Pakistan continues World Cup surge with thrilling win over Afghanistan

Agencies
June 30, 2019

London, Jun 30: In a game that ebbed and flowed to the hilt, Imad Wasim showed nerves of steel with an unbeaten 49 off 54 balls as Pakistan kept their semifinal hopes alive with a three-wicket victory over Afghanistan in a thrilling World Cup clash here on Saturday.

After restricting the already knocked out Afghanistan to 227/9, Pakistan made heavy weather of the target by losing wickets at regular intervals.

In the last five overs, Pakistan needed 46 runs with four wickets in hand. But skipper Gulbadin Naib missed a trick by bringing himself to bowl instead of persisting with spin which is their strength.

Gulbadin gifted Imad a full toss that went for four. In the next ball, Imad hit the ball in the air but Asghar Afghan lost it in the sky to let go of the chance.

The next two balls were hit for consecutive fours as the Afghanistan skipper leaked 18 runs to bring down the equation to 28 runs off 24 balls.

Gulbadin made amends in the field by effecting the run out of Shadab Khan (11) in the 47th over, but Wahab Riaz hit an unbeaten 9-ball 15 to bring the equation down to six runs off the final over with Imad on strike. 

The ice-cool Wales-born all-rounder kept things simple and with two balls to go, smacked Gulbadin for a four to win it for his country. It was the fifth four he hit in his stellar innings. 

With nine points from eight matches, Pakistan pipped England in the points table to the fourth place. Hosts England will take on India on Sunday. Pakistan have one game left, against Bangladesh on July 5.

Pakistan were off to a stuttering start as Fakhar Zaman (0) was trapped in front by Mujeeb Ur Rahman (2/34) in the second ball of the innings.

Imam-Ul-Haq (36; 51b, 4x4) and Babar Azam (45, 51b, 4x5) then added 72 runs for the second wicket before Mohammad Nabi (2/23) had Imam stumped as the batsman needlessly charged down the track.

Babar was clean-bowled by Nabi soon after and with Mohammad Hafeez (19) also not hanging around for long, Pakistan were reduced to 121/4 before Rashid Khan castled the in-form Haris Sohail (27).

In the 37th over, umpire Paul Wilson turned down an LBW appeal by Rashid though replays showed it to be very close. But with both sides having no reviews left, it could not go upstairs as Afghanistan kept turning the screws on their more fancied rivals.

Skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed (18) was run out and from then on Imad held fort at one end, also keeping pace with the asking rate as Pakistan emerged victorious in the end.

Earlier, Shaheen Shah Afridi snared four wickets as Pakistan restricted Afghanistan to 227/9.

Afridi, who returned match-winning figures of 3/28 against New Zealand in the last match, conceded 47 runs in 10 overs and bagged four wickets to never let Afghanistan take the charge as Imad Wasim (2/48) and Wahab Riaz (2/29) also came good with the ball. 

For the Afghans who won the toss and elected to bat first, Asghar Afghan and Najibullah Zadran top-scored with identical scores of 42.

While Asghar blazed his way off 35 balls, his innings laced with three fours and and two sixes, Zadran took 54 deliveries hitting six fours.

Opener Rahmat Shah (35; 43b, 4x5) also looked good before he was caught by Babar Azam at short cover off Wasim.

Afghanistan were 27/2 before Rahmat and Ikram Alikhil (24) tried to steady the ship.

But after Rahmat's dismissal, things fell apart although Asghar and Alikhil shared a 64-run stand for the fourth wicket.

While Asghar was caslted by Shadab Khan, Alikhil could not takcle the pressure of dot balls before finally holing out to long on where Mohammed Hafeez took an easy catch off Wasim.

Zadran and Mohammed Nabi then stitched together a crucial 42-run partnership for the sixth wicket before Riaz got Nabi's back and Zadran dragged a Afridi delivery on to his stumps.

The Afghans could not manage to score much in the last five overs but still managed to put up their highest score in the tournament batting first.

Brief scores: Afghanistan 227/9 in 50 overs (Asghar Afghan 42, Najibullah Zadran 42, Shaheen Shah Afridi 4/47) vs Pakistan 230/7 in 49.2 overs Imad Wasim 49 not out, Babar Azam 45; Mohammad Nabi 2/23, Mujeeb Ur Rahman 2/34)

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News Network
February 24,2020

Wellington, Feb 24: Indian batsmen's inadequacies in adverse conditions were laid bare as they crashed to an embarrassing 10-wicket defeat against a ruthless New Zealand side that wrapped up the opening Test in just over three days here on Monday.

Starting the day on 144 for four, India were all out for 191 in their second innings. This was only a shade better than their dismal 165 in the first innings, which eventually proved to be decisive.

Trent Boult (4/39 in 22 overs) and Tim Southee (5/61 in 21 overs), the most under-rated new ball pairs in world cricket, showed that when it boils down to playing incisive seam and swing bowling, this batting line-up is still a work in progress.

The required target of nine runs was knocked off by New Zealand without much ado for their 100th Test win.

India's last defeat was against Australia at Perth during the 2018-19 series but the loss at the Basin Reserve would hurt them more because the visitors have not surrendered in such a fashion of late.

There was no resistance from a star-studded line-up and more than intent, the failure was due to poor technique on a track that had something on the third and fourth day as well.

This is a team that plays fast bowling much better than their predecessors, the reason for their success on the bouncy Australian tracks.

But when it comes to facing conventional seam and swing bowling in testing conditions, they are yet to learn the art of saving a Test match.

India had lost the mental battle on the first day itself when they saw the moisture on the wicket.

The toss became a factor and not for one session did they look comfortable. Mayank Agarwal was the only batsman, who felt at home in patches, as New Zealand showed what a Test match strategy is all about.

If the first innings was about mixing back of length deliveries with fuller length balls, the second innings saw the pacers coming from round the wicket and targeting the rib-cage. The line was disconcerting and it stifled them for good.

It affected their mindset and once Ajinkya Rahane and Hanuma Vihari stepped out on the fourth morning, defeat was written all over as both looked ill-equipped to handle such high quality seam bowling.

Rahane (29 off 75 balls) and Vihari (15 off 79 balls) are players who only play long-form cricket at the international level and both are known for their patience.

But little would have the Indian vice-captain apprehended that he would get a delivery from Boult, which he thought would move away after pitching but it held its line and he had no option but to jab at it, and all he got was an edge.

Southee, who bowls a lovely classical outswinger, then bowled an off-cutter from the other end and before Vihari could comprehend, it came back sharply to peg the stumps back.

Within first 20 minutes, the two seasoned practitioners of swing had knocked the stuffing out of India's resistance.

Rishabh Pant (25 off 41 balls) batted only in the manner he can and played one breathtaking shot off Southee, a slog sweep off a 130 kmph-plus delivery to the deep mid-wicket boundary.

But there was too much left to do with too little support from the other end. Bending on one knee, he tried another audacious slog scoop but couldn't clear.

Southee, who had a terrific match, deservingly completed his 10th five-wicket haul and all it took was 16 overs to end the innings and the match.

New Zealand now have 120 points in the World Test championship and India stayed on top with 36 points.

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News Network
June 27,2020

Jun 27: India's Test batting mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara cannot describe in words the influence that Rahul Dravid has had on his life but says he will always remain grateful to him for teaching the importance of switching off from cricket.

Often compared to Dravid, who was considered the 'wall' of Indian cricket, Pujara said he is thankful to Dravid for teaching him how to keep personal and professional lives separate.

"He helped me understand the importance of switching off from cricket. I had the same thought, more or less, but when I spoke to him, it gave me a lot of clarity about it and I was sure of what I needed to do," he told ESPNcricinfo.

"I also saw in county cricket how they keep personal and professional lives separate. I value that advice a lot. Many people consider me to be focused. Yes, I am focused, But I also know when to switch off. There is life beyond cricket."

In his illustrious international career, Dravid amassed 13288 runs in 164 Tests and 10889 runs in 344 ODIs. He also captained India in 79 ODIs, winning 42 of them, which includes the world record of 14 successive wins while chasing.

"I cannot say in one line what Rahul bhai means to me. He has always been an inspiration, and will remain one," Pujara said.

His mental fortitude and batting technique is often compared to Dravid but Pujara said "despite my enchantment with him" he never tried to "copy him."

"There is a similarity in our games, but that's not because of my fascination with him. That came mainly through my experiences with Saurashtra, where I learned that scoring a hundred alone isn't enough, you have to carry your team," he said.

"That is how I learned responsibility - it is about helping my team to raise a big total, and for that I ought to attach importance to my wicket. I learned that from my junior cricket days with Saurashtra, which was a weaker team in domestic cricket."

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News Network
May 6,2020

May 6: They have similar impact on their teams but Virat Kohli is driven by sheer passion to subdue the rivals while Steve Smith just enjoys batting, says Australia opener David Warner.

India skipper Kohli and top Australian batsman Smith are arguably the top two cricketers of the current era. They achieve new milestones consistently, invoking debates, who is better between them.

"Virat's passion and drive to score runs is different to what Steve's would be," Warner said while speaking to Harsha Bhogle on 'Cricbuzz in Conversation'.

"Steve is going out there for a hit in the middle, that's how he sees things. He's hitting them out in the middle, he's having fun, he's enjoying himself, just does not want to get out."

Warner feels, while Kohli is batting he is aware that if he sticks around the middle his team will be on top of the proceedings.

"Virat obviously doesn't want to get out but he knows if he spends a certain amount of time out there, he's going to score plenty of runs at a rapid rate. He's going to get on top of you. That allows the guys coming in, especially in the Indian team you've got a lot of players who can be flamboyant as well."

The Australian opener added that both men are mentally strong and a good knock by them boosts the morale of the entire team.

"When it comes to cricket, they both have got the mental strength, the mental capacity to score runs. They both love spending time in the middle.

"They stabilise, they boost morale - if they score runs, everyone else's moral is up. If they are out cheaply you almost sense that on the field that everyone is (down on morale and thinking) 'now we all have to step up'. It's a very bizarre situation," he added.

Asked about the similarities between himself and Kohli, who are both live wires on the field, Warner said the passion to do better than the opponent keeps him going.

"I can't speak for Virat, obviously, but it's almost like we got this thing in us when we go (out to the middle) we need to prove people wrong, prove someone wrong."

"If you're in that contest, and if I'm going at him for example, you're thinking, 'Alright, I'm going to score more runs than him, I'm going to take a quick single on him'. You are trying to better that person in that game. That's where the passion comes from."

Warner also explained how he breaks down a match into smaller competitions.

"Obviously you want to win the game but you almost break it down to: If I can score more runs than Virat, or if Pujara scores more runs than Steve Smith, you have these little contests and that's how you try to narrow the game in the sense that if we do these little things, we can be ahead of the game or we can be behind the game.

"The passion is driven by...I know my sense - one, the will to win and two, wanting to do better than that person in the opposition," said Warner.

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