Sport | Cricket
Afridi toys with Indian attack
Pakistan extended their assault over the Indian attack for the second successive day to amass a mammoth 679 for 7, on a track now being hailed as one of the world's flattest wicket ever made for a Test match.
- By K.R. Nayar, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:31 May 3, 2009
Lahore: Pakistan extended their assault over the Indian attack for the second successive day to amass a mammoth 679 for 7, on a track now being hailed as one of the world's flattest wicket ever made for a Test match.
Despite the monumental figure looming large, the Indian batsmen too began their reply comfortable on this batsman's paradise at the Gaddafi Stadium yesterday. The visitors were 65 for no loss before bad light stopped play.
Runs flowed with ease with bowlers of both the teams getting absolutely no assistance. With India too possessing a strong batting line-up, it could be a long day for Pakistan too on the field in the coming days.
It would have been a dull day of cricket but for the entertaining innings from Shahid Afridi. He hit a breezy 103 off just 80 balls, studded with seven mighty sixes and as many boundaries. Kamran Akmal too joined the run riot to hit an unbeaten 102 (81b, 11x4, 2x6).
The Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf partnership finally ended after they put on 319 runs in 392 balls in a stay of 270 minutes on this lovely batting wicket. They were able to execute all the strokes in their repertoire with ease against the hapless Indian bowlers.
Yousuf was the first to go, stumped by Mahendra Singh Dhoni off Kumble. He gifted the wicket after hitting 173 (199b, 21x4, 2x6).
Tragedy struck Younis Khan when he was run out for 199 off a brilliant direct throw by Harbhajan Singh from mid on after Afridi refused a quick single.
Watching the flurry of runs, one was left wondering as to why such a wicket was made here. In fact, word has been around that only a drawn first Test would ensure a keen interest in the next two matches.
Rudi Koertzen, one of the umpires for the match, candidly admitted that it is a wicket any batsman in the world would love to bat on.
Unfortunately, Inzamam-ul-Haq could not enjoy a long session in the middle. He was trapped leg before by Kumble for 1 after a stay of just seven balls and seven minutes.
Then Afridi accelerated the run flow going for the shots. He began his big hits by lofting Harbhajan Singh over long on and looked very pleased with the way it travelled over Tendulkar at long on. He swung at Harbhajan again over mid wicket for his second six. Another six off Sehwag, the third of the innings, was a clear announcement that he was in full flow.
In the 133rd over of the match, he was very severe on Harbhajan, clobbering four successive sixes to underline his credentials as one of the best hitters of the game today.
Inspired by the big-hitting Afridi, Akmal, too, began to essay his shots with ease, lifting Pathan over long off for a beautifully-timed six. Afridi reached his 100 (78b, 7x4, 7x6) with a straight six off Agarkar.
In the same over he lifted Agarkar without getting into the line of the ball and Harbhajan at long on held on to the catch. India heaved a sigh of relief after Afridi's exit, otherwise the score would have crossed the 700-run mark.
Pakistan declared soon after Ganguly, at mid-off, took a brilliant one-handed catch off Rana Naveed-ul-Hasan to prove that he is not "a poor and lazy fielder".
India began their reply with skipper Rahul Dravid opening with Virender Sehwag. The move silenced many a critic, who had accused Dravid and coach Greg Chappell of forcing Ganguly to open the innings. Sehwag and Dravid batted for 13 overs with ease and put on an unbroken 65-run partnership.
Scoreboard
Pakistan 1st innings:
S. Malek c Harbhajan b Pathan 59
S. Butt run out 6
Y. Khan run out 199
M. Yousuf st Dhoni b Kumble 173
Inzamam-ul-Haq lbw b Kumble 1
S. Afridi c Harbhajan b Agarkar 103
K. Akmal not out 102
Naved-ul-Hasan c Ganguly b Agarkar 9
M. Sami not out 1
Extras (b-4 lb-12 nb-8 w-2) 26
Total (for 7 declared, 143.3 overs) 679
Fall of wickets: 1-12, 2-136, 3-455, 4-456, 5-477, 6-647, 7-668.
Did not bat: S. Akhtar, D. Kaneria.
Bowling: Irfan Pathan 32-4-133-1 (nb-2), Ajit Agarkar 24-3-122-2 (w-2), Sourav Ganguly 6-1-14-0 (nb-3), Harbhajan Singh 34-5-176-0, Anil Kumble 39.3-2-178-2 (nb-3), Virender Sehwag 6-0-24-0, Sachin Tendulkar 2-0-16-0.
India 1st innings:
V. Sehwag batting 36
R. Dravid batting 22
Extras (lb-5 nb-1 w-1) 7
Total (for no loss, 13 overs) 65
To bat: V. Laxman, S. Tendulkar, S. Ganguly, Y. Singh, M. Dhoni, I. Pathan, H. Singh, A. Agarkar, A. Kumble
Bowling: S. Akhtar 5-2-14-0 (w-1) Naved-ul-Hasan 4-0-23-0 S. Afridi 2-0-12-0 (nb-1) M. Sami 2-0-11-0.
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