Tuesday, February 9, 2021

Epic Test Series Win for Pakistan

This was Pakistan's second test series victory over South Africa, and their first since 2003!

And what a sweet victory it was!

Pakistani pacers ripping through batting line ups is something I grew up with.

When the ball would grow old, the opposition batsmen would collapse in a heap in no time.

The only difference in Rawal Pindi was that it wasn't the old ball but the new one that created the magic.

As soon as Babar Azam took the new ball, Hasan Ali and Shaheeh Afridi struck gold and South Africa lost their last 7 wickets for 33 runs in 10 overs, resulting in a 95 run win for Pakistan.

Before the new ball came into play, South Africa required a mere 129 runs with 7 wickets in hand. After the West Indies' win over Bangladesh a couple of days back and India's heist at the Gabba last month, it seemed like the South Africans were inspired to make another big successful run chase.

But the resurgent Hasan Ali had other ideas.

For Pakistan, this win means a lot.

After a crushing defeat to New Zealand, two long years without a test win against a top side, without much test cricket at home in over a decade, this test and series win will go a long way in establishing Pakistan's dominance at home once again.

Not many people realize this but Pakistan has the best record at home among all Test playing nations.

Yes, better than India's, better than Australia's, better than ALL other teams.


And this record does not include Tests played in the UAE. With those, Pakistan's record is even more dominant.

This series win also helped Pakistan gain two spots in the ICC Test Rankings.


The best part about this series win is that every single player, across the two tests, put their hands up, and contributed towards Pakistan's victory charge.

Winning start to Babar Azam's Test captaincy stint; resurgent comeback of Hasan Ali; coming of age of Mohammad Rizwan and Faheem Ashraf; epic debut of Nauman Ali; continued redemption of Fawad Alam; and consistent breakthrough provided by Shaheen Afridi and Yasir Shah; first test rearguard action of Azhar Ali; and the immaculate slip catching of Imran Butt - all of them  played their part in Pakistan's first test series win over South Africa in 17 years!


It sure was epic seeing Pakistan come out on top in this Test series, and bodes well for the future of Pakistan's cricket under Babar Azam, as well as, for Pakistan playing at home!

Make your pitch on this post...



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2 Pitched:

  1. Kakar said...
     

    Very Nice Article keep it up! Cricket Highlights

  2. Moiz hasan said...
     

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