Pakistan Vs South Africa 1st Test Dubai : Pak Report Card

Younis along with captain Misbah and Azhar helped save the game for Pakistan
© AFP

   Once again Pakistan playing a home series away from home. But, better than playing in England I'm guessing. So, the Mid-East serving up as home conditions. Not completely unfair I guess. The T20's were a one-sided affair. Saffers beating Stanis quite comfortably 2-0. The ODIs however were a  completely different tale altogether. Some really closely fought games but, Saffers clinching it in the end 3-2. Almost felt sorry for  Pakistan and then Haider mania caught the world napping. Lesser we speak on that the better. So time for the test matches and enter a new captain for Pakistan, come-back kid Misbah-ul-Haq. Also Taufeeq Umar, Younis Khan returning and Hafeez getting a test call after consistent performances in the LOIs. MoYo again unfit so left out of the side.

   For a team that's been in the news for all the wrong reasons and too many at that, to come and play good competitive cricket is a treat. We know how passionate the Stanis are when it comes to sports like hockey and cricket. From being in no-man's land to almost winning the test thanks to Graeme Smith, this test had it all.

Mohammed Hafeez - 6
A hundred run opening stand on come back with Taufeeq. Gritty 34 in the second innings as well. Looked solid with the bat. Misbah however, dint use him effectively with the ball.

Taufeeq Umar - 5.5
Good comeback.Struggled against pace of Steyn and Morkel. Was keen to fight it out there.

Azhar Ali - 6.5
50+ scores in both innings. Deserved a ton atleast. His innnings set the tone to the Pakistani fight back.

Younis Khan - 6.5
Spent valuable time at the crease on come back. Gritty ton in the second innings made sure any signs of collapse is averted. Could have taken the attack towards the end against the tired Proteas' attack. (-1)

Misbah-ul-Haq-6©
Good knock in the second innings after a forgettable first innngs failure. Captaincy still very unimaginative. Having 7 wickets in hand should have put more pressure on the Proteas.

Umar Akmal - 4
Had a poor outing, out for just 4 in the first innings and dint get a chance in the second.

Adnan Akmal - 4
Another Akmal, another wicket keeper for Pakistan. Not very impressicve with the gloves or the bat. Got the job done on debut.

Adbur Rehman - 5
Got 4 wickets in the match from 68 overs a S.R. of 102 per wkt. Can do better.

Umar Gul - 5
3 wickets in the first innings and wicketless in the second. Struggled to make any in-roads for his captain being the strike bowler.

Wahab Riaz - 4
2 big wickets of Smith and Amla. Both looking good for long innings. Then got injured and increased the tension for Misbah.

Saeed Ajmal - 4
Bowled plenty of overs, just 3 wickets in the match. Din't trouble any of the top-order batsmen.

Ijaz Butt & the 7 Dwarfs

Well, if you thought only the Pakistan Cricket team was unpredictable,hold on! Their cricket board is a step ahead. Ijaz Butt's decision has shook the cricket team and others concerned. Agreed Paki cricket was not doing well, but its nothing new. Its been happening for ages now. Every team goes through a slump. Lets look at the fellows who faced Butt's fart..oops wrath!

1) Kamran'Butterfingers'Akmal: Well, he single-handedly won the game for Australia. He dropped catches which came his way and helped Aussies win it easily. Rs. 3 million fine and under probation.

2)Umar'Poor Acting'Akmal : He alleged to have feigned an injury in order to miss the test for his dear brother who had been dropped.He did ended up playing the match though. His mom would have been proud of this act, but not the PCB. Rs 2 million fine and under probation.

3)Shahid 'Once Bit Twice Punished'Afridi: If Adam bit the forbidden apple, our Boom Boom bhai bit the cherry umm... ball. Satan hit both of them. ICC banned him with a heavy sum and a 2 T20 match ban. Ijaz went a step higher and fined him Rs.3million and is also under probation for 6 months.

4)Rana Naved and Shoaib Malik: On disciplinary grounds. Banned for a year from the national side from all the formats of the game and a sum of 2 million.

Here's the shocker :
5) MoYo & his accomplice, Younis Khan: Final nail in the coffin for both of them. Seems their attitude let the team down. Well, I do agree in the case of Younis, who , whenever he needs, takes rest citing stress and too much cricket, when they play once in a blue-moon. He stated that 20-20 was a fun game... maybe for him! That statement surely raised a few eyebrows. Luckily, they went on to win the WCT20 else he would have been doomed long back.

Well, with T20 WC coming up shortly, I don't see it as a wise decision by the PCB. Could have checked their performance in the T20WC. With the ban of these players,the Pakistan team is like a human being with just a head and legs and nothing in between. Its gonna take a long time to come over from this disaster.

P.S: I hope WICB doesn't take it seriously and dissolve the whole team considering the way they are performing!! :)

P.P.S: All above mentioned nominations are in PKR currency - Pakistani Rupee.

Aus-Pak 1st ODI : White-wash

To easily describe the 1st ODI between Australia and Pakistan, it was "White-washed". Battig first Pakistan put up 274 thanks to some big hitting in the end by Shahid bOom boOm Afridi, who scored 48 off 26. Butt batted well for his 72 but, it was Younis Khan who scored 46 off 74 balls scoring jus one boundary in the 74 balls' innning. Wreckers in chief were Shane (Twat) Watson 4 wkts , Clint (eastwood) McKay 3 wkts and Douggie (brown) Bollinger 2 wkts. 274 looked very competent total considering Pakistan has a better bowling attack than Australia at the moment.

Presumably, Asif & Aamer kept things quiet and tight. They were rewarded with the wickets of the openers. Picky Ponting & Pup Clarke then started the building phase. Ponting fell to Afridi, entered Cameron White. From here White took the game away from the Pakistanis. His ton came off just 80 deliveries. Clarke made a working-class 50 and then got out. Pakistan needed a break through when these two were at the crease. The wicket came a little late, Mike Hussey and Brad Haddin helped put the final pieces of the puzzle in place. Yet, another Aussie victory! Aamer bowled well, Asif looked good too. One expensive over from Afridi (21 runs) turned the game on its head. Stay tuned for more "Wah".

Drama King Younis again...

Younis Khan is at it again, after complaining about too much cricket being played (which never featured much of Pakistan) he now has asked for rest. So, the PCB has elected Md. Yousuf to captain the side in the upcoming tour to New Zealand for the 3 match test series. This comes after only recently, Younis decided to quit playing T20 intls and Afridi was chosen as the man to lead in the shortest format of cricket.

Steam’s corner: Yousuf becoming the man in-charge comes a little late in my diary. He is solid as a batsman and step ahead of Younis in every department of the game. If there was any senior player worthy of leading the Pakistan test side it has to be Md. Yousuf. Nice opportunity for someone to get a look into the test side probably Umar Akmal, who has been very impressive. The kiwi pitches are sure to test more than just his technique and temperament.

Mock’s shot: I don’t understand what’s wrong with Younis . I feel he is psychologically affected. He quit captaincy from T20 after winning the world, for God knows why. Then he created another drama of resigning the captaincy in ODI after his allegations of match fixing. C’mon dude you are not a kid. Apart from that, his captaincy has been inspirational. He has led the team very well. I don’t think Md. Yousuf can make a good captain. I don’t think he is tough enough to lead a team like Pakistan. My sincere advice to Md.Yusuf is, at least now improve your running between the wickets. You cannot set an example as a captain, if u doesn’t improve your running between wickets. Stats say that Yusuf gets run out once in every 6 matches.