seemed inevitable.
Nonetheless, Umar Gul has proved to be a great asset for the Pakistan cricket team if he is in top form, like the way he was in the third one day international between Pakistan and England. His clever bowling forces the batsmen to think through their batting.
His dangerous yorkers and full-length bowling puts the opposition under a lot of pressure. Let’s see if he is able to maintain his form in the last two crucial matches which Pakistan has to win if they want to win the ODI series.
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