September 2007 Thu 27 - Sat 29 10:00 local, 05:00 GMT Patron's XI v South Africans National Bank of Pakistan Sports Complex, Karachi
October 2007 Mon 1 - Fri 5 10:00 local, 05:00 GMT 1st Test - Pakistan v South Africa National Stadium, Karachi
Mon 8 - Fri 12 10:00 local, 05:00 GMT 2nd Test - Pakistan v South Africa Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
Tue 16 10:30 local, 05:30 GMT TBC v South Africans Bagh-e-Jinnah, Lahore date tbc Thu 18 11:00 local, 06:00 GMT 1st ODI - Pakistan v South Africa Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
Sat 20 11:00 local, 06:00 GMT 2nd ODI - Pakistan v South Africa Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
Tue 23 11:00 local, 06:00 GMT 3rd ODI - Pakistan v South Africa Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad
Fri 26 11:00 local, 06:00 GMT 4th ODI - Pakistan v South Africa Multan Cricket Stadium
Mon 29 11:30 local, 06:30 GMT 5th ODI - Pakistan v South Africa National Stadium, Karachi
Misbah-ul-Haq's impressive performances in the World Twenty20 have earned him a recall to Pakistan's squad for the first Test against South Africa in Karachi on Monday. But there was no place in the 15-man lineup for either Inzamam-ul-Haq, the former captain, or Shoaib Akhtar.
Misbah was the third-highest run-scorer in South Africa, helping Pakistan reach the final and was also the highest run-scorer in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Pakistan's premier first-class tournament. He played the last of his five Tests four years ago against Bangladesh. Joining him in the middle order is Mohammad Yousuf, who yesterday agreed to represent Pakistan, after having initially signed up for the Indian Cricket League (ICL).
But there was no place in the squad for Inzamam, another ICL signatory. Inzamam has retired from ODIs, though insists he wants to play Test cricket. Salahuddin Ahmed, Pakistan's chief selector, said that Inzamam had been considered for the squad but had declared himself unavailable for the first Test.
"I spoke to Inzamam and though he didn't specify the reasons, he said he was unavailable for the first Test," said Salahuddin. "If he is available for the second Test [in Lahore], he will be considered."
Shoaib's exclusion was also expected, as he is currently the subject of a disciplinary inquiry into his altercation with Mohammad Asif in South Africa. "Shoaib's is a policy decision," said Salahuddin. "The disciplinary inquiry is ongoing and only when their decision has come will we take a decision."
Rao Iftikhar Anjum took the third fast bowler's spot, edging out Sohail Tanvir, the left-arm, wrong-foot bowler who did so well in the Twenty20 World Cup. "Sohail is a very talented all-rounder but we feel he still has some time before he is ready for the longer version of the game," added Salahuddin.
Pakistan will field yet another new opening pair when the first Test begins from October 1. One of Taufeeq Umar, who averages 74 in four Tests against South Africa, or Mohammad Hafeez will partner Salman Butt, the vice-captain.
Pakistan squad: Shoaib Malik (capt), Salman Butt, Mohammad Hafeez, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, Kamran Akmal (wk), Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar Anjum, Danish Kaneria, Faisal Iqbal, Yasir Hameed, Taufeeq Umar, Abdur Rehman
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Rao Iftikhar Anjum took the third fast bowler's spot, edging out Sohail Tanvir, the left-arm, wrong-foot bowler who did so well in the Twenty20 World Cup. "Sohail is a very talented all-rounder but we feel he still has some time before he is ready for the longer version of the game," added Salahuddin
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overall a gud selection but sohail o chance dena chahiay tha,aur yeh vice capt.sb ki jaga lagta he toufeeq umer ko hi khila lain to behter he,but he is 2 slow vaise kamran akmal ko bhi kuch rest dena chahiay
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Pakistani team Salman Butt, Mohammad Hafeez, Younis Khan, Faisal Iqbal, captainShoaib Malik, Misbah-ul-Haq, wicketkeeperKamran Akmal, Abdur Rehman, Umar Gul, Danish Kaneria, Mohammad Asif
Big surprise from Pakistan leaving Mohammad Yousuf out
South Africa 12/0 (2.3 ov) Pakistan South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first
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Toss South Africa chose to bat v Pakistan
South Africa won the toss and chose to bat in the first Test against Pakistan on a warm Karachi morning. The big news was that Mohammad Yousuf had been replaced by Faisal Iqbal in the starting line-up. According to the Pakistan board, Yousuf was not match fit and opted out of the Test.
On a dry pitch that will help the slower bowlers, Pakistan went in with two specialist spinners: Abdur Rehman, who will be making his debut, and Danish Kaneria, for the first time since the Bangalore Test in 2005.
For the South Africans, Morne Morkel, who injured his landing foot during the tour match against Patron's XI, failed a fitness test this morning and was replaced by Dale Steyn. Shaun Pollock missed out on the final XI as expected as South Africa went in with an attack comprising four fast bowlers and a sole spinner, Paul Harris.
Teams South Africa 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Herschelle Gibbs, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 Hashim Amla, 5 Ashwell Prince, 6 AB de Villiers, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Makhaya Ntini, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Andre Nel, 11 Paul Harris.
Pakistan 1 Salman Butt, 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Shoaib Malik (capt), 5 Misbah-ul-Haq, 6 Faisal Iqbal, 7 Kamran Akmal (wk), 8 Umer Gul, 9 Mohammad Asif, 10 Abdur Rehman, 11 Danish Kaneria.
An imposing century by Jacques Kallis gave South Africa the honours on the first day of the first Test after Graeme Smith had won the toss and elected to bat on a hot Karachi morning. They ended the day on 294 for 3, with Kallis unbeaten on 118.
Starting cautiously and taking 14 deliveries to get off the mark, Kallis hit his stride soon with elegant drives square of the wicket. The slow pitch and hot weather made bowling difficult and anything short in length was ruthlessly cut and ended up penetrating a strong off-side field. Dropped on 36 and 61, Kallis ensured an otherwise fluent innings playing majority of his strokes along the ground.
He dominated the 170-run third wicket partnership with Hashim Amla, in terms of both strike and runs, and relieved the pressure when Amla got bogged down against the spinners. Kallis was not afraid to use his feet against the slower bowlers and scored at a quicker rate than normal, reaching 50 off 91 balls and his hundred off 147 balls.
The foundation for the innings, however, was laid by a confident opening stand of 87 between Smith and Herschelle Gibbs that punished some wayward bowling by Mohammad Asif and Umar Gul. Not getting any early movement off the pitch or in the air, the bowlers erred in line and length and allowed South Africa reach 50 in the 12th over. Striving for the yorkers he delivered so successfully during the World Twenty20, Gul was frequently driven through extra cover and was duly replaced by Danish Kaneria in the tenth over.
The slowness of the pitch was apparent as Asif, trying to bowl short, was pulled by Gibbs to square leg on several occasions. Pakistan lacked energy and creativity in the field and Shoaib Malik, the captain, tried six bowlers before lunch, including debutant Abdur Rehman. It was, however, Mohammad Hafeez who got the first breakthrough as Smith went back to a straight ball and got hit on the back leg in front of off stump.
Gibbs slashed at a wide Gul delivery after lunch and was caught at gully by Hafeez but it was all Kallis and Amla from then on. Though the bowlers were able to swing and spin the older ball, a play-and-miss was the best they could achieve on a deteriorating pitch. It was the new ball, taken in the 82nd over, that brought the wicket of Amla, who fell for a sedate 71. Being overshadowed, and perhaps awed, by Kallis' performance, and finding it difficult to get the spinners away, Amla dealt mostly in singles but dispatched Rehman into the sighstcreen after he had managed to dry up the scoring.
With Kallis unbeaten on 118 overnight, and not having scored a double-century yet in his 107-Test career, a long day in the field looks on the cards for the home team while they rue the dropped catches and missed run-out opportunities.
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Pakistan v South Africa, 1st Test, Karachi, 4th day
Younis keeps Pakistan in the hunt
The Bulletin by Faras Ghani in Karachi
October 4, 2007
Pakistan 291 and 146 for 3 (Younis 93*, Iqbal 44, Steyn 2-44) need 278 runs to beat South Africa 450 and 264 for 7 dec (Kallis 100*, Prince 45, Rehman 4-105) Scorecard and ball-by-ball details How they were out
Younis Khan's aggressive unbeaten 93 off 99 balls has set up an intriguing final day's play in Karachi, with Pakistan requiring another 278 runs to win while South Africa need seven more wickets.
Riding on Jacques Kallis's second century of the match, South Africa set Pakistan a daunting target of 424. They got off to a good start as Mohammad Hafeez dragged an innocuous Dale Steyn delivery back onto his stumps in only the second over of the innings.
Younis Khan started off in an aggressive fashion, driving uppishly past point before leaning into an elegant cover drive. Although Salman Butt got out to a remarkable catch by Hashim Amla at short leg, the flow of runs failed to cease as Makhaya Ntini, who is yet to take a wicket in the match, was driven, flicked and caressed past wide mid-on for more boundaries by Younis.
As if not content with the conventional strokes, Younis, looking to decrease as much of the deficit as he could before close, reverse-swept Smith for consecutive boundaries before launching into a heave over midwicket for a six to bring up the century partnership. Faisal Iqbal, who started off quietly, got into the act as well with back-foot drives through midwicket as well as a few streaky strokes past slips. He fell to Paul Harris with only four overs of the day remaining but his 114-run partnership with Younis gives Pakistan a ray of hope.
It seemed impossible that Pakistan might even be contemplating victory when South Africa declared their innings after Kallis scored his 26th Test century and became only the fourth South African to score hundreds in each innings of a Test, and the first since Gary Kirsten.
Kallis' second-innings effort, a stubborn and flawless unbeaten 100, was in sharp contrast to his 155 in the first innings and took 201 balls. Mohammad Asif did not feature in the attack at all on the day and Umar Gul and Abdur Rehman opened the bowling for Pakistan. Kallis drove through cover and cut past backward point early on before settling down into taking singles and twos.
Although he lost Ashwell Prince early - playing a Danish Kaneria delivery onto his stumps - and AB de Villiers to a peach of a turner from Rehman, Kallis ensured a constant flow of runs. He was particularly severe on Kaneria, dispatching the short offerings to either side of the wicket. Kallis drove elegantly through extra cover to bring up his fifty just before lunch.
Rehman forced another breakthrough against the run of play as he tempted Mark Boucher, who stitched together a 88-run partnership with Kallis, into playing a slog sweep straight down the throat of long-on before Andre Nel provided a few fireworks while reaching his highest score in Test cricket.
Kallis had perhaps been asked to reach the milestone before tea, and launched into a massive heave over the long-off boundary - his first boundary in 55 balls - before taking four singles to reach his ton. On cue, Smith motioned to his batsmen from the dressing room.
Pakistan had yet another poor performance with the ball and in the field. Kaneria did manage to get a lot of turn but he strayed on both sides of the wicket and was either left alone or padded away. Gul, after bowling only three overs in the morning, returned with pace in his second spell but lacked penetration. Hafeez was used sparingly and rightly so as his innocuous turners only added to the scoring opportunities. Rehman, bowling 24 overs in the day, capped off a successful debut and his dismissal of de Villiers - ball pitching outside leg stump and turning viciously to hit off - will only strengthen his case to be a regular member of future teams.
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shahrukh khan said:
Pakistan v South Africa, 1st Test, Karachi, 4th day
Younis keeps Pakistan in the hunt
The Bulletin by Faras Ghani in Karachi
October 4, 2007
Pakistan 291 and 146 for 3 (Younis 93*, Iqbal 44, Steyn 2-44) need 278 runs to beat South Africa 450 and 264 for 7 dec (Kallis 100*, Prince 45, Rehman 4-105) Scorecard and ball-by-ball details How they were out
Younis Khan's aggressive unbeaten 93 off 99 balls has set up an intriguing final day's play in Karachi, with Pakistan requiring another 278 runs to win while South Africa need seven more wickets.
Riding on Jacques Kallis's second century of the match, South Africa set Pakistan a daunting target of 424. They got off to a good start as Mohammad Hafeez dragged an innocuous Dale Steyn delivery back onto his stumps in only the second over of the innings.
Younis Khan started off in an aggressive fashion, driving uppishly past point before leaning into an elegant cover drive. Although Salman Butt got out to a remarkable catch by Hashim Amla at short leg, the flow of runs failed to cease as Makhaya Ntini, who is yet to take a wicket in the match, was driven, flicked and caressed past wide mid-on for more boundaries by Younis.
As if not content with the conventional strokes, Younis, looking to decrease as much of the deficit as he could before close, reverse-swept Smith for consecutive boundaries before launching into a heave over midwicket for a six to bring up the century partnership. Faisal Iqbal, who started off quietly, got into the act as well with back-foot drives through midwicket as well as a few streaky strokes past slips. He fell to Paul Harris with only four overs of the day remaining but his 114-run partnership with Younis gives Pakistan a ray of hope.
It seemed impossible that Pakistan might even be contemplating victory when South Africa declared their innings after Kallis scored his 26th Test century and became only the fourth South African to score hundreds in each innings of a Test, and the first since Gary Kirsten.
Kallis' second-innings effort, a stubborn and flawless unbeaten 100, was in sharp contrast to his 155 in the first innings and took 201 balls. Mohammad Asif did not feature in the attack at all on the day and Umar Gul and Abdur Rehman opened the bowling for Pakistan. Kallis drove through cover and cut past backward point early on before settling down into taking singles and twos.
Although he lost Ashwell Prince early - playing a Danish Kaneria delivery onto his stumps - and AB de Villiers to a peach of a turner from Rehman, Kallis ensured a constant flow of runs. He was particularly severe on Kaneria, dispatching the short offerings to either side of the wicket. Kallis drove elegantly through extra cover to bring up his fifty just before lunch.
Rehman forced another breakthrough against the run of play as he tempted Mark Boucher, who stitched together a 88-run partnership with Kallis, into playing a slog sweep straight down the throat of long-on before Andre Nel provided a few fireworks while reaching his highest score in Test cricket.
Kallis had perhaps been asked to reach the milestone before tea, and launched into a massive heave over the long-off boundary - his first boundary in 55 balls - before taking four singles to reach his ton. On cue, Smith motioned to his batsmen from the dressing room.
Pakistan had yet another poor performance with the ball and in the field. Kaneria did manage to get a lot of turn but he strayed on both sides of the wicket and was either left alone or padded away. Gul, after bowling only three overs in the morning, returned with pace in his second spell but lacked penetration. Hafeez was used sparingly and rightly so as his innocuous turners only added to the scoring opportunities. Rehman, bowling 24 overs in the day, capped off a successful debut and his dismissal of de Villiers - ball pitching outside leg stump and turning viciously to hit off - will only strengthen his case to be a regular member of future teams.
ab pak ko Khuda ke baad younis, malik, misbah and akmal he bacha saktay hain....i hope they do...but chances kam hian...even if match end in draw that's also good
well, pak's team is pretty young so i guess they need time to groom
