Such is the charm of T20 leagues that in very short time they seem to throw so much entertainment at you that it all seems like a whirlwind. One can never really get bored!

In two days time, Younis Khan and Misbah Ul Haq will take the field for the very last time for Pakistan. Many feel they are leaving too soon, while many think that they have timed it perfectly.

No one really knows when the best time is to hang up their boots, but one thing I am sure of...

Both Younis Khan and Misbah Ul Haq are still at the top of their game, still the best test batsmen Pakistan have, and still have some years left in them.

In my opinion, the best 5 batsmen to play test cricket for Pakistan are:

All five of them are Pakistani stalwarts; however some of them overstayed their welcome.

If you take a look at the last three years of their careers, it is apparent that Javed Miandad and Mohammad Yousuf had lost their touch.

Younis in fact has averaged more than his career average in his last three years; while Misbah has been quite consistent. Inzamam also performed in line with his career performance in his final few years.

Miandad and Yousuf though were below par.

Probably best for Younis and Misbah to call it time while they are still at the top of their game.

I found this quite interesting so I took a look at the final three years of the leading 5 run scorers of all time in test cricket. This is what I found:

While Kallis, Dravid, and Sangakkara were still at their peak; Sachin and Ponting went through a significant dip in form in their final few years.

Like Younis, Sangakkara too averaged more than his career average in his last three years.

It is also interesting to note that Younis, Ponting, and Kallis scored double centuries in their last three years; while Sangakkara managed a triple century!

Even more interesting is the fact that Kallis and Sangakkara managed their career highest score in their final three years.

So much for legends overstaying their welcome; besides a few all of them retired with grace and while they were at the top of their games.

With every ICC World Cup, one witnesses high profile retirements with big names leaving the game. World Cup glory is one of the most prestigious honours for a cricketer so with those who are nearing retirement age choose to play one last mega event before hanging up their boots.

Post the World Cup in 1992, we witnessed stalwarts and the best allrounders of their time, Imran Khan, Ian Botham, and Kapil Dev end their careers; while 1996 was the swansong for one of the best batsmen of his time, Javed Miandad.

The World Cup in 1999 saw Sri Lanka's long standing captain and vice captain Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravinda De Silva appear in their last World Cup in the hope to defend the title they had won in 1996.

In 2003 we witnessed the mass exodus of Pakistani greats Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, and Saeed Anwar; 2007 was the swansong for Aussie greats Adam Gilchrist and Glenn McGrath; and 2011 was the Sachin Tendulkar's 6th and final attempt at World Cup glory, the only prize that had eluded him during his 24 year cricket career.

The upcoming ICC World Cup 2015 is no different and will also see some high profile cricketers leave the game for good. While a few have already announced their retirements following the World Cup, there are various others who I believe are on their final attempts at World Cup glory. What a delight it would be to watch these stalwarts in action for one final time!

Australia: Michael Clarke, Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson, Brad Haddin

All four of them were part of the 2007 squad that won the ICC World Cup; and 8 years later they are part of what will probably be their last attempt at World Cup glory. Clarke, Watson, and Johnson will be 37, while Haddin will be 41, by the time the next edition comes around in 2019.

With Clarke already battling injuries, and Smith emerging as a capable replacement as Australia's captain, it looks highly doubtful that Clarke will be part of another World Cup campaign. Watson has also been injury prone and with the emergence of young allrounders in Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, and James Faulkner, Watson's days as an international cricketer are numbered. Johnson has been Australia's spearhead for the past few years and will remain so for another couple of years surely; but another World Cup seems too far off for him to remain at the top of his game.

As for Haddin, this might be his last year an international cricketer.

None of them have said it but it is very likely that all these four Aussies will be playing their last ICC World Cup.

India: MS Dhoni

He is the only surviving captain from the 2011 World Cup and will be defending the title that he and his team won for Sachin Tendulkar in 2011.

He is 33 and has recently retired from Test Cricket. Though there has been no indication on how much longer he will play ODIs, I highly doubt that he will be around playing ODIs for India 4 years down the road.

I believe this will be Dhoni's last appearance in an ICC World Cup and in 2019 he will most likely only be a franchise T20 player.

New Zealand: The McCullum Brothers, Daniel Vettori, Kyle Mills

Vettori has already announced that this World Cup will be his swansong. He left test cricket some time ago and had been saving himself for a last attempt at World Cup glory.

New Zealand captain, Brendon McCullum is 33 and at the top of his game in both tests and ODIs. He will surely continue to lead New Zealand for another couple of years, but it is quite unlikely that he will be leading the Kiwis at another World Cup campaign four years from now.

His brother, Nathan, is 34, and is also likely to retire before the next World Cup in 2019. While veteran pacer Kyle Mills, who is 35, is probably on his swansong as well.

Pakistan: Misbah Ul Haq, Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan, Mohammad Hafeez

Pakistan captain Misbah, and Vice Captain Afridi have both announced their retirements from ODIs following the World Cup. Misbah will continue to lead Pakistan in tests; while Afridi will be doing the same in T20Is; but neither will appear in any more ODIs after this World Cup campaign.

While Younis Khan has questioned why people are thinking that this his last World Cup, I highly doubt that at 41 he will be around in Pakistan colours in England in 2019. He has already gone past his welcome within the ODI squad and I find it very hard to see him a part of Pakistan's ODI plans after this World Cup.

Mohammad Hafeez, at 34, is also likely to be playing his last World Cup. He will be 38 by the time the next edition comes around and unless he can defy age the way Misbah and Younis have, I don't see him being a part of Pakistan's plans four years from now.

Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Tilekaratne Dilshan, Rangana Herath

Jayawardene and Sangakkara have announced their retirements from ODIs and this World Cup will be their swansong and their final attempt at World Cup glory. Both of them are quite determined to leave the game with Sri Lanka at the top, especially after their respective failed attempts as captains in 2007 and 2011; both times Sri Lanka finished as runners up.

Dilshan and Herath will both be well past 40 in 2019 and even though they haven't announced their ODI retirements, they probably will before 2019.

It is every cricketer's dream to win the World Cup but not everyone gets to live that dream. Jacques Kallis had a distinguished career but never saw his team win a World Cup. He was desperate to be a part of South Africa's World Cup plans this year and over the past two years took all measures that he could to be fit and ready, but it was just not meant to be as he announced his retirement 8 months before the mega event in the larger interest of the team.

Besides the Australians and the Indian mentioned above, no one on this list has ever won the World Cup and with this being their final attempt, they will surely be extra motivated to do so. Misbah, Afridi, Sangakkara, Jayawardene, and Vettori; all of whom have announced their retirements have left it no secret that they want to end their career by winning the World Cup.

Not all of them will get to live that dream.

But what a story it would be for those who do!

He made his debut in 2010 in Australia in the test that followed the infamous Sydney test. He played just that one test due to the immense public pressure to oust Kamran Akmal, and then disappeared from the international scene for 3 years before returning again in 2013 for the 3 tests in South Africa.

He played those 3 tests, on wickets where most Pakistani batsmen failed, and managed a top score of 40 in his 6 innings leaving question marks over his batting abilities. He was axed again and didn't play for another year, till he was recalled to replace an injured Adnan Akmal in the second test of the series against Sri Lanka in the UAE earlier this year.

Since then, Sarfraz Ahmed has not looked back.

It has been a marvellous year for him and he has marched on like a man on a mission.

For a man whose batting was doubted by everyone around the world, Sarfraz made one hell of a turnaround to notch up scores of 7, 74, 5, 48, 55, 52*, 103, 55, 109, 15*, 19*, 13*, 112, 24* in 8 test matches in 2014.

This year, Sarfraz has scored 691 runs at an average of 76.77 and a strike rate of 73.12 in 8 tests!

Those figures include feats like the fastest century ever scored by a Pakistani wicketkeeper, the second fastest century ever scored by a wicketkeeper, and the only Pakistani wicketkeeper to score three centuries in a calendar year.

Only AB De Villiers has scored more centuries (4) in a calendar year as the designated wicketkeeper of the team.

Sarfraz' batting has been a revelation and he has been a major factor towards Pakistan's success in test cricket this year.

He is only 12 tests old, yet he has already left a mark on the cricketing map and is fast gaining the reputation of being Pakistan's best wicketkeeper-batsman ever.


There are 8 wicketkeepers who have played at least 10 tests for Pakistan in the history of their test cricket; and as far as their batting prowess is concerned, there haven't been any better than Kamran Akmal and Moin Khan.

Kamran and Moin lead the runs rally for Pakistani wicketkeepers in tests and both have a similar average as well. It can be argued that Kamran was slightly better considering he has 6 test centuries (no wicketkeeper from Pakistan has scored more), with some match winning ones.

Sarfraz, with 3 test centuries is already half way there; and the way he is batting, he could well be above Kamran in just another year.

Sarfraz' test average of 45.88, which is 15 runs better than Pakistan's best ever, already shows his superiority with the bat.

No one among all test wicketkeepers in the world comes close to making the impact that Adam Gilchrist and Andy Flower made with the bat. Sangakkara and AB De Villiers could have had they continued to keep in test cricket; however if Sarfraz can sustain his current form in the long term, he will undoubtedly be remembered among the greatest wicketkeeper batsmen in test cricket ever.

Among his global peers, Sarfraz is right up there in terms of his batting average in tests, among all wicketkeepers who have played at least 10 tests.

About 10 days ago I wrote a post about leading cricketers of this century, which showed that Kumar Sangakkara was the top batsman in both tests and ODIs in the past 15 years of the game.

No one has scored more runs than Sangakkara has in either format since the beginning of this millennium. Not Sachin, Not Lara, Not Ponting. No one.

With his 10th double century in test cricket this past week, Sangakkara showed why he is the best batsman in the game today.

No one in the history of test cricket has scored this many double centuries besides the all time great Sir Donald Bradman.

Sangakkara sits firmly at number two in that list, and he may well go on to become the first cricketer to break Sir Don's record.


At the conclusion of the first test between Sri Lanka and Pakistan, the ICC updated the test rankings for batsmen and Sangakkara rightfully found himself at the top of the pile. The number 1 ranked test batsman in the world, and surely the bets test batsman to play the game this century.

He may not end his career among the top 3 or 4 run scorers in test cricket, but he will definitely retire with the best test average, by some distance, among the top 10 run scorers in test cricket. And the best test average for anyone with more than 7,000 runs in test cricket. And the third best average for anyone who has scored more than 3,000 runs in test cricket.


Sangakkara will surely go past Brian Lara in the next test against Pakistan, but whether he will be able to go past the next three in the list will depend on how long he continues to play test cricket.

With Jayawardene gone after this series, it will not be much longer before Sangakkara also retires from test cricket. And there is enough hint around the Sri Lankan camp that both the stalwarts will end their careers after next year's ODI World Cup.

If Sangakkara does decide to play another season or two, there is a high chance that he will retire as the second highest run scorer in test cricket, behind Sachin Tendulkar.

The best batsman this century, and arguably the best batsman ever. Hail King Sanga!

Sachin Tendulkar has scored more runs than anyone in tests and in ODIs. Muralitharan has taken more wickets than anyone in tests and ODIs. Sir Donald Bradman has the highest ever average in test cricket.

Those records will go down in history as the top records in international cricket. It is also highly likely that those records will never be broken.

It is worthwhile, however, to see how all these records stack up in this century.

Do you know who is the highest run scorer in tests in this century? Who is the highest run scored in ODIs in this century? Who is the highest wicket taker?

Lets take a look.

These records are for all tests and ODIs played since 1st January 2000.

Leading Test Batsmen in this Century


Kumar Sangakkara sits firmly on top of this list. With everyone else among the top 10 leading run scorers in this century retired from test cricket, or nearing retirement, it will take some time before someone surpasses Sangakkara's run tally.

His compatriot, Mahela Jayawardene will play only two more tests, while Sehwag's test career seems well behind him. Chanderpaul is unlikely to overtake Sangakkara over the next year or two that he has left in him.

Even in terms of averages, Sangakkara is right up there with only Kallis slightly above him.

Sachin Tendulkar, the all time leading run scorer in test cricket, has the lowest average among the 10 leading test averages of this century.

What is interesting to note is that Mohammad Yousuf and Inzamam Ul Haq, who were the two mainstays of Pakistan's middle order during the first decade of this century, have test averages that are among the top 5 of this century.

Leading ODI Batsmen in this Century

Just like Sachin Tendulkar leads the all time runs tally for tests and ODIs, Kumar Sangakkara is the leading run scorer in both tests and ODIs in this century.

In ODIs, King Sanga is well ahead of his peers with a 2,000 runs difference between him and the next best, which belongs to his team mate, Mahela Jayawardene.

Sangakkara is undoubtedly the best batsman to play the game in this century. He is well ahead of the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, and Brian Lara.

In terms of averages, however, the Indian Captain and Vice Captain, have shown that they are in a league of their own in ODIs, with both averaging well above 50.

AB de Villiers is also right up there with them with an ODI average just very slightly below 50.

These three are undoubtedly the best ODI players in the game today, if not ever.

It is no surprise that all time greats like Sachin Tendulkar and Jacques Kallis appear everywhere among the leading run scorers and among the leading averages in tests and ODIs, but it is interesting to note how their performances compare to their peers in this century.

Leading Test Bowlers in this Century

Muttiah Muralitharan, who is the all time leading wicket taker in test cricket, is also the leading wicket taker in this century, with a vast majority if his 800 test wickets coming in this century. He is well ahead of his peers 181 more test wickets than the next best tally.

His record in this century could well remain the record even by the end of the century, considering that only two bowlers have taken more wickets in their entire careers than Murali's 573 wickets in this century.

Even in terms of bowling averages, Muralitharan's record is impeccable, with only Glen McGrath slightly ahead of him.

It is interesting to note that Shoaib Akhtar is the only bowler with a strike rate of less than 40 in this century. Dale Steyn has a similar strike rate, but no one else comes even close to these two fast bowlers.

Leading ODI Bowlers in this Century

World Cup 2007, World T20 2009, World Cup 2011, World T20 2012 ...

The winners of these four World Tournament have one thing in common. They all beat Sri Lanka to win the title.

Today, Sri Lanka will play their 5th final in a World Tournament in the past 7 years. That is an unbelievable tournament.

No other team has featured in so many finals in such a short period of time. No other team has a better record than Sri Lanka does in World T20 matches, where their success percentage is second to none.

Yet, they do not have a world title to boast of.

Tonight will be their 5th attempt and probably their best chance to make it right. Sri Lanka have been in stationed in Bangladesh since the end of January. Barring the loss to England (read Alex Hales), Sri Lanka have won everything in Bangladesh over the past 10 weeks: the test series 1-0, ODI series 3-0, T20I series 2-0, Asia Cup title without losing a match, World T20 group games and semi final.

However, all this will count for little when they take the field against India, a team that has been on a roll in this World T20 tournament.

India have dominated this World T20 winning all their games in convincing fashion.

It is no doubt going to be a tough contest as Sri Lanka try to overcome their final syndrome and India aim to become the holders of the all three limited overs ICC titles - World Cup, Champions Trophy, and World T20.

MS Dhoni is the only captain in the world who has held all three titles, and tonight he will want to become the only captain to hold all three titles at the same time.

On the other side, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara will want to ensure that they hang up their boots as at least one time World title holders.

Jayawardene is the leading run scorer in all World T20 matches and the second highest run scorer in World T20 internationals. It is more than likely that he will end his T20I career in those positions as well.

There is absolutely no doubt about the impact that players like Dhoni and Jayawardene have on their respective teams.

Do you know how to measure this impact?

There's a new cool app in town that enables you to measure the impact a player has made in a T20 game. The new app is called 'Zip Factor' and it has been developed by Castrol Activ Scooter.

Harsha Bhogle and Rahul Dravid recently spoke about measuring the impact of a player in a T20 game and introduced the Zip Factor, which takes into account batting, bowling, and fielding efforts of players and determines their overall impact.

The following table illustrates how the Castrol Active Scooter Zip Factor works.

Pakistan owe their position in the Asia Cup Final to their hero, Shahid Afridi. If it wasn't for his match winning strikes against India and Bangladesh, Pakistan would probably not be playing the final tomorrow.

In Sri Lanka, Pakistan will meet a familiar opponent in the final. Even though Sri Lanka has been the more dominant team in the tournament, Pakistan should fancy their chances against them.

Head to Head, Overall

Pakistan won the last ODI series between the two teams 3-2, and their overall record against them is also better, which reads Pakistan 80, Sri Lanka 53, Tie 1. Even though there is not such a huge difference in the record in more recent years, Pakistan still leads the head to head 10-8 in matches since 2010.

Head to Head, Tournament Finals

The head to head in Tournament Finals however is even closer. Pakistan and Sri Lanka have played 12 finals with each team winning 6. The last time the two teams met in an ODI final was in 2004 in the final of the Paktel Cup in Lahore. Sri Lanka won that by 119 runs. The last time the two teams met in an Asia Cup Final was in 2000 in Dhaka, which is where tomorrow's final will also be played. In 2000, Pakistan won the final by 39 runs.

Shahid Afridi's Milestones

Shahid Afridi's batting form has been key to Pakistan's success in the Asia Cup and if he proves to be the difference between the two sides once again in the final tomorrow, he may reach some new personal milestones.

1. Afridi is one man of the match award away from over taking Kallis and Ponting to become the sole third highest man of the match winner in ODIs.

2. Afridi needs 3 wickets to over take Brett Lee and 4 wickets to over take Glen McGrath to become the 6th highest wicket taker in ODIs.

3. Afridi needs 60 more runs to go past Inzamam Ul Haq to become the highest run scorer for Pakistan in Asia Cup matches.

If Afridi is at the top of his game tomorrow, he will probably reach one of these milestones, if not more.

Sri Lankan Milestones

Shahid Afridi is not the only who might reach some milestones. If Sri Lanka's best batsman in the tournament, Kumar Sangakkara, and their best bowler, Ajantha Mendis, are in top form then they could become the all time highest run scorer and highest wicket taker in Asia Cup matches respectively.

1. Sangakkara is 145 runs away from Sanath Jayasuriya's record of 1,220 runs in Asia Cup matches.

2. Mendis is 5 wicket away from Muralitharan's record of 30 wickets in Asia Cup matches.

If either of those milestones are achieved, then Sri Lanka will surely be looking at lifting their 5th Asia Cup title.

Misbah's Milestones

Misbah has been a prolific scorer for Pakistan in ODIs since taking over the team. He has bailed the team out on many occasions and on others has set up victories as well. In this Asia Cup, however, it has been a different story.

Misbah scored 73 in Pakistan's opening game against Sri Lanka, yet Pakistan lost the match. Pakistan won their next 3 games against Afghanistan, India, and Bangladesh and Misbah's contribution in those games was 0, 1, and 4.

In two of those games, Misbah was run out.

What is interesting is that Misbah has been run out 7 times in his ODI career, and Pakistan has not lost any of those 7 ODIs - 6 were won, and 1 was tied, with 3 of the wins against Sri Lanka.

So it is not only Afridi's form with the bat that is key to Pakistan's success, Misbah running himself out is too!

Pakistan are the defending Asia Cup champions, and if they manage to win tomorrow Misbah will add another feather to his cap by becoming the only Pakistan captain to win two Asia Cup titles.

Interesting Pakistani Milestones

1. Moin Khan was the Pakistan captain in 2000 when Pakistan won the Asia Cup for the first time. It will be an interesting feat for him if Pakistan win tomorrow, giving him two Asia Cup titles - 1 as captain and 1 as coach.

2. Mohammad Akram will also be a part of a similar feat if Pakistan win. He was part of the team in the Asia Cup in 2000 and is currently with the team as bowling coach.

3. Misbah, Hafeez, Umar Akmal, Afridi, Gul, and Ajmal were part of the victorious Asia Cup campaign in 2012 as well. All of them will become the only Pakistan players to be a part of two victorious Asia Cup campaigns if Pakistan win tomorrow.

4. If Pakistan win tomorrow, Shahid Afridi will become the only Pakistani player to win the Asia Cup three times.

This Asia Cup has provided thrilling matches and one can look forward to the same tomorrow. Here's hoping for a cracking game and Pakistan achieving all these milestones!

"I don't mind that I have not been shortlisted for any of the awards. I will try even harder next year and try to win the award next year Insha'Allah"

Saeed Ajmal's reaction at not being shortlisted for any of the ICC Awards that he was initially nominated for was probably the calmest reaction among former Pakistan cricketers and Pakistan cricket supporters. The news that Ajmal was no longer a nominee for any of the ICC Awards came as a shock to every Pakistan cricket fan that I know.

So are we Pakistani fans cribbing for no reason or are we justified for feeling that Saeed Ajmal was unfairly treated.

Firstly, lets take a look at the shortlist of nominees for three of the Awards:

ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year: MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Lasith Malinga, Kumar Sangakkara

ICC Test Cricketer of the Year: Hashim Amla, Michael Clarke, Vernon Philander, Kumar Sangakkara

ICC Cricketer of the Year: Hashim Amla, Michael Clarke, Vernon Philander, Kumar Sangakkara

All great cricketers no doubt!

What do you think the criteria is behind selecting these cricketers as the shortlisted nominees for these awards?

The awards are for the period between 5th August 2011 and 4th August 2012. Lets take a look at who achieved what during this period in ODIs and Tests.

ODI PERFORMANCES

Batsmen

Typically I show the leading 10 run scorers whenever I write about leading batsmen in a series or a year, and so on. Here I had to increase the list further to highlight Dhoni's performance considering he's one of the nominees for the ODI Award.


Yes, Dhoni has been nominated for the ODI Cricketer of the Year award even though he was not among the 10 leading run scorers during the year.

So what criteria do you think was used for shortlisting Kohli, Sangakkara, and Dhoni among the batsmen for the ODI Award?

From what it seems to me, they went for the two leading run scorers (Kohli and Sangakkara) and the one with the highest average (Dhoni).

Don't you think that maybe Dilshan should have made the cut instead of Dhoni? Dhoni's average is significantly bloated because of his not outs, which account for 50% of the 22 innings that he played during the stated period.

Bowlers

The choice of Lasith Malinga among the shortlist of nominees for the ODI Cricketer of the Year Award seems more straight forward - he is miles ahead of any other bowler in terms of number of wickets taken during the stated period.




TEST PERFORMANCES

Batsmen

Now you can see a pattern emerging among the choices made for the shortlisted nominees. For the 3 batsmen chosen, i.e. Sangakkara, Clarke, and Amla, the choices are of the two leading run scorers and the one with the highest average during the stated period.

Exactly the way it was done for the ODIs, as shown above.


But does it make sense? what makes Hashim Amla more deserving than Mohammad Hafeez? Or for that matter Shivnarine Chanderpaul? (Please don't read this as a comparison between the class of these batsmen. After all the nominations have been made based on these performances and not on how good a batsman is technically or how good he looks while executing those cover drives)

Bowlers

Now this is where it gets really confusing. While the same sort of criteria seems to have been used for selecting 3 batsmen as the nominees for the ODI and Test Awards, this is not the case for bowlers.


Saeed Ajmal is the leading wicket taker in tests during the stated period, just like Malinga was for ODIs. But, while Malinga was nominated for the ODI Cricketer of the Year Award, Ajmal has been ignored for the Test Player of the Year Award.

Why?

The bowler nominated for the test award, Vernon Philander, has no doubt had a phenomenal year. No one even comes close to his average and strike rate, however he is not the leading wicket taker.

Moreover, if the leading average or strike rate were the criteria for selecting the nominee from bowlers, then it should have been Sunil Narine or Steven Finn who should have been nominated for the ODI Cricketer of the Year Award, and not Malinga.

Whereas, if wickets was the criteria, then it definitely should have been Saeed Ajmal who should have been nominated for the Test Cricketer of the Year Award. Don't forget that those performances also include match winning performances in each of the three tests that Pakistan beat the world number 1 test team in.

How can this be ignored? Seriously!

We are not done yet. There is the final category, the Cricketer of the Year Award, wherein Ajmal has also been unfairly excluded.

CRICKET PERFORMANCES

Batsmen

The same 3 batsmen that were nominated for the test award, have been nominated for the Cricketer of the Year Award, but this time the same criteria, i.e. two leading run scorers and one with the highest average was not used.


These are performances of batsmen across all formats (Tests, ODIs, and T20s) during the stated period, and it really makes me wonder why Kohli and Dilshan were ignored from being nominated. Look at how far down the pecking order Amla is, and this time he does not even have the best batting average.

Bowlers

Now this is where the real shocker comes.


Just take a look at what Saeed Ajmal has achieved across all formats of cricket during the stated period.

Take a look at it again.

No bowler even comes close to that performance.

A hundred and twenty wickets in tests, ODIs, and T20s; 40 wickets more than the next bowler on the list; and you do not get nominated for the the Cricketer of the Year Award.

WHY!?

Now do you really think that Pakistan fans are cribbing for no reason at all? How can anyone explain the exclusion of Saeed Ajmal from the shortlist of nominees?

I really do not think that there is any logical explanation to this. None whatsoever.

Pakistan lost 6 wickets in the morning session yesterday; Sri Lanka lost 5 today.

Are the batsmen not getting proper sleep?

Yesterday morning was just a poor execution of batting skills against a new swinging red cherry.

This morning, however, the Sri Lankans were outsmarted by a rejuvenated Umar Gul.

After a lacklustre performance in the first test, Gul completely redeemed himself this morning with a top performance that got him 3 wickets, including the all important one of King Sanga.

Saeed Ajmal bowled non-stop during this session, and bowled well; it surprised me though that Mohammad Aamer was given only 4 overs this morning.

Aamer should have had a couple of wickets; if only Khurram had safer hands and some other edges had flown to the fielders, but I believe Younis should have bowled him more.

But then with 5 wickets, Pakistan has done well and somewhat brought themselves back into this game so I wouldn't argue against Younis Khan's tactics.

History would tell you that 150 would be a more than enough lead for Sri Lanka, but NC has different ideas.

A good Colombo morning for the Pakistanis after the nightmare yesterday.

The 1st test last week set the tone for a fast paced, action packed series between the two; if the initial reports coming in regarding the nature of the pitch are true, then this morning will see yet another exciting test match kick off.

After Pakistan's dramatic collapse on the 4th morning of the previous test, there were a number of reactions from various quarters.

Shoaib Malik and Salman Butt received a lot of criticism, Fawad Alam's exclusion raised eye brows, while some even questioned the omission of Abdul Razzaq and Danish Kaneria.

Personally, I don't think there was anything wrong with the XI that Pakistan fielded in the 1st test.

They dominated the test for 3 days, before collapsing in a heap.

What does the team composition have to do with that?

An Alam, Razzaq, or Kaneria would not have prevented defeat last week for Pakistan.

I don't see a reason why Pakistan should tinker with its line up; the only change I would like to see is Fawad Alam or Faisal Iqbal in place of Shoaib Malik.

I am not a fan of make-shift openers; particularly in test matches, hence I see no reason to separate Salman Butt and Khurram Manzoor.

Sri Lanka is likely to go in with the same team, unless they want to bring in an additional pacer, which I highly doubt.

Here are a few things that I am looking forward to seeing:

King Sanga and Younis Khan, after their double failure last week; big innings from the captains.

Ajantha Mendis with a point to prove or three; a few more wickets than he has managed thus far against Pakistan.

Umar Gul after a lacklustre perfomance; a breathtaking opening spell.

Another Mohammad Yousuf century; don't count it out.

Rangana Herath being smashed around; how I would love that!

More magic from Mohammad Aamer; this boy has it in him.

Another failure from Mahela Jayawardene; it'll take some time for him to get back to his best. Or will he ever?

Dilshan with a fiery cameo before getting out playing a scoop; don't think he will stop doing it.

Misbah finding yet another way to lose his wicket; you can surely count on that!

And a Pakistan victory; it has to be 1-1.