Australia vs India – An absorbing Day 1 signals what is in store

The much-awaited Gavaskar-Border Trophy between the two sides who are in similar phase of their progress as Test sides started with a keenly contested first day at MCG. It is almost Australian-bowling-versus-Indian-batting contest, but the team which takes the pressure better may turn out to be the winner of this 4-match series.

Match Report – 1^st Test: Day 1, Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Melbourne Cricket Ground, 26-30 December 2011

The much-awaited Boxing Day started with light drizzle but there was pleasant sunshine when the two captains strolled out to the middle for the Toss. For Australia, Ed Cowan made his debut, while Shaun Marsh replaced Usman Khawaja. Ben Hilfenhaus too made a come back. India went with Ashwin and preferred Virat Kohli and Umesh Yadav for the starting Eleven. Zaheer Khan was back with a hope to complete a tour Down Under in his third attempt.

On a green, moist pitch, Michael Clarke decided to bat first, a move that surprised many. Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan got the ball to move and zip on a helpful pitch, but Australian openers weathered the storm admirably. Ed Cowan was ultra cautious but Warner lashed onto any opportunity that came along. His huge six off Yadav over midwicket was a special one as Australia seemed to grab the initiative.
 
After a brief rain-stoppage, Yadav took his revenge, with hosts on 46. He deceived Warner with another short one, but this was higher and towards the body, which the batsman could only glove as far as Dhoni. Shaun Marsh came and went quickly without disturbing the scorers, as he nicked Yadav behind in his next over. Ricky Ponting looked in good touch, and before another drizzle halted the play, Australia were hopeful of a decent partnership. They were 68 for 2 at Lunch.

The rain delayed the start post Lunch, but Ponting and Cowan were into the thick of things right away. Boundaries flowed freely after Lunch as Australia crossed hundred and gained the momentum back. Ponting reached his 50 first but had a couple of nervous moments against Ishant and Yadav. Would Punter break the century jinx? The question was answered soon when Yadav surprised Ponting with a sharp back-of-a-length ball which ended in Laxman’s hands in the slips. His attractive 62 runs were laced with 6 boundaries.

The 100-plus runs stand between Ponting and Cowan had put the Indians on the back foot. Clarke continued the trend - Cowan playing safely as the Captain tried to score runs. Zaheer was brought back for an important spell with the old ball as Australia moved past two hundred. He had immediate success by getting two in two, bringing his team at par, with a bang.

Clarke played on for 31, while Hussey was extremely unlucky to be given out caught behind, although he had sleeved the ball while trying to back away. Indians, nonetheless, were ecstatic. It soon became 214 for 5, when Cowan’s dogged vigil came to an end and that again was an unfortunate dismissal. He was given caught behind off Ashwin but HotSpot did not show any edge. He made 68 on debut with 7 fours.

Brad Haddin (21*) and Peter Siddle (34*) put on unbeaten 63-run 7^th wicket stand to end the day on a high for Australia. But at the end of the day, it was India who had their noses slightly in front on a wicket which traditionally is a good batting track.

Umesh Yadav confirmed he belonged there, by picking up three important wickets, while ZAK too made a good come back to the side. Ponting would have loved to have a hundred under his belt in order to quash the doubts over his Test future, but after today’s knock one feels he will get one soon. Ed Cowan made an inspiring debut, but Warner would have liked to go on after the start he got.

A score of 350-plus will give the home side a chance to put strong Indian batting line-up under pressure. Indians, however, would hope to wrap up the lower order cheaply tomorrow.  


Summarised Scores:

Australia 277/6 (Cowan 68, Ponting 62; Yadav 3/96) on the first day

Heroes of the Day: Umesh Yadav, Ed Cowan

Flop of the Day: Ishant Sharma

Disappointment of the Day: Absence of UDRS

Complete Scorecard

Credits: AP (Image), CricketArchive.com (Scorecard)

Bangladesh vs Pakistan – Pakistan make light work of the hosts to win series 2-0

Bangladesh were white-washed on the final day of the second and final Test as Pakistan strolled to victory under gloom after hosts were dismissed cheaply before Tea. Overnight pair of Nasir and Mushfiq fought bravely and denied Pakistan any wicket until after Lunch when they imploded with the fall of Nasir's wicket.

Match Report – 5^th Day: 2^nd Test, Shere Bangla National Stadium, 17-21 Dec 2011

Play, expectedly, again started late on the final day due to murky conditions. Nasir Hossain and Mushfiqur Rahim defied Pakistan opening pair of Umar Gul and Aizaz Cheema bravely in the first crucial hour. Nasir gave a tough chance but both hung on admirably as they continued good work against the spinners too.

Nasir looked even more confident after reaching his fifty, as he nudged along well hitting an odd boundary from time to time. Mushfiqur Rahim, on the other hand, was all defence and a model of concentration. At Lunch, Bangladesh were sitting happily on 200 for 5 with two sessions to go. They had a lead of 62 and with 5 wickets remaining; a draw was still on the cards, if not a win.
 
It was Abdur Rehman, the wily, persistent, hard-working left-armer, who produced a magic delivery to get rid of stubborn Nasir. He failed to read the arm ball which crashed into his stumps leaving the batsman and the crowd stunned. He made a fighting 79 with 11 fours. His wicket opened the flood gates as, a little later, Mushfiq got himself out playing a rash shot against the same bowler, after making a dogged 53.

Younis then took a one-handed stunner to remove Shahadat, while Ajmal foxed Elias Sunny off a doosra. Bangladesh were eventually all out for 234, a disappointing total after a good partnership in the middle. They would have wished to bat on for about an hour more, as prospects of an early finish were there under foggy skies. Abdur Rehman was the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 51.
Pakistan needed to make just 103 in about 40 overs, but they had to ensure they play quickly enough to avoid being deprived of an easy win due to bad light.

Strangely but probably due to approaching Tea, Hafeez and Taufeeq started sedately. Upon instructions from Balcony Taufeeq tried to manufacture a stroke, in order to get quick runs, but his uppish drive off Nazimuddin was held by the mid wicket fielder.

Azhar Ali and Hafeez then changed the mode positively and scored quickly afterwards, playing some innovative strokes. Hafeez, who relishes these sorts of scenarios, was aggressive of the two but perished just short of a fifty with a handful of runs to go. Younis got quick singles and hit a swept six to hasten the end.

Azhar Ali lost his stumps in trying to finish with a six when three runs were needed, but captain cool, Misbah-ul-Haq ended the match and the series by lofting Sunny for the winning six two balls later. It was a fitting end to a successful year for Team Pakistan.

They won the match by 7 wickets, and series 2-0. Although Bangladesh fought well in this match, they still have to sort out their problems in batting and fielding if they are to compete against better sides in Tests.


Summarised scores: 

Pakistan 470 (Taufeeq Umar 130, Misbah 70; Shakib 6/82) and 107/3 (Hafeez 47, Azhar 34; Elias Sunny 1/7) beat Bangladesh 338 (Shakib 144, Nafees 97; Cheema 3/73) and 234 (Nasir 79, Mushfiqur 53; Abdur Rehman 4/51) by 7 wickets


Series: Pakistan win 2-0

Man of the Match: Shakib Al Hasan

Man of the Series: Younis Khan

Complete Scorecard

Credits - Scorecard (cricketarchive.com), Image (AFP)

Bangladesh vs Pakistan – Match evenly poised at stumps on Day 2

Pakistan hurried the end of Bangladeshi innings after breaking a decent partnership between Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib. Then despite losing Hafeez cheaply, they had progressed to 87 by the premature close of play. The wicket continued to ooze runs.

Match Report – 2^st day: 2nd Test, Played at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, 17- 21 December 2011

After another delayed start, Bangladesh continued the good work on the second day as well, as Shakib and Mushfiqur saw the Lunch safely. Pakistan bowlers toiled hard but could not breakthrough despite some anxious moments and a couple of close LBW shouts.

Just when Pakistan looked down and out, Bangladesh handed them a crucial wicket. Mushfiqur Rahim’s dreadful indecision in running cost Shakib his wicket as he left furious after scoring a brilliant 144 which included 15 fours. A double from him was surely on the cards. Mushfiq then edged behind on the next ball from Gul to hand advantage back to Pakistan again. He made 40 but the two quick wickets gave Pakistan much needed headway.

Saeed Ajmal then polished the tail off in a hurry. They had collapsed from 305/5 to 338 all out, the innings ending much the same way as it had started. Gul and Cheema got three scalps each while two wickets fell to Ajmal and run outs.
 
Mohammad Hafeez and Taufeeq Umar started positively, but Nazmul Hossain got Hafeez on the first ball on his come back after seven years. It was a chance missed by in-form Hafeez on a belter, but Taufeeq and Azhar Ali cashed in. They scored at 4 an over initially but as the light faded and day approached they resorted to defense.

Pakistan were 87 for one when bad light stopped play. The wicket promises a run fest and Pakistan would look to post a mammoth first innings score to put the hosts under pressure, as they did in the first Test. Bangladesh, on the other hand, need to take advantage of the early morning dew and haze tomorrow.


Summarised Scores:

Pakistan 87/1 (Taufeeq 44*, Nazmul 1/28) trail Bangladesh 338 all out (Shakib 144, Nafees 97; Cheema 3/73) by 251 runs with 9 wickets in hand in the first innings

Hero of the Day: Shakib al Hasan

Disappointment of the day: Mushfiqur Rahim

Bangladesh vs Pakistan – Shakib and Nafees take honours on day 1

Bangladesh showed some character when they fought back after suffering from another top order collapse on the first day of the second and last Test match. Shakib and Nafees put on 180 runs for the 5^th wicket keeping Pakistan’s fancied bowling attack at bay.

Match Report – 1^st day: ^2nd Test, Played at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, 17- 21 December 2011

Pakistan went into the Test unchanged, while hosts made two changes, bringing in Nazmul Hossain and Robiul Islam for Rubel and Ashraful. On a wicket having a tinge of grass, Misbah chose to bowl as he often does. After a delayed start for an hour, Aizaz Cheema and Umar Gul bowled brilliantly using the new ball well to reduce the hosts to 43 for 4.

Nazimuddin, who made a promising debut at Chittagong, left a sharp in cutter from Aizaz and was given out although it hit him a touch high. Tamim’s vows continued and after a scratchy 14 perished hooking Gul aimlessly in the lap of Cheema. Aizaz Cheema, who was getting the ball to talk, got another one to nip back sharply crashing into the stumps through bat and pad as Mahmudullah erringly played back.
 
Cheema was mainly bringing the ball in to the right-handers but he got Nasir Hossain with a one that left him a touch and keeper Adnan Akmal made no mistake. At Lunch, Bangladesh were 54 for 4 and another disappointing batting collapse looked on the cards. With the sun coming out, wicket had eased up considerably as both Shahriar Nafees and Shakib Al Hasan proved after the break.

Shakib eased into his innings with three fours in one over of Cheema while Nafees waited for the spinners to come before he opened his arms. Both batsmen were in their 60s when Tea approached, after completing a 100-run partnership. Aizaz bowled his heart out on a pitch that had become lifeless but Nafees and Shakib neutralised his every trick. Gul and Cheema resorted to hostile short pitch bowling but did not get any breakthrough.

Shakib completed his second Test hundred off 159 balls that included 14 hits to the boundary. It was a delightful knock and he had given Bangladesh batting much needed lift. Shahriar Nafees, on the other hand, was looking all set to notch up his century, second of his career. But Umar Gul tested him with a snorter that he failed to leave. The ball touched his gloves through to the keeper as Nafees walked away dejectedly for 177-ball 97 runs with 12 fours.

Shakib’s innings was full of enterprising shots on both sides of the wicket. On occasions he danced down the track against spinners and hit through the line. Nafees thrived on shots square of the wicket. He swept the spinners well and pulled both Gul and Cheema admirably.

Mushfiqur started with a boundary and along with Shakib, not out on 108, ended the day with his team sitting nicely for the first time in the series. Bad light curtailed the play once again. Pakistan would look to restrict Bangladesh to manageable total come the second day, while hosts’ hopes of a large score will rest on how this pair bats.


Summarised Scores:


Bangladesh 234/5 (Shakib 108*, Nafees 97; Cheema 3/52)

Hero of the Day: Shakib Al Hasan

Disappointment of the day: Saeed Ajmal

Bangladesh vs Pakistan – Bangladesh thrashed again and white-washed

Pakistan extended their unbeaten run against Bangladesh to 22 matches as they thrashed the hosts again, lifting the Cup 3-0. On a spinning track, Pakistan’s batsmen posted enough runs on board to put pressure on struggling Bangladesh batsmen who faltered miserably yet again.

Pakistan tour to Bangladesh: 3^rd ODI, Played at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong, 6 December 2011

It was a dead rubber but not for the hosts who were desperate for a win. On a sluggish pitch and a lucky venue for Bangladesh, Pakistan opted to bat first. Shoaib Malik kept his place as Imran Farhat made way for Asad Shafiq at the top of the order. Abdur Rehman also got a game as Pakistan dropped Sarfraz Ahmad and brought in Sohail Tanvir.

Shafiul Islam got rid of Hafeez in the first over, while Shakib ended Asad’s painstaking stay with a beauty that went past his bat to shatter stumps. Younis, who was fluent after a sluggish start, was undone by Abdur Razzak for 26.
 
From 39 for 3, Misbah and Umar Akmal took the score to 133 in the 36^th over. Both played sensibly and built a nice platform for the lower order to have a go at the end. But the plan went wro9ng miserably as Misbah got out in the first over of the batting powerplay for 47. Shoaib Malik’s miserable come back continued as he gave return catch to Razzak two balls later to make it 133/5.

Onus was on well set Umar Akmal to shepherd the remaining innings along with Shahid Afridi. The loss of Afridi, to give Elias Sunny his first ODI wicket, raised Bangladesh’s hopes of restricting Pakistan fewer than 200, but the real jolt followed in the next over.

Umar hit a thumping four off Nasir Hossain to bring his fifty which he celebrated by dancing down and lofting him for a huge six. Elias came back and Umar gave the charge again, forgetting he turned the ball the other way as compared to Nasir. The result was a simple stumping and a bewildered Akmal walked back dejectedly. He had made the match and then thrown away the advantage himself, a trait that is threatening to belittle his career.

Bangladesh spinners then blew away the lower order, getting Pakistan out cheaply for 177 with almost 4 overs to spare. Mahmudullah was the chief destroyer taking last 3 wickets for just fours runs in 7 balls he bowled. Abdur Razzak and Shakib Al Hasan both gave away just 21 runs apiece in their allotted quota and took 3 and 1 wicket each. Umar Akmal was the top scorer with 57 off 84 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes.

Bangladesh openers entered the ground for a short while before dinner break in front of an expectant crowd. Mohammad Hafeez silenced by knocking Tamim Iqbal out on the very first ball. Shahriar Nafees and Mahmudullah took Pakistan bowlers on and their positive intent lifted Bangladeshi spirits again.   

Their stand of 69 in just under 19 overs put Bangladesh on course for a win but what followed epitomizes their approach to international cricket of late. After Shahriar was trapped in front by Saeed Ajmal, skipper Mushfiqur Rahim made the same fatal blunder of playing a sweep without reaching to the pitch of the ball against Abdur Rehman. Mahmudullah, top scorer with 35 was also trapped LBW by a sharp turner from Hafeez.

Hafeez then foxed Shakib who gave him a return catch and when Nasir departed cheaply to make it 83 for 6, Bangladesh had lost 5 wickets in 14 balls. The match had turned on its head in a matter of 6.3 overs. Ajmal was bowling ultra miserly while Shoaib Malik polished the tail off in spectacular fashion to hasten hosts’ slide. They were all out for a paltry 119 with 12 overs to spare.

The hosts crashed to a heavy 58-run defeat, and that too after looking favourites at one stage. Malik and Hafeez both took 3 scalps each, for 6 and 27 runs respectively. Ajmal’s figures read: 7 overs, 4 maidens, 6 runs and 2 wickets.


Summarised scores: 

Pakistan 177 all out in 46.1 overs (Umar Akmal 57, Misbah 47; Mahmudullah 3/4) beat Bangladesh 119 all out in 38 overs (Mahmudullah 35; Shoaib Malik 3/6, Hafeez 3/27) by 58 runs
Pakistan win the series 3-0

Man of the Match: Umar Akmal

Man of the Series: Umar Akmal


Photo credit: AFP