Captain Cook helps England take 2-0 lead against Pakistan in ODI series

Abu Dhabi: Skipper Alastair Cook‘s second successive century, Ravi Bopara’s second successive half century and Steve Finn’s second successive four-wicket haul helped England take an unassailable 2-0 lead over Pakistan  in the 4-match ODI series.

After winning the toss, Cook elected to bat and his 102 helped England finish on 250 for 4 at the Zayed Cricket Stadium here last night. In reply skipper Misbah-ul Haq and opener Imran Farhat slammed 47 each but Finn with 4 for 34 and two wickets each by Samit Patel and James Anderson saw Pakistan fall short by 20 runs.

After winning his second man-of-match award, Cook said, “The conditions were slightly difficult when compared to Monday. The pitch was slightly slower and it was difficult to time the ball”.

“It was easier to bat first up in the afternoon. And (Steve) Finn bowled a tight first spell and later the three seamers did well in the death overs.”

“The game was a bit tighter but we fielded well. It is nice to go 2-0 up and hopefully we can go to Dubai and finish the job,” said Cook.

Two back-to-back centuries by Cook, the first by an England skipper and the 9th English batsmen to achieve that feat in ODIs, coupled with his batsmen confidently handling the Pakistan spinners, will have gone a long way in erasing the memories of a one-sided Test series.

In fact it was here, less than a month back that England were bowled out for 72 in the second innings of the Second Test, but with Cook leading from the front, England seemed to have grabbed the initiative in the shorter version.

Misbah-ul Haq’s woes lay in the fact that Saeed Ajmal, who was almost unplayable in the Tests, became the most expensive of the four spinners as he had just one wicket to show for his 54 while Shahid Afridi and Abdul Rehman together got just one for 74 and Mohammad Hafeez, who bowled a brilliant spell of ten overs yielding just 30 runs had to stop after just four overs last night.

Cook, despite being the ODI skipper, has for long been under the scanner, but his knocks here, both brilliantly played, could not have come at a better time. England came here as world Test champions but were so badly mauled by the Pakistani spinners that tougher times were predicted when they next go to Sri Lanka and then India.

The England skipper did get a reprieve when Umar Akmal dropped him on 30 off Afridi but other than that it was an innings from the top drawer and made the few English fans present proud.

Though Kevin Pietersen (26) and Jonathan Trott (23) could not match Cook’s focus and concentration, Eoin Morgan  ran into some form with an unbeaten 25. But it was Bopara, the man who earned his skipper’s praise for his knock on Monday, who repeated that effort with a fine 58 off 66 balls with four boundaries.

Pakistan were in the run chase for most part of their innings but their batsmen kept getting out when well set and once Afridi was dismissed it was too much for skipper Misbah,.

Openers Mohammed Hafeez and Imran Farhat put on  61 runs, a vast improvement from their 53 for 5 on Monday. Hafeez, however fell to a loose shot off James Anderson for 23.

Farhat, who was joined by Azhar Ali, was middling the ball well and thrilled the patient crowd with a handful of boundaries. Craig Kieswetter, the England wicketkeeper dropped Farhat on 40 off Broad but the Pakistani opener did not last long when he was run out by the same bowler three short of his half century. Veteran Younus Khan became Samit Patel’s first victim and Pakistan were 104 for 3 midway through the innings.

Ali looked to be shaping well before he too was bowled by Patel and two overs later the batting power play was on.

Misbah and Umar Akmal got some quick runs and after the Pakistani skipper survived an LBW appeal off Finn, Akmal slammed three boundaries. But Patel brought off a great catch at cover as Akmal attempted a second consecutive four and Finn’s disciplined bowling finally got him a wicket in his seventh over.

With Misbah unbeaten on 30 and Afridi walked in with Pakistan needing 72 off 67 deliveries. A six and a four off Patel got Pakistan closer but Afridi was bowled for a run-a-ball 18 and Anderson’s wicket maiden left Pakistan still 44 runs behind with 30 balls left.

Abdul Rehman took 9 balls to get his first run and the target was 35 off 20 balls and the drama heightened. A no ball by Finn and off the free-hit Rehman was ‘bowled’ before the Pakistani batsman’s misery ended when off the next ball his stumps were uprooted to leave Misbah with a herculean task.

Kieswetter took  a brilliant catch off Broad’s and fell three short of his half century before Finn grabbed the last two wickets to finish with 4-34.

“I think today the batsmen realized their duties but the main difference was the fielding,” said Misbah.

“The guys played well at the top but we lost wickets at crucial moments. We can’t rely on the tail as it is the job of the top six to get the runs,” he said after Pakistan lost the last five wickets for 23 runs.

“We are two-down but I believe this team is capable of anything. We showed our improvement today after Monday’s loss and we will improve further,” the Pakistani skipper said.