Shahid & Co. Serve Up Kenyan Kebabs at Hambantota

The 6th match of the World Cup saw the Kenyans face the Pakistanis at Hambantota. With Shahid Afridi's future as captain being questioned, and the Kenyans looking to avoid further embarrassment, there would be a lot riding on this match for both teams.


Pakistan got off to a particularly mediocre start, quite like Australia in their match vs. Zimbabwe, and I have to admit, that with the early wickets of Ahmad Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez, I did actually switch over the channel to Sky News; why should I waste my time watching my team lose, when I could be catching up with vital news stories? Only on forcing from my mum did I actually switch the channel back, and I can admit that it was probably the best decision I made that day!

From that point on, 4 batsmen had reached their half-centuries (Y. Khan, K. Akmal, M. Ul-Haq and U.Akmal), including debutant Umar Akmal, who scored the highest number of runs at 71 runs not out, a remarkable feat by the twenty year old, not only that, but he was also a key fielder for the Kenyan innings, taking the catch of Patel, and his quick reaction also led to a fantastic run out of Waters.

All-in-all, I think the Pakistan team really pulled their socks up when it came to the bowling attack. The bowlers bowled well, only to be let down sometimes by mis-fields which could have been easily avoided, apart from that, there was some beautiful bowling in this match, and when better to mention the beast himself, Shahid Khan Afridi, who really did lead from the front, as a captain should in his bowling spell. With figures of 5-16, a captain's best in the world cup, how could he not have been grinning like a Cheshire cat at the post-match ceremony?

One thing I did notice this time when Pakistan were fielding was the fact that for the first time in what seemed like an age, they really gelled together as a team. Never had I seen them like that since perhaps when they won the 2009 T20 World Cup, or maybe even earlier. They may have given the Kenyans some easy runs, but seeing them like this was really heart-warming. I only hope that they keep strong and together as team, because that is what can make or break their chances of being world champions.


As for the Kenyans, they put up a brave fight, but it was not good enough, although they looked strong at first, they gave away 46 extras in the Pakistan innings, consisting of 3 leg-byes, a record 37 wides and 6 no-balls. By golly gosh. And I thought Umar Gul was the king of no-balls, well how wrong I was!! However, instead of being sore losers, the Kenyans just grinned and beared it, which is the most they could do at that point, having lost previously by a massive margin to New Zealand. But hey Kenya, don't get down in the dumps, it's the participating that counts, and just by competing, you are laying the foundations to keep the associate teams in the world cup. If the associate teams can perform to the best of their ability, they will do a whole world of good to those teams who still have yet to make a breakthrough (such as Afghanistan, UAE etc.)

What really made my heart happy was seeing the school children, and also just the general public, supporting both countries, regardless of their own support for Sri Lanka. It was really beautiful to see the love and hospitality of the Sri Lankan supporters in Hambantota for this match, and they have shown what it means to be true cricket fans. It's not about just supporting your own country, its about embracing every aspect of the game with an intense passion and appreciating the hard work and effort that all the players put into their matches, regardless of their country of origin. And for this, those at Hambantota and just in Sri Lanka in general get my salute in honour of their incredibly high level of understanding and love of cricket.


A win of 205 runs has placed Pakistan in the third spot for the highest run-margin win and for their total of 317, they are also ranked third highest in total runs made by a team in an innings, behind India on 370 runs and Sri Lanka on 332 runs. Us Pakistani fans can only hope and pray that they do not continue taking the associates and minnows as easy bait, because during this tournament, the associates and minnows will be hell-bent on the mission of proving their worth in order to stay in the championship come 2015.


So thats all from me for this match. Join Osiris for his report on the West Indies vs. South Africa match!

1^st February 2011: New Zealand vs Pakistan 4^th ODI – Napier

Background

A buoyed up Pakistan faced the hosts in a key ODI at Napier. The Kiwis absolutely thumped Pakistan in the first match of the series, the Pakistanis then launched a comeback in the rain abandoned match at Queenstown before leveling the series in convincing style at Christchurch. The Pakistani batting was in destructive form, their bowling was clicking, could they put their unpredictability aside and continue their momentum? With the series tied at 1-1 and three matches to play, this was a crucial game for both teams.

Brief Match Analysis

The pitch at Napier has a reputation for being an absolute belter, so much so that in the build up to this game the local commentators were saying that a score of around about 300 would in fact only be a par score! Both teams were therefore chomping at the bit to win the toss and bat first. As it turned out it was Daniel Vettori who called correctly and elected to bat rightaway. If Pakistan weren’t careful this could be a definitive early setback for them in this game.

As expected the Kiwis got off to a flyer, with Guptill in particular laying into the Pakistani opening bowlers, epitomized by a cracking six that flew into the midwicket stands off Razzaq. However very much against the run of play, the Kiwis starting throwing it away. Tight and pinpoint bowling from Wahab Riaz and Razzaq saw the Kiwi top order throwing their wickets away. From a position of strength, the New Zealanders slipped to 44-3 on a flat batting paradise of a pitch!

The severe fluctuations in this match had only just begun though, New Zealands all rounders played aggressively to stage a good fightback lower down the order and in the end allow their team to post a relatively respectable total of 262-7.

The Pakistani openers walked out knowing that on this pitch, they should achieve their target at a canter, however they soon found themselves at 84-3 despite the powerful hitting of Ahmed Shehad. Pakistans steady middle order duo of Misbah and Younis Khan added 90 odd runs together….before we got the customary batting collapse! Pakistan were reduced to 198-6 and NZ were back in it!

Perfect time then for the Razzler to hit his straps and when he smashed a boundary and a six it looked like game set match to Pakistan…not quite though. Razzaq spooned a catch to Vettori of Hamish Bennett and when Wahab Riaz had an epic brain failure and swiped across the line to give McCullum an easy catch, Pakistan were suddenly 250-8. Still needing another 15 runs to win from 12 balls and just 2 wickets in hand.

It was Misbah ul Haq who was holding the Pakistani innings together, with a classy knock that included a good mixture of rotating the strike, and some big hits of his own. A very calm and collected….almost masterful knock and that too at above a run a ball! In the end Sohail Tanvir cracked three boundaries to get Pakistan over the line, with Misbah finishing on 93 not out. A thrilling match but in the end Pakistan taking the plaudits as well as a 2-1 lead in the series with another two matches to play.

Osiris's Views

Most cricket websites appear to be saying that Pakistan made a mountain out of a molehill in chasing a target of 263. While this is true to an extent, I do not completely agree with this assessment. The pitch was excellent for batting, but in my opinion also a bit slower than the pundits expected. A target of 263 was not as easy as it was made out to be and that too under lights. Pakistan were never really in complete control, even at 173-3 the required run rate was still rather high, and when Pakistan lost wickets in the batting powerplay in my view the Kiwis held all the aces.

Therefore the Pakistanis deserve a lot more credit than they are getting for overhauling this target, Misbah’s batting was nothing short of coolness personified and in the end he was unlucky not to get what would have been a very much deserved century.

Pakistan are gaining some much needed momentum ahead of the world cup and this is crucial to say the least. However there are worrying signs as well, I personally feel that Sohail Tanvir’s bowling is simply not upto the mark and in the sub-continent he will be cannon fodder. Perhaps this is not such a bad thing though, since he can quite easily be replaced by a spinner, either Abdul Rehman or Saeed Ajmal. Pakistan have now won 2 matches on the bounce but there are still 2 matches to go, no matter what happens in this series, the Pakistanis will still be underdogs at the world cup and that is testament to the massive challenge that faces our cricket team. How they respond to this challenge remains to be seen.

Signing off till the next game!

Osiris