Pakistan vs Sri Lanka: Match Reports

re: Bader

Again and again I ask Pakistani cricket to stop being so India fixated. You do say Asian cricket, but I know exactly what you mean.

I would like to add that Chaudhry Wasim Akram has accomplished what no one else in the world (not just Asian) has done. (of course it depends on how you look at stats)

He is the only man to claim hat-tricks in Tests and ODIs

other stats include:
Wasim Akram yet again claimed a Test hat-trick. In the last Test match at Lahore he had became the 22nd bowler to do so. Now here at Dhaka he claimed Test cricket`s 25th hat-trick.

Wasim now becomes the only third bowler after Australians Hugh Trumble (in 1901-02 and 1903-04) and Jimmy Matthews (in the 1912 Triangular Tournament) to do so on two occasions in Test history. Just for the record, Matthews did so in the same match and in the same afternoon, although in seperate innings.

Wasim Akram (378 wickets) at the end of the match, has moved to the fifth position among Test cricket`s all-time wicket-takers. He moved ahead of West Indian Malcolm Marshall (376 wickets).

And to think of it. He is diabetic and takes 3 shots of insulin to remain match fit !!
That 5 step run-up, well well well

IMO, Imran and Miandad (though great in their own right) are diefied in Pak, simply because they have had some superlative performances against India. Akram, on the other hand, peaked when Indo-Pak Test cricket was not allowed. However, his record clearly shows he is the best bowler Pak has ever produced. His contribution in WC92 cannot be overlooked. Even now Pak`s chances for WC99 are buoyed by his current form (has he ever been out of form !!)

Re: ALL

It is mystery of Pakistani people that we dont appreciate the talent we have in PK cricket team.

We did this all time great Javed Miandad and once again doing the same thing with Wasim Akram.

No doubt, he is one who can bring the glory of world cup again to Pakistan, but he needs atleast some appreciation and support from his people and board.

We hate him in 1992 world cup for whatever reasons(I dont wanna repeat em), but now we should give him enough support tp produce some good results and pray he dont get unfit in or before the world cup 1999.

re: Faraz
CHeck out www.rediff.com. Prem Panicker has finally posted a match report. He describes the hat-trick and other events. Some incredible stuff.

Re: Rana

Funny yaar no article on Akram`s incredible feat. (I won`t say anything about his peaking and the world cup being just around the corner). We have seen articles on Imran and Miandad on chowk, but Akram will prove to be the most valuable one of all in the end. Cementing the greatness that Imran and Miandad created.

Bring on the next victim!

re: all
Amazing !! The best bowler Pakistan has ever produced is making history. And there is not one article on it.
Can I conclude that most Pakistani cricket fans are so fixated with India that they only follow Pak cricketers when they play India ?
Akram is the most succeful bowler ever for Pakistan in both forms of the game. In ODI he is the most succeful bowler in the world by miles !!
He has just created history with 2 hat-tricks in two Tests !!!!!!!! He is peaking again at 32. I don`t remember him ever being out of form, just out the team. Even in those years he was out of the Pak team he wreaked havoc in the English county. That blistering pace, variation, complete mastery over the ball and that too with his astounding 5 step run-up. ....and no it can`t all be attributed to the cream on his face !
I saw the first hat-trick. The third wicket was shear black magic. Can`t believe a ball could do soooooooo much in the air, off the pitch and then (I swear !!!) go right through the bat.
I missed this hat-trick (I was out skiing).
Even Prem Panicker on www.rediff.com has not produced a match report yet, describing the hat-trick. But guys please do check out the article `The agony of being Wasim Akram` which adds that special Mumbai masala to the exploits and stature of Akram.

Mofeez:

I wish you`d have written about the final daily. You were wrong, after stumps at Day 3 following Pakistan`s massive first innings score, Wasim got another hatrick. Pakistan should win this one on day 4 by an innings margin + some runs to spare.

Exciting for paki Cric fans? You bettcha. Batsmen

coming back into form is good news. Wasim`s repeat feat, is icing on the cake.

The Dhaka final is as good as over. Sri Lanka
need a miracle at this point to avoid a loss.
Pakistan has this cup in the bag.

Ras

re: aziz786

I do contract/project work. I am required to be at the client site about 3 days a week. My current client is a 15 min walk away from home. Needless to say I end up staying at home till they demand I come in. Also the work entails 24hr call/support so a lot of times when these matches are on I am at home doing work. I have really gotten lucky with this. Of course, when matches are on (especially India games) the quality of work suffers.
However, I need this to end before WC99 starts.

Rana Jee,

How do you manage to get the time to watch these matches live on TV? Do you work? Do you live with parents?. Aiy raaz kee aiy?

I think chowk should come up with a special WC99 discussion corner. FOrum wich waddi gandh hondi hai, so WC99 gets drowned out.

re: SS
Yaar I wanted SRT to lead for the WC99. But recently he himself has said he doesn`t want it yet, and he wants to concentrate on his individual performance. So be it. He has now gone to England for some recurring back problems, hope he stays there and gets used to the conditions. In all likelihood he will miss the upcoming triangular tournament.

Therefore, the other default choice is still Azza. THere is nobody else to lead yet. Lets see what the tirangular tournament throws up. Azza is under a lot of pressure to deliver with the bat. he would even find it hard to hold onto his middle order position if he wasn`t captain. In England he (plays off his backfoot a lot) never really does well. But Sharjah maybe a different story.

regards

RanaRansher:

You, lucky you :=) Watching cricket in America is such a feast. I better get rid of my DSS and go for the DISH.

Yes, it is tragic to see the great West Indians turn to dust. I think Lara should not be captain. In my opinion therein lies the problem. Lara does not bring the team together. What the WIndians need is a good spanking; maybe King Richards can make a comeback. The way they are crumbling has more to do with off-field issues. I am not willing to believe that McGrath and Co. are unplayable.

On a different but related note. Do you want SRT to captain India?

re: SS
Actually nowadays at night I watch the WI vs AUS test match. The Pak-SL was a total `tu chal mein aaya affair`.

Being a big Windies fan, I feel terrible. Their pace bolwing dept is still lethal (although no new talent seems to be replacing Walsh or Ambrose) but their batting dept is in real trouble. Besides Lara and Chanderpaul there seems to be no one else. A lot of the batsman simply lack technique. Inept batting. Very pedestrian at Test level.
Lets see if they choke up for the WC. Their bowling even in the WC99 will be lethal, though. Walsh and Ambrose are English county work horses.

We all need to remind ourselves that this is the same team which made the finals in the mini-World cup at Dhaka.

I guess the Asian Chanpionship is only of interest to the Dhaka fans :=)

Anyone out there following the WI vs Australia series? WI bowled out for 51 in 19 overs [lowest ever score by WI]!!! Australia wins the test by 300+ runs. Sad, sad, very sad.

re: afrasiyab on Dhaka fans

Most Dhaka fans are extremely passionate about sport, particularly cricket. They are at times as passionate as their Calcutta counter-parts ;-), although a lot of the rowdy behaviour has been seen vis-a-vis soccer games.
Regarding cricket. They support any sub-continent team against anybody else. Any team against England. They pick India over SriLanka, Pakistan over Sri lanka. When it comes to Indo-Pak cricket you see TWO DISTINCT VIEWS. One pro-India and one pro-Pakistan. Also individual stars are extremely popular. People like Ganguly, Azhar, Akram, SRT, Jadeja, Afridi are household names. India and Pakistan have had some really good ODIs in Dhaka.
They mostly all hate the name of the stadium being called Banga-Bandhu (which literally means Brother of the Bengali). This was the title given to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who is hailed as the Father of the Nation but despised for the supposed corruption he brought along with him. His daughter, Sheikh Hassina, is the current PM who changed the name from `National Stadium`.

The above GENERALIZATIONS are based on spending 2 years in Dhaka and watching all night Test Cricket in NYC`s Bangladeshi joints on a regular basis.


PS Club cricket is really big in Dhaka. It is the most lucrative league cricket one can play in the sub-continent. Each team is allowed 4 international players and a lot of Indians, Paks, Kenyans play in these leagues.

re: Mofeez
Good to see your reports again. I was beginning to wonder.

Very interesting to note a rather refreshing view on the proceedings in Lahore. The TV commentators were obviously bored and severely criticized the ATC point system. Rameez, Shastri and Sikander Bakht kept going on about how the game is going on according to Akram`s (very astute, according to Gavaskar) gameplan where Pak have chosen Lanka for the final. Especially, when right after Lanka got the 282 required Akram came back and wrecked the Lanka innings with that brilliant display of his craft. Till then he had only bowled 5 overs in the whole game.

Anyway, keep the reports coming. Even if Lanka and Pakistan are playing the final. Look forward to more. Plus there is a lot more cricket to come this spring.

regards
RanaRansher

Contrary to Mofeez`s expectations, i believe we have a real game on our hands. With SriLanka needing 325 to win with ten wickets in hand on day 5. Day 4 at stumps they were 60/0 after 14 overs. They may surprise Pakistan yet by going for ALL the runs. Should be an exciting last day`s play.

I think the Dhaka crowd with be pro-Pakistan if it is an India-Pakistan final, but will cheer for both SriLanka & Pakistan if they play in the final. A good ground for Pakistan to take the trophy at, and gear up to take the world cup.

OMAR

Good to see you back Mofeez,

After the third day, I think if Pakistan wants to make this match decisive they can do that by posting a 450+ target for Sri Lanka. They are 149 for no loss. Even if they took half a day tommorrow, they can score another 250+ to challenge Sri Lanka. I think they should win this going into the final. Does anyone know what the fans in Dhaka are like? Do they hate Pakistanis. I would imagine they do and rightfully so, but maybe they don`t.

Appears to be smooth sailing for Pakistan with
all 10 wickets in hand. Lanka need to chase a
450 plus to be out of this game.
The final at Dhaka will be much more interesting.

Ras