Shahrukh Khan
Age: 124
Total Posts: 43596
Points: 0
Location:
Netherlands, Netherlands
Younis Khan has been named as Pakistan's vice-captain for their forthcoming tour of India, while Arshad Khan, the tall offspinner, has earned a recall to the Test team. Shoaib Akhtar, who recently ruled himself out of contention with a hamstring injury, was left out of the 15-man squad announced today by the Pakistan Cricket Board.
Shabbir Ahmed, who has been struggling with injury, did not recover in time and nstead the pace department is spearheaded by Mohammad Sami, and also includes Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Mohammad Khalil. Pakistan will also lean heavily on Abdul Razzaq's medium-pace.
Danish Kaneria heads the spinners and will be assisted by Arshad, who was rewarded with a recall for performing consistently in domestic cricket in Pakistan. Arshad last played a Test against England in 2000-01. Shoaib Malik and Shahid Afridi, the allrounders, strengthen the spin department.
Squad Taufeeq Umar, Salman Butt, Yasir Hameed, Inzamam-ul-Haq (capt), Yousuf Youhana, Younis Khan, Asim Kamal, Abdul Razzaq, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal (wk), Danish Kaneria, Mohammad Sami, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Arshad Khan, Mohammad Khalil.
Shahrukh Khan
Age: 124
7812 days old here
Total Posts: 43596
Points: 0
Location:
Netherlands, Netherlands
India v Pakistan, 3rd ODI, Jamshedpur
Butt and Naved script a crushing win
The Bulletin by Rahul Bhatia
April 9, 2005
Pakistan 319 for 9 (Salman 101, Malik 75) beat India 213 (Pathan 64, Naved-ul-Hasan 6-27) by 106 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Shoaib Malik plays a big shot on his way to 75 at Jamshedpur © AFP
When Inzamam-ul-Haq finally won the toss, a balance was restored. Batting first on the flat tracks prepared this series has been distinctly advantageous, and so it proved today as Pakistan put up a mammoth score of 319 for 9 and then pressured the Indian batsmen into self-destruction. Rana Naved-ul-Hasan played a major hand to claim six wickets as India were dismissed for 213.
Naved and Mohammad Sami found more swing and bounce than the Indians and were pacy enough to be effective on the batting surface. A few of these wickets came after the bowlers unnerved the batsmen with their bounce and movement, but India's batsmen contrived to get themselves out too. No Indian batsman, barring Rahul Dravid – until he was surprised by one and got out – Mohammad Kaif and Irfan Pathan appeared comfortable. The rest simply fell away. And this had much to do with Salman Butt.
A cool hundred by Butt, his second of the tour, led Pakistan to a large total for a change. His innings contained delightful drives and wristy flicks and stolen runs, but above all, it was a knock that allowed others to flourish. Around him, Shahid Afridi could play like himself and get out and Pakistan did not feel the pinch. Then Shoaib Malik could start unsteadily while Butt, muttering to himself as the bowler delivered, kept the run-rate up with calm, thoughtful cricket. After Malik left he presented Inzamam-ul-Haq the strike as time for quick runs came, and then ran hard with Yousuf Youhana, ultimately sacrificing his wicket for someone fresher and more suited to the demands of slog overs. It was a nurturing innings.
India too required a singular presence around whom a chase could be built, but Pathan, who scored 64, came too late, for the chase had all but ended within ten overs, when Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Mahendra Singh Dhoni were dismissed. Dravid and Yuvraj Singh left soon after. Respectability, lost before the tenth over, was left for Kaif and the rest to regain. India duly succumbed to a defeat by 106 runs.
For fifty overs the Indian attack experienced the unfamiliar sensation of bowling first on a dead track this series. Pathan and Harbhajan Singh were expensive; the part-timers had little chance. Between them, they conceded 208 in 30 overs. Pathan, lacking the swing and control that he once employed regularly, was ordered out of the attack after bowling two beamers. The over-rate was so slow, barely 15 minutes seperated the innings. It was that kind of day for India.
Mohammad Sami is ecstatic after nailing Sachin Tendulkar as India struggled at Jamshedpur © Getty Images
Butt and Malik had provided the start that Yousuf Youhana and Inzamam capitalised on later. Even with Afridi's early dismissal, runs were available. Malik grew into his aggressive skin after an uncertain beginning, stepping out to the spinners after the faster bowlers had him in some trouble. At first his forays brought him little, but he gradually found a range of shots, ranging from the airy ones past point to the swings to midwicket as well as the odd nudge past the wicketkeeper. He was awkward against Ashish Nehra, as others were too, but cashed in on the loose offerings, crunching boundaries, matching Butt stroke for stroke, run for run. Such was his control that when his innings ended in typical one-day style, it was yet surprising: a short delivery that asked to be held by a spectator was hit straight to the fielder.
Then Inzamam and Youhana together added 66 off 48 deliveries. A mish*t flew off Inzamam's bat over long off for six, Youhana swept and reverse-swept and nudged and did things that mess the mind of bowlers and fielders. Pakistan made it to 319 for 9, a score that could have been bigger had Zaheer Khan not bowled tightly towards the end.
With three games to go, the series is yet open-ended. But judging by the toss–winning captain's relief, too much has rested on one coin.
How they were out
Pakistan
Afridi c Dravid b Nehra 17 (31 for 1) Drove at a ball slanted across and edged to the sole slip, who caught it at head height.
Shoaib c Tendulkar b Sehwag 75 (176 for 2) Hit a short ball straight to the fielder just inside the midwicket boundary.
Inzamam c Pathan b Nehra 23 (219 for 3) Attempted to turn a ball to leg, and top-edged it to short mid-on.
Butt run out Dhoni/Zaheer 101 (239 for 4) Missed a ball in the rush for runs, found Yousuf Youhana beside him and sacrificed his own wicket.
Youhana c Dravid b Harbhajan 43 (287 for 5) Smacked a ball to square leg.
Razzaq st Dhoni b Yuvraj 18 (291 for 6) Came down the track and missed one that bounced.
Younis c Dravid b Khan 9 (308 for 7) Top-edged a turn to leg gully.
Sami run out Nehra 6 (316 for 8) Played one down the track but couldn't make the crease in time. A simple run out for the bowler.
Naved c Mongia (sub) b Nehra 1 (317 for 9) Top-edge taken at square leg.
India
Sehwag c Afridi b Naved 2 (6 for 1) Flayed at one, caught at point.
Tendulkar c Younis b Sami 6 (11 for 2) Edged one in the corridor to second slip.
Ganguly c Younis b Naved 4 (20 for 3) Edged a delivery angled across to second slip
Dhoni c Akmal b Naved 28 (54 for 4) Top-edged a pull that was well taken by the wicketkeeper
Yuvraj c Akmal b Naved 1 (66 for 5) Drove and got an edge
Dravid c Younis b Sami 28 (82 for 6) Got a snorter from Mohammad Sami that reared up at his bat handle from just short of a length.
Kaif c Younis b Kaneria 32 (143 for 7)
Drove on the up into the off and was well caught in the infield.
Harbhajan b Malik 2 (152 for 8)
Played across one that turned a long way and brushed the leg stump.
Pathan c Akmal b Naved 64 (204 for 9)
A strange one. Pathan played at one going wide outside leg and hit it with the back of his bat. It looped up to the wicketkeeper.
Nehra b Naved 3 (213)
Clean bowled by a perfect yorker.
Shahrukh Khan
Age: 124
7812 days old here
Total Posts: 43596
Points: 0
Location:
Netherlands, Netherlands
India v Pakistan, 6th ODI, Delhi
Pakistan seal series with emphatic win
The Bulletin by S Rajesh
April 17, 2005
Pakistan 303 for 8 (Malik 72, Inzamam 68, Youhana 50) beat India 144 (Arshad 3-33) by 159 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Shoaib Malik played an invaluable hand in the top-order © AFP
A series which began so disappointingly for Pakistan ended in absolute delight as they thrashed India by 159 runs in the last one-day international, at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi, to take the series 4-2. As they had done in at least two of the previous three matches, Pakistan completely outplayed India in this one: the batsmen took advantage of winning the toss, piling up 303 on a pitch which wasn't always conducive for strokeplay. Then, the bowlers and fielders struck repeatedly early in the piece, reducing India to 94 for 7, before they limped to 144.
As has happened for much of this series, it was a team effort by Pakistan, with almost every player doing his bit. Shahid Afridi's blistering 44 off 23 balls set the pace early in the day, while Shoaib Malik (72), Inzamam-ul-Haq (68) and the rest of the middle order ensured that a splendid start wasn't wasted. Naved-ul-Hasan and Iftikhar Anjum then showed superb control and discipline with the new ball, and the fielding was exceptional – Yousuf Youhana twice scored direct hits to dismiss Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh. It was all so good that Inzamam could afford to stay in the pavilion throughout the Indian innings, allowing Younis Khan to lead the team.
As at Kanpur, Afridi got the innings going at a scorching pace. There had been question-marks raised about the pitch before the match, but it was scarcely a bother for him. Ashish Nehra had missed the Kanpur match, but here he got a taste of the Afridi medicine in his very first over. The first ball missed the outside edge, but that was as good as it got for Nehra – the next three balls all vanished to the on-side boundaries for four, the fifth was hoicked over midwicket for six, and the last one was crashed through covers. Twenty-two came off that over, and the tone was set.
The Indians fought back well after that early massacre, but even after Afridi was dismissed, Malik and Youhana kept the momentum going adding 85 in just under 17 overs. Malik's contribution once again underlined his ability to bat sensibly at the No. 3 position, while Youhana's was another typically fluent knock.
Dravid kept plenty of fielders in the ring almost throughout the innings, but the batsmen were still skillful enough to find the gaps for singles or boundaries. The partnership finally ended through a dubious third-umpire decision, with Youhana being declared out even when replays suggested he had made it to the crease in time. That only brought Inzamam to the crease, and by the time he fell, to another dubious decision, this time by Jayaprakash, Pakistan had enough runs on the board.
Inzamam's innings was another high-quality, classy knock, displaying all his characteristic strengths – the deft touches in the gaps to rotate the strike, well-controlled sweeps which spanned the arc between fine leg and midwicket, and powerful pulls and drives whenever the bowlers erred in length. In between the meaty blows, he ran excellently between the wickets as well, especially in the last few overs.
Shahid Afridi once again gave Pakistan the perfect start © AFP
Teams have chased over 300 in one-dayers before, but on a pitch increasingly lacking in pace and bounce, it was always likely to be a tough ask. And so it proved, as all Indian batsmen struggled for timing. Virender Sehwag threatened briefly, striking three fours in his 21 before steering one from Naved-ul-Hasan straight to slip. Sehwag could have been out even earlier, when he chipped the third ball of the innings straight to cover. Fortunately for him, it was a no-ball.
Both Naved and Iftikhar Anjum were disciplined with the new ball, keeping it just a fraction short on the stumps and denying the batsmen the length and the width to free their arms. Tendulkar was done in by one such delivery which nipped back in and bowled him off his pads (36 for 2). Dravid and Mahendra Singh Dhoni resisted briefly, but once Youhana's direct hit found Dravid short of the crease, it was all downhill for India. Yuvraj Singh, Dhoni and Mohamamd Kaif all fell in the space of four overs, which was too much to take in for the Delhi crowd. They showed their displeasure by throwing bottles into the ground, forcing the players off the field. When play resumed, it was more of the same procession, and the match was over much before Nehra guided one to slip.
For Pakistan, it was an outstanding comeback in the series, and one which should go down as one of the best comebacks in an ODI series. The Indians had plenty riding on this match – it was their last chance to level the series, and it was the last match with John Wright doing coaching duties. The result, though, wasn't quite as they would have wanted it.
How they were out
Pakistan
Salman Butt c Sehwag b Zaheer 2 (28 for 1)
Edged one in the corridor and smartly taken by Sehwag low to his right at second slip
Shahid Afridi c Dhoni b Nehra 40 (68 for 2)
Slower one by Nehra angling away, thin nick gave Dhoni a regulation catch
Yousuf Youhana run-out (Tendulkar) 50 (153 for 3)
Called by the striker for a quick single behind the stumps. Replays showed he had made his ground
Shoaib Malik b Agarkar 72 (191 for 4)
Full-length delivery which swung in late, clipped the pad and then hit off stump
Younis Khan c & b Nehra 40 (282 for 5)
Leading edge while attempting to chip one to leg
Abdul Razzaq c Sehwag b Nehra 0 (282 for 6)
Hit a full-toss straight to long-on
Inzamam-ul-Haq c Dhoni b Agarkar 68 (294 for 7)
Given out caught-behind even though he had missed a wide one by a long way
Kamran Akmal b Agarkar 5 (303 for 8)
Moved outside off to tickle the ball to the leg side and missed
India
Virender Sehwag c Afridi b Naved 21 (31 for 1)
Tried to steer one to third man, but guided it to first slip instead
Sachin Tendulkar b Iftikhar 9 (36 for 2)
Beaten by one that nipped back and clipped the stumps off the pads
Rahul Dravid run-out (Youhana) 19 (64 for 3)
Pushed to mid-on and called for a run, but caught well short by Youhana's direct hit
Yuvraj Singh run-out (Youhana) 13 (84 for 4)
Sold a dummy by Dhoni, who called for a run and then changed his mind. Youhana's direct hit did the rest
Mahendra Singh Dhoni c Afridi b Arshad 24 (93 for 5)
Went down the pitch and played a lofted shot but found Afridi at wide long-on
Mohammad Kaif lbw b Razzaq 4 (94 for 6)
Rapped on the pad by one that nipped back and hit him in front of off stump
Dinesh Mongia c Younis b Arshad 0 (94 for 7)
Edged one that turned away to first slip
Agarkar c Youhana b Afridi 16 (129 for 8)
Pulled it straight to Youhana at long-on
Zaheer Khan c Younis b Arshad 7 (139 for 9)
Slogged one to short midwicket, where Younis picked off a fine low catch
Ashish Nehra c sub (Hafeez) b Afridi 1 (144 all out)
Edged a drive to slip
what a inningd 10 4s and 9 sixes 
The hard-hitting, uncompromising opener plundered nine sixes to become the first player to hit 200 sixes in ODIs AFRIDI
