Pakistan set the tournament alight with a brilliant victory over a very good New Zealand side.
The game marked the return of Abdul Razzaq to the international side and his breakthrough early in the New Zealand innings was vital in what was to follow and thus cannot be underestimated. He had a good day with the ball (2 for 17) although he didn’t get going with the bat; still not being able to play spinners the poor sod.
The star of the show was obviously Umar Gul with his record breaking figures of 5 for 6. It was the first time anyone has taken a 5-for in International Twenty20. Amazingly, he was on a hat-trick twice but never managed to convert either. In his interview after, he spoke of working on the yorkers and slower balls with coach Aqib Javed and said that he watched videos of Waqar and Wasim and boy did it show. Those figures will take some beating, and the fact that he is also number 3 and 7 on the Twenty20 best figures list, shows it wasn’t just luck.
Afridi was once again mesmeric with the ball and took, in our opinion, the best catch of the tournament so far.
Thankfully, the youngster Shahzaib Hasan was given another chance after his zero earlier in the tournament and he didn’t disappoint with his 35 of 28 balls. It was pleasing to see Afridi the batsmen smash 29 off 18; his performance clearly the result of a team feeling good after playing to their abilities.
Though we probably lost two wickets too many, it was more important that we got to the target quickly as possible as run rate will make the difference in what is a very close group now.
I hope the Pakistani players realise the happiness they bring to their people when they play like this. Even those not connected with Pakistan could not have felt anything but appreciation for the talent on display.
The highlight of the day for me was Sanjay Manjrekar who after witnessing the Pakistani performance said something along the lines of “this is why Pakistan needs to be playing international cricket”. Brilliant.
Next up, we lose to Ireland on Monday. Who’d be a Pakistan fan?
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June 13th, 2009 at 11:30 pm
“I hope the Pakistani players realise the happiness they bring to their people when they play like this. Even those not connected with Pakistan could not have felt anything but appreciation for the talent on display.”
^Subhannallah, so true!!
If they lose to Ireland, i think that’ll show what a quality team the Paks are! Non stop entertainment is what they produce! … i mean apart from maybe West Indies, its only the pakistanis who share their wicket taking joy with the crowd as was seen by Afridi today. And only Pakistan who seem so passionate, realisticly. England simply dont produce the same enthusiasm!! And of course only the Pakistani team who praise Allah first, and then all that follows!!
But anyways, enough praise of the Pakistanis, lest it go to their head!!
June 14th, 2009 at 3:37 am
Finally the Pak team has gotten a winning combination.
Shahzaib has the ability to hit but he should also work to take singles after scoring a boundary.
Afridi’s catch set the tone for the match, I loved the way he posed after taking the catch. He also showed that he can still bat I hope he continues to adopt the same batting style.
Umar Gul laser guided yorkers were too hot to handle for the Kiwis, I wonder when he can reverse the ball and bowl toe crushing swing yorkers then why in some matches he keeps on bowling short and wide.
Aamer should bowl a bit closer from the stumps when he bowls from wide of crease he bowls with an angle and it sometimes gives width to the batsman. Today he bowled a few deliveries which had glimses of Wasim Akram’s bowling.
If Razzak’s batting come good then Pakistan will have a more than fair chance to reach the finals.
June 14th, 2009 at 5:29 am
Ireland give me nightmares, but I will remain a fan despite
June 14th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
Sis,
I don’t think the Pakistan players are gonna be reading this so you can praise them as much as you like….we fans will keep our feet firmly on the ground!
Unfortunately, the English are too schooled, too by the book to be passionate.
Wasim,
Shahzaib does look on the large side especially for someone so young. Hopefully Dwyer can sort him out. I agree with your point about Gul. This is true with Arafat also. He can bowl very good reverse swing and yorkers but he bowled consistently good or short of a length. Then we have Aamer; he needs to go to the yorker more often too. I can’t remember him doing one yet. I wouldn’t be surprised if all his wickets so far were caught.
Razzaq has made the team look much more competitive in bowling and batting. These guys are vital. It’s the same effect Flintoff has with Eng.
Q,
Just don’t dig up a Pak v Ire stat like you did with Sri Lanka!
June 14th, 2009 at 2:50 pm
Ireland are doing quite well against Sri Lanka at the moment. I must admit this group has been much more entertaining and a lot closer than what I was expecting. Although you could have beaten someone other than the Kiwis Stani, bloody hell
June 14th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
Guys ps comment on my blog for a special feature interview link thread.
Many Thanks- Danish
June 14th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
i meant the fans actually
… but good to see the stani army keep things in perspective!!
June 14th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
Es,
The kiwis have a tradition of losing to us in world cups so they had to keep it going. Sorry, not our fault. Lankans won but it was a close game which was the 2nd best result the Stanis could have hoped for; the 1st being an Irish win. When were you a kiwi fan anyway Es?
Danish,
I tried yesterday mate but was having trouble with the comment section (I even had my comment written out!). Can you please include the option for “Name/URL” in the profile drop down menu at the comment box please.
Sis,
Yes, I know what you meant….for some strange reason. You couldn’t blame the Stanis even if they did get carried away right Sis? They suffered a lot….just imagine the joy if they win it after becoming isolated from international cricket through no fault of their own.
June 14th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
“they suffered a lot” – hahahaha. Actually thats also what the commentators said. They called the Pakistani supporters courageous.
June 15th, 2009 at 2:25 am
Yes Sis, now we just need some of these courageous people running the country then may be the country will sort itself and it’s cricket out.
June 15th, 2009 at 7:27 am
Um… I’m more of a Baz McCullum fan.
Anyway I wish your boys luck, winning is tough. Just ask India 
June 15th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Nothing to do with cricket then Es? You girls! Honestly!
…and leave India alone.