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Saturday, February 26, 2011

Shahid Afridi inspires Pakistan to fine World Cup win over Sri Lanka


They say the World Cup is boring. They say that Pakistan have no chance of winning the title. They will be sitting down to breakfast and helping themselves to fat helpings of their own words. Both of those opinions will have to be hastily revised after Sri Lanka, second-favourites for the title by virtue of their home advantage, lost an enthralling match in Colombo. The 11-run margin of victory would have been larger still had Pakistan not shown some of those familiar failings that must make them so frustrating to support. But then, if they played perfect cricket, they would not be nearly so entertaining to watch.
At the heart of the game was a duel between two of the most enthralling cricketers of modern times, Muttiah Muralitharan on the one hand and Shahid Afridi on the other. But if they were centre stage they had a splendid supporting cast.
There were majestic innings from Misbah-ul-Haq and Younus Khan. And then there was Shoaib Akhtar, sweating with the effort of shrugging off the years so he could pound in as he once did in his pomp. He clean bowled Mahela Jayawardene with an unplayable off-cutter. And Kamran Akmal, veering between the brilliant and the utterly absurd, completed two waspish stumpings but bungled a pair of far easier chances.
For the Sri Lankans Kumar Sangakkara gritted his teeth and did his damndest to play a captain's innings. And Nuwan Kulasekara followed up an inspired spell of death bowling with a slogger's knock of 24 from 14 balls that kept his side in the match right up until the final over. They needed 18 from it, but could only manage seven.
Murali delivered a masterclass in off-spin after Sri Lanka lost the toss and were asked to bowl. His 10 immaculate overs cost 33 runs, a sum that only contained a single scoring shot that went for more than a single. Never mind any fours or sixes, Murali only gave up one solitary two. His two overs in the batting powerplay cost only five runs and included the wicket of Umar Akmal, diddled into slapping a catch to midwicket. By the end of his spell cricket fans everywhere were wishing that someone could talk him out of his decision to retire once the World Cup is over.
And yet he finished on the losing side. As well as he bowled he could not dislodge either Misbah or Younus. They came together with the score on 105 for three, Pakistan having squandered a rollocking start by contriving a pair of the most idiotic dismissals imaginable. Mohammad Hafeez ran himself out after he held himself in position to admire his own sweep to short fine leg. By the time he looked around he found his partner, Kamran Akmal, was sharing his crease. Not long afterwards, Akmal decided to jump down the pitch and heave-ho at a delivery from Rangana Herath. He did not turn around to watch Sangakkara sweep off the bails, but kept walking back to the pavilion.
After all that naivety, the contrast with Misbah and Younus could not have been starker. They hit only four fours between them in their stand of 108, and yet still scored at more than five runs an over, tick-tocking along by working singles into the gaps on the leg side. The Sri Lankans missed the death bowling of Lasith Malinga, out injured, and 32 runs came from the last three overs.
That final flourish put Pakistan over the top, just. Though when the Sri Lankans were 76 without loss in the 15th over it did not look as though that would be the case. And then on came Afridi. If Muralitharan bowls with the cunning of Cardinal Richelieu, Afridi does so with the swagger of D'Artaganan. He took four wickets, meaning he now has nine for just 49 runs in two matches in the competition so far.
He had Tillakaratne Dilshan cut onto his stumps, and then ripped a fast leg-break past Thilan Samaraweera's outside edge. When he had Sangakkara caught the game looked up, though of course his team's erratic fielding meant they found numerous ways to extend the game towards a thrilling climax.
Cricket fans would not have it any other way.

Team Pakistan’s first real challenge


Cricket teams rarely experience success unless they have fun doing what they are doing. Pakistan genuinely look like they’re having fun while playing cricket and this was beautifully illustrated at the MRIC stadium in Hambantota when Umar Akmal ran out Kenyan opener, Waters, and revealed a glimpse of the newfound joy and exuberance experienced by this talented Pakistani side. Akmal sprinted jubilantly across the stumps with a wild and happy smile, proudly embracing his captain Shahid Afridi with a two-handed high five.
That spirit of passion and enthusiasm was clearly present and infectious throughout Pakistan’s performance against Kenya.
Some cricketing experts, like Ian Chappell, are suggesting that Pakistan’s win against a weak Kenya isn’t really worth getting excited about. In a recent TV discussion, Chappell didn’t even mention Pakistan’s name when considering his top teams for the world cup. I beg to differ.
The reason we should be celebrating Pakistan’s first 2011 World Cup victory is not just because of the team’s excellent all-round performance, its 205-run margin of victory or other record-breaking statistics. Pakistan’s fielding and catching, which has always been a weak point, is now of a professional standard, and the credit should go to the coach, Waqar Younis.
But the most important aspect of the win was the positive body language shown by Shahid Afridi’s team. Like a well-tuned orchestra, it perfectly timed its performance to reach a feverish crescendo. From being 12-2 after seven overs, Pakistan plundered 305 runs of the next 43.
Umar Akmal, making his world cup debut, showed why I consider him to be among the most exciting and talented batsmen in the world, cutting, pulling, driving and paddle-sweeping his way to a brilliant 71 from 52 balls. Misbahul Haq and Younis Khan are a crucial steadying influence in the middle order and provide a stability that Pakistan desperately needs.
Looking ahead: It was a good performance to bowl Kenya out, but the opening bowling slot needs to be sorted out quickly. The key to restricting the top teams to modest totals is taking quick early wickets with the new ball. Although Shoaib Akhtar bowled five fast, accurate and economical overs he, like his new-ball partner Abdul Razzaq, failed to take a wicket. As for the latter, he is being wrongly used as an opening bowler since he neither has the movement nor the pace to bother top-class batsmen on these slow wickets. Also, Wahab Riaz should perhaps be brought in Abdur Rehman’s place to open the bowling with Akhtar.
Pakistan should go in with Akhtar, Wahab, Gul and Afridi while Hafeez and Razzaq should share ten overs between them during the middle period. That means leaving out Rehman for the next game as the Sri Lankans are excellent players of left-arm spin anyway.
Another point is the opening bowling mindset. I feel containment will not be a successful policy during the world cup; not in the subcontinent. An example of this failed containment policy was when Holland scored 293 against England but still lost, primarily, because they could not take early wickets and couldn’t stop the English charge.
Now to our batting: To make the batting order even stronger Abdul Razzaq should come in ahead of Afridi. That might upset a lot of his supporters but the captain himself confessed to Rameez Raja in the post-game interview after the Kenya match that his bowling is more consistent than his unpredictable batting. Razzaq, on the other hand, is far more mentally organised as a batsman, has a better track record and could use the extra time on the crease to play himself in.
Although Afridi’s billed as ‘boom boom’ by the media and his fans, he comes off only once in every five or so innings. That’s the entire first round of the world cup. He also has the added burden of captaincy to worry about.
Needless to say, it is crucial for Pakistan to get its batting and bowling combinations right. The first real test to their challenge will come today in Colombo. In this, it will help if they continue to have fun and relax while playing.

Afridi eyes SL scalp

Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi is urging his troops to raise their game as he targets co-hosts Sri Lanka after the Greenshirts opened their World Cup campaign in style by crushing minnows Kenya by 205 runs in Hambantota on Wednesday.

Afridi and his men were at their brilliant best in Hambotota but the flamboyant allrounder is aware of the fact that it will take a gigantic effort from his team to conquer the Sri Lankans, one of the favourites for the crown.

“We played well last night but there is still a lot of room for improvement,” said Afridi, who took 5-16 against the Kenyans. “What we need is the best from the players because it’s going to be a very tough game on Saturday (tomorrow).”

“It’s a good start but we shouldn’t be 100 percent satisfied, there is a lot of work ahead of us still,” he said.

“Whether in batting or bowling you need a positive start. But since the ball was sticking to the pitch a little, it wasn’t easy. I hope my openers don’t repeat those mistakes,” said the captain referring to openers Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad, who fell cheaply after Pakistan opted to bat first against the Kenyans.

Afridi said that Pakistan will go all out to beat the Sri Lankans here tomorrow.

“We are a dangerous team. We know how important the next game is and Sri Lanka is the best team in their own conditions. We will go in with the same strength and deliver as best as we can.”

Afridi is expecting a close game against Sri Lanka.

“It will be a good game. If we bowl well, bat well and go with positive body language and show more readiness for the game and willingness to win, I am sure we can pull it off,” said Afridi.

Pakistan arrived in Colombo from Hambantota on Sri Lankan Airforce helicopters on Thursday morning and then opted for a lengthy training session at the R Premedasa Stadium — the venue for Saturday’s match.

Afridi, 30, said that the hard work his boys are putting in the nets is helping the team’s cause.

“It was good intensity from the players. In practice we have been very focused and positive and what we do there, we deliver in the games as well.”
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