Friday, November 30, 2007

India Dominate Day of 2nd Test

On a batsman's Paradise in Kolkata the Indian batsman dominated the Pakistani bowlers after winning the toss and electing to bat first. Jaffer dominated proceedings with an unbeaten 192 as he played an exquisite and elegant innings with shots all around the ground.



Tanvir did provide Pakistan an early breakthrough as Karthik was dismissed cheaply yet again as he edged one to Younis. Jaffer and Dravid then took control as they built up the innings. Dravid scored another sold half century before he was unlucky to be given out caught behind off Kaneria.



Out came Tendulkar and the Indian innings was in high gear from that moment. Tendulkar and Jaffer just went bilistic as they severely punished a mediocre Pakistani bowling performance. The fielding was lethargic and quite lackluster.



Jaffer was timing the ball immaculately and his placement was exceptional as he played some breathtaking drives and flicks reminiscent of Azharhuddin and Dravid. Sachin was in full swing with his blasting cover drives and majestic flicks. Tendulkar was provided with a lifeline as Kamran Akmal dropped a regulation keeper catch; it is really time for Pakistan to play a true keeper, Safraz really needs to be playing.



Kaneria did get Tendulkar with a beauitful googlie; not sure why he was not bowling more of those. The Prince of Kolkata walked in and stayed with Jaffer till close of play with India putting up a mammoth score of 352/3. Jaffer was unbeaten on an awesome 192 with 32 brilliant boundaries. A tough day for Pakistan's makeshift captain Younis Khan.

Make your pitch on this post...



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11 Pitched:

  1. NAzhar said...
     

    Shoaib was unfit and should not have been playing as this was tiring out other bowlers who had to bowl longer spells and forced Yasir Hammed to bowl too!

  2. Q said...
     

    Shoaib Akhtar's selection was a gamble but Pakistan didn't have any choice. Gul had flown back home and theres no oher pace bowler in the squad. There is Rehman but playing him instead of Shoaib would have made the bowling look very weak. Some called for Rehman's inclusion instead of the injured Malik but that would have made the batting really thin.

    Injuries had marred Pakistan's preparations for this test and its no surprise that India have taken the upper hand already.

    Wasim Jaffer has a great future for India. He looks like a yiung Laxman and Azharuddin the way he plays. His stroked were absolutely effortless. Treat to watch.

    Dravid was unlucky.

    Sachin is in amazing form and the Pakistanis must feel lucky that he's currently going through a jinx with 100s otherwise they would have seen a lot of him in the middle. The way he played today, I haven't seen him in such an attacking mood in tests recently.

    Pakistan's batsmen will have to play out of their skin to have any chance of saving this test.

  3. straight point said...
     

    q

    i wanted to ask you this about younis khan being captain...

    here in India we see younis as better bet than malik ( am taking in general terms and opinion may vary)...for he is so energetic, peppy doesn't allow pressure to get him and is generally cool...he command his place in the team in both forms of game and can safely captain for two-tree years and malik could have been groomed...

    now i wanted to ask you from pak point of view

    1. how pak sees yk as captain...

    2. what was the real problem that he is not captain

    3. what were his demands that were not accepted by pcb...

    4. why those were no accepted by pcb...

    and finally what is you take on this...

    accept my apology in advance if i have caused any inconvenience...i didn't mean to... thanks...

  4. Q said...
     

    You haven't caused any inconvenience SP. All that u have asked are very valid Qs.

    Everyone in Pakistan including the PCB believed that YK was the best man to take over from Inzi after the world cup. But as u know YK refused.

    YKs official reason was that he was unhappy with the behavior of the fans after the world cup - YK and all other players were manhandled by the public at the airport on their arrival from WI.

    Now that was only part of the reason. He had asked the PCB that since the players are held responsible for all the losses he wanted more control in terms of selecting the squad and so on. He did not want the influence of selectors on the squads and playing XI. He also wanted more control in terms of managing the side and having more powers than a coach and manager.

    The PCB being themselves obviously refused to give in. They didn't want 1 man to have so much power over Pakistan cricket.

    This was exactly what happened before when he had said that he doesn't want to be a 'dummy captain'.

    I personally feel that YK is the best candidate for captain but I don't see that happening now. Maybe it would do Pak good if they had split captains - Younis for tests and Malik for ODIs and 20-20.

  5. Jrod said...
     

    Kamran akmal, doing his bit for ugly people the world over.

  6. Soulberry said...
     

    Guys, any truth in this? Unfortunate.

    What a wonderful fightback from Kamran Akmal and Misbah! Now Misbah seems to have got the monkey off his back (test century) and we can expect more from him.

  7. NAzhar said...
     

    i think at the moment these can only be treated as rumors.

  8. Q said...
     

    Soulberry - this is the first time i've heard of Malik and Lawson facing the axe. The pakistan media has been critical of malik but not Lawson. Plus the PCB have backed Malik and also extended his term till end of 2008. Moreover, there's no one else to take over. Younis will still not accept it unless his demands are met.

    Straight Point - Younis pointed out the problems again in a recent column with hindustan times. (http://content-gulf.cricinfo.com/indvpak/content/current/story/323306.html)

    This test looks like heading for a draw. Pakistan have fought back really well. Am Impressed with Misbah - I doubted his test credentials and I'm glad he proved me wrong.

  9. Obaid said...
     

    The last man to have a lot of control over selection was Imran Khan and I dont see Younis having the same control (if he is test captain).

    I have serious doubts now that Shoaib Malik even warrants a place in the test side. He would either have to imprive his batting a lot or start bowling reguarly (and well) - 15-20+ overs an innings. Given those doubts YK would be a good test choice... I feel he is very defensive looking at his reactions in the past when asked to be captain. Even in this test he said that he had nothing to do with the selection of the side + Shoaibs selection as well. Someone needs to develop him so he gets rid of this defensive mindframe.. and the fans need to support him as captain as well

  10. Q said...
     

    Noone can ever have the control like Imran Khan did.

    I agree abt Malik not being a 1st choice for a test XI thas why I would like YK to take over as test captain. Hope someone puts some sense into him.

  11. Unknown said...
     

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