|
Windies turn the
tables on Pak |
November 20, 2006 (Link to
Scorecard)
West Indies have turned the tables on Pakistan
in the Multan Test with its openers firing on
all cylinders after the bowlers had done a
magnificent job early on. A team that looked set
to run away for a big total was restricted to
357 due to some well controlled bowling with the
second new ball. The homeside lost its remaining
six wickets for just 94 runs today. At close of
stumps, the tourists are in a great position at
151 without any loss which leaves them behind by
206 runs. Strike bowler Jerome Taylor was the
hero of the day with his second five-wicket haul
while Chris Gayle disciplined himself to see his
side bat 57 overs without any loss of a wicket.
Resuming at a solid looking 263 for 4, the
homeside were off to a dismal start losing their
skipper, Inzamam in the third over of the day’s
play. It was Jerome Taylor who produced a great
delivery with the second new ball that had
angled in and then left away late to find a nick
from Inzy who didn’t add anything to his
overnight score of 31. A tidy partnership
followed between Malik and Razzaq but the West
Indies bowling under Taylor and Collymore was
under control as they bowled well with an
upright seam on most occasions. Malik (42) was
induced in defending away from his body to be
caught brilliantly by a diving Bravo in front of
the first slip fielder Lara. Bravo who had
earlier dropped the same batsman previously had
taken the catch with just his left hand; Lara
would have comfortably taken that catch had
Bravo not come across.
In just over 4 overs after Malik’s dismissal,
Corey Collymore accounted with the wicket of
Kamran Akmal who had nicked him off the backfoot
and Taylor removed Nazir and Umar Gul to
complete his five-wicket haul. Just at the
stroke of lunch, Pakistan got bowled out with
Razzaq (16*) sending back Kaneria after calling
him for a non-existent single. Razzaq took as
many as 92 balls to score those runs! Taylor’s
figures were 5 for 91 from 26. Corey Collymore’s
was 2 for 67 from 31, although the wickets don’t
look too many, the economy rate is a great one!
West Indies knew that they had a great
opportunity to consolidate on their bowling
performance. They have the batting that could
get them a total of 400 plus but what they
required was contribution from Chris Gayle who
had been such a terrific performer in the One
Day Version of the game recently. Gayle didn’t
go for his usual slam bang approach but was keen
in battling out there and dispatch the loose
ones. For a change he got good support from
Daren Ganga who batted on and on comfortably and
the pair saw two sessions go by to last 57
overs. Gayle has got to 87 having played 163
balls with 10 fours and a six. His partner Daren
Ganga is on a patient 59 which took him just 179
balls with 9 fours. Ganga’s innings might have
been snail-paced but the time he has batted to
give a massive unbeaten opening stand of 151 is
worth in gold. It is now up to the West Indies’
batsmen to never lose their focus on the job and
get their bowlers to operate with the homeside
lagging behind a huge first innings deficit!
Pakistan can always come back in the game
through some quick breakthroughs, they need to
utilize the first hour and keep the ball in the
corridor of uncertainty on a regular basis.
Top of the Page |
