Wednesday 30 November 2011
Bowlers lead Pakistan to crushing win
Mushfiqur Rahim said before the match that it was time for Bangladesh to stop aiming for "respectable losses" and show they can compete against the best. By the interval, their spinners had laid the groundwork for a confidence-building win at the start of the series, but those hopes fizzled out as Pakistan's varied attack proved far superior. Barely seven overs into the chase, the result was a foregone conclusion.
Pakistan's ruthlessness wasn't surprising. Their bowlers, especially the spinners, downed Sri Lanka in all three formats in the UAE barely a few days before they landed in Bangladesh. That they conceded their first boundary only in the ninth over was an example of their discipline.
Tuesday 29 November 2011
Injured Razzaq returns home | Razzaq doubtful for Bangladesh tour
Abdul Razzaq, the Pakistan allrounder, is in doubt for the upcoming tour of Bangladesh after sustaining a right shoulder injury during the third ODI against Sri Lanka in Dubai on November 18.
He will be returning home and will take no further part in the rest of the series, which includes the fifth and final ODI on Wednesday and the Twenty20 on Friday. He has been advised ten days' rest, followed by rehabilitation. No replacement has been named.
"Considering his injury, the doctor has adviced him 10 days' rest," Naushad Ali told ESPNcricinfo. "He will be departing for Lahore on Wednesday where he will undergo further treatment. He is not available for the remaining matches to be played here against Sri Lanka. I don't know about his availability for the Bangladesh series but we aren't calling up any replacement while we are here."
Razzaq batted at No.3 on Friday but struggled to justify his promotion, making 6 off 16 balls. He bowled four overs for 18 runs and didn't take a wicket during Pakistan's win, and was replaced by Shoaib Malik for the next ODI in Sharjah. Razzaq's injury came to light during that match, which was also won by Pakistan, giving them the series 3-1 with a game to play.
Pakistan begin their tour of Bangladesh with a Twenty20 international on November 29, followed by three ODIs and two Tests.
Ajmal the biggest threat - Tamim
Tamim Iqbal, the Bangladesh batsman, has said the offspinner Saeed Ajmal will be the biggest threat to Bangladesh when Pakistan tour there in November-December 2011-12. Ajmal is the joint-leading wicket-taker in Tests this year, with 41 from 6 matches at an average of 23.41, and also features in the top ten wicket-takers in ODIs this year. Tamim recognised Ajmal was in form and said the Bangladesh batsmen would have to watch his variations carefully.
"I've only faced him [Ajmal] for one delivery and that was in county cricket when I was playing for Nottinghamshire and he was representing Worcestershire," he told Pakpassion.net. "I scored a single and was happy to be at the other end. He's a very good bowler and is in great form at the moment. It is going to be a real challenge to face the Pakistan bowlers in the upcoming series, especially Saeed Ajmal. He's a very experienced bowler who has a lot of varieties and he will certainly be someone that my colleagues and I will have to watch carefully."
Pakistan will play one Twenty20 international, three ODIs and two Tests in Bangladesh between November 29 and December 21. Bangladesh are coming off a disappointing summer, having lost one-day series against Australia, Zimbabwe and West Indies, and Tests against Zimbabwe and West Indies. Pakistan have enjoyed an impressive run, having had successful tours of the West Indies and Zimbabwe and winning both the Test and ODI series against Sri Lanka in the United Arab Emirates.
"It's going to be a very tough and challenging series for us because Pakistan are playing some very good cricket and are in great form. Their batsmen and bowlers are in top form and it promises to be a difficult series for us."
After a tremendous 2010, in which he scored two swashbuckling Test centuries in England, Tamim has had a mediocre run in 2011, but showed a change in approach in the home Tests against West Indies, playing uncharacteristically patient knocks of 52 off 141 balls in Chittagong and 83 off 158 balls in Mirpur. Tamim said he was constantly learning and believed he was a better batsman now than he was when he first burst onto the scene.
"I'm still learning a lot of things and developing my batting. I really hope that I have a long career ahead of me and I'm sure I am a much better batsman than I was when I first came into international cricket. I believe I still have a lot of things to learn and I am confident that I will get better with more exposure in international cricket against the best opposition."
After Bangladesh's tour of Zimbabwe, the board removed Tamim from the post of vice-captain and also replaced Shakib Al Hasan with Mushfiqur Rahim as captain, with indiscipline cited as the reason for the decision. Tamim said he was happy to play under Mushfiqur but would have to wait before he judged him as a captain.
"I've played under Mushfiqur in the Under-19s and I know him very well. He knows what he needs to do as skipper and what he needs to bring to the team. He's started well and is doing a good job, but it's too early to say as he has just skippered in the one series. Let's see how it goes and I wish him all the very best for a successful stint as captain."
Bangladesh have struggled to build on the form they showed last year, when they won home ODI series against New Zealand and Zimbabwe easily. Tamim said the team had to play more international cricket to improve. He said he expected Bangladesh to be competitive in international cricket in a few years.
"We need to play more international cricket. If you are playing cricket at the highest level you are going to improve. The Bangladesh Cricket Board is working very hard and I'm sure that we will continue to produce good cricketers. I think in a few years we can become more competitive as the youngsters that are being developed forge their way into the international arena."
Misbah, Cheema take Pakistan to five-wicket win
There was no respite for Sri Lanka. In one of the more closely-fought encounters on this tour, it was Pakistan who prevailed by five wickets after their opponents promised to deliver better, only to falter and give it away. First, with their batting, when they began aggressively and scored at around nine an over in the first ten overs before slowing down considerably and eventually capitulating in the second half. And then it happened with the ball, their spinners putting them in control through tight spells and wickets, not knowing Dilhara Fernando and some fielders would fail to hold their nerve at the death.
Misbah-ul-Haq stood tall for Pakistan, doing what Dinesh Chandimal, who made an enterprising half-century, failed to achieve after guiding the innings - seeing his team through to the end and finishing on a high. Pakistan's seamers did what their counterparts failed to do - Aizaz Cheema and Umar Gul cleaned up the innings, taking five wickets in the last two overs, to restrict the visitors to a chaseable score; on the other hand, Fernando doled out length deliveries that brought down the required-rate considerably.
Ajantha Mendis, returning from injury, and captain Tillakaratne Dilshan restrained Pakistan in their pursuit of 142 after Imran Farhat began brightly. He inaugurated the innings with three crisp boundaries off the first over of the innings but brought on to bowl in the sixth over, inside the Powerplay, Mendis struck, removing Farhat, who holed out. Umar Akmal's first-ball duck was crucial in reducing the tempo of the innings further when he adventurously made room to Dilshan and was bowled playing inside the line.
The next four overs yielded just 19, but at one end was Misbah, building up for a flourish at a later stage. He warmed up by slogging a six off Dilruwan Perera over midwicket and triggered the turn in the tide when 43 were needed off four overs, Afridi just having joined him at the other end.
Fernando dropped slightly short to be pulled to the square boundary, and then overcompensated by bowling too full; Misbah unleashed a cracking drive through cover and whipped a full toss behind square to make it 14 in the over. Mendis still had an over left, but Dilshan gave Fernando another go, much to, presumably, his regret. Two length balls followed in the penultimate over - Cheema picked up three wickets at the same stage in the Sri Lankan innings while aiming at the blockhole - and Afridi dispatched them over long-on and deep midwicket. Though he fell off the final delivery, he'd brought down the equation to nine off the last over.
The win was hastened by a botched-up fielding attempt. The first ball of the final over, Misbah drove Malinga to long-off. What should have been a single became two as the fielder took time to get to the ball, and if that wasn't enough, his wayward throw, missed first by Kumar Sangakkara and then by the short fine leg backing up awkwardly, resulted in six runs in total. With two needed off four, Shoaib Malik edged one wide of third man to seal victory with Sri Lanka still appealing desperately, thinking it was a deflection off the pad.
Though Cheema was the star towards the end of Sri Lanka's innings, it was Saeed Ajmal who started the slide. Ajmal's variations have played a major role in his rise to the No.1 spot in the ODI rankings and with expert changes in flight, pace and his mastery over the doosra, he choked Sri Lanka. In a potentially risky move, he was brought on inside the Powerplay, like Mendis, and was launched over mid-off not long after. The next ball, though, was generously flighted and Dilshan was tempted into the slog-sweep which he top-edged to offer a comfortable catch. Ajmal was particularly effective round the wicket, the batsmen often caught confused about the direction of his turn.
Afridi and Mohammad Hafeez slowed down the innings further, making boundaries a rare commodity. Sangakkara, Sri Lanka's best batsman, chipped a catch back to Hafeez while Angelo Mathews and Chamara Silva, from whom the visitors would have expected a surge at the death, were run out. Racing to 91 for 3 at the end of 10 overs, Sri Lanka only managed 50 in the next ten. Cheema added the finishing touches by making up for his troubles early on. In the penultimate over, he trapped Chandimal in front, had Thisara Perera caught behind and bowled Malinga. Sri Lanka fell way short of the target they were on track for. They met with the same fate with the ball.
Junaid Khan to miss Bangladesh tour
Junaid Khan, the Pakistan fast bowler, will be out of cricket for six weeks after sustaining a partial tear in his abdominal muscle while bowling during the fifth ODI between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi, Naushad Ali, the Pakistan associate manager, has told ESPNcricinfo. Junaid will have to undergo rest and then rehabilitation, and will miss Pakistan's tour of Bangladesh, which starts with a Twenty20 international on November 29. He will also miss the one-off Twenty20 against Sri Lanka that will be played in Abu Dhabi on November 25.
Junaid was in the Twenty20, ODI and Test squad for the Bangladesh tour. Naushad said the team would only decide on Junaid's replacement for the Bangladesh tour and the Twenty20 against Sri Lanka in the team meeting after the fifth ODI. Abdul Razzaq, the experienced allrounder, is also a doubt for the Bangladesh tour after he picked up a right shoulder injury in the third ODI against Sri Lanka.
"We have yet to decided about his replacement but he definitely will be heading home, where he will complete his rehabilitation process," Naushad said. "His replacement is obviously important as we have already lost Razzaq but will be decided in the team meeting after the ongoing match."
Pakistan's squad for the Tests in Bangladesh includes Umar Gul, Aizaz Cheema and Mohammad Talha, while the ODI squad has Sohail Tanvir in the pace department along with Gul and Cheema. Junaid impressed in the Test series against Sri Lanka in the UAE, taking 12 wickets over the three Tests. He was left out for the first four ODIs but replaced Cheema for the dead rubber in Abu Dhabi. He bowled just three overs before leaving the field after experiencing pain in his abdomen. He was taken to hospital for an MRI scan and it was discovered he had a partial tear in his right abdominal muscle that will need six-weeks recovery time.
Umar, Misbah make it 4-1
A four-wicket haul from Sohail Tanvir and a fluent stand between captain Misbah-ul-Haq and Umar Akmal were the stand-out features of Pakistan's convincing win - they took the series 4-1 - in the dead rubber played on a slow pitch. The pair didn't get bogged down at the fall of two wickets off successive deliveries and their positive approach kept their team on track, but the platform for a win was set up by a superior bowling attack that restricted Sri Lanka, whose batting let them down again, to a gettable total.
Plenty of talent and depth in their bowling reserves served Pakistan well again. In conditions that were aiding swing and movement initially, and not discounting the advantage of using new balls at each end, Pakistan's seamers stepped up, and were supported by their spinners later on. Tanvir didn't have the pace of the man he replaced, Aizaz Cheema, but made up with his prodigious swing - by Middle East standards - and wily, selective variations. He fooled opener Upul Tharanga with an away swinger after feeding him three deliveries on the trot that moved in through the air. He was more threatening when he pitched the ball short of a driving length, something he realised quickly after being driven down the ground by Dinesh Chandimal. He worked at him with a spate of away-going deliveries and held one back a little more, prompting an attempt at a steer from Chandimal that was snapped up by slip.
In the interim, Umar Gul forced a loose shot from Tillakaratne Dilshan, who was caught behind. Thirty two for 3 soon became 46 for 4 when Chamara Silva, replacing an injured Mahela Jayawardene, was sucked in by a length ball that he nicked straight to slip, giving Junaid Khan a wicket in his first over.
The only batsman unflustered by the travails around him was Kumar Sangakkara, once again charged with the responsibility of rebuilding his team's innings. Despite the early assistance for the seamers, he didn't hesitate lurching forward to execute his favourite drives past extra cover on one knee, and took Tanvir for three fours in an over. The spinners, Shahid Afridi and Saeed Ajmal, erred on occasion, and Sangakkara was quick to latch on. He found an able partner at No.6 in Angelo Mathews, who counterattacked by launching Gul for two straight sixes when that early support from the conditions had withered away, and ran superbly between wickets.
Sangakkara and Mathews did an admirable job, rotating the strike and not getting bogged down in a stand of 118. The field was spread out but a significant proportion of their runs were singles earned by just tapping the ball around the in-field, often in front of cover and point, and sprinting across. The boundaries, however, had dried up and when Sangakkara tried to break the 14-over drought with a drive over extra cover against Mohammad Hafeez, he was caught. Not long after, Jeevan Mendis was stumped off Afridi and Mathews, who'd survived a couple of close shaves while walking across to Ajmal, was eventually bowled round his legs. Sri Lanka only managed two fours and a six in the second half of their innings, struggling to push on as the track got increasingly slow and Tanvir returned to nip out a couple more.
Pakistan began their pursuit cautiously, going through a 24-ball runless phase at one stage, but Mohammad Hafeez and Asad Shafiq, in particular, were beginning to get set before losing their wickets. The experienced hands of Younis Khan and Misbah, however, guided them in typical, workmanlike fashion. Misbah was given a life at backward point by Jeevan Mendis, but consolidated well amid periodic bursts of aggression. Younis pulled Fernando past square leg and drove Prasanna inside-out over extra cover. Misbah warmed up by launching a length ball over Mathews' head, blazed Perera through the covers and reverse-swept a couple of boundaries past short third man.
In a little over ten overs together, the pair added a half-century stand and strengthened Pakistan's position. That was undermined when Younis and Shoaib Malik were trapped in front by Mendis off consecutive deliveries in the 26th over. The hat-trick ball was an early indication of the Pakistani response - Umar stepped out to a flighted delivery and drove it confidently to mid-off, seemingly unaffected by the pressure created by those two wickets. The final ball of the over was a long hop that was promptly dispatched, and the tone of his innings changed little after that.
Umar often left his crease to get to the pitch of the ball and comfortably kept the runs flowing. Misbah, on the other hand, opted to play from the crease, sweeping, reverse-sweeping, shuffling from one side to the other restlessly but effectively and keeping the required-rate under control throughout. The boundaries came from the other end: Umar muscled Thisara Perera through the covers, guided Malinga past third man, swatted Dilhara Fernando through midwicket and creamed Seekkuge Prasanna past mid-off. There was a slight hiccup when Misbah and Afridi fell in quick succession, but Pakistan were secure with Umar at the other end; the pressure was off with a couple of crunched boundaries off Malinga and Fernando, and the win followed shortly after.
