Cricket Tournaments

There was a huge amount of hoopla leading up to the first test of the Idea Cup between India and hosts Bangladesh. From India’s loss in the recently concluded tri-series final against Sri Lanka, to Virender Sehwag’s comments that Bangladesh is an ‘ordinary’ team who cannot win because their bowlers can’t take 20 wickets.

Bangladesh had every right of believing that they can prove Sehwag wrong. And the first day itself lived up to all the hype when Shakib al Hasan, the Bangladesh skipper won the toss and elected to field first in murky conditions at Chittagong. Gautam Gambhir and the stand-in captain Sehwag were up for the opportunity to get India off to a flying start against an inexperienced Bangladeshi pace attack.

The Delhi duo put on 79 for the first wicket until Shakib al Hasan trapped Sehwag with a short delivery on the leg side only to be caught by Tamim Iqbal for a well-deserved and nearly a run-a-ball half century. The celebrations were wild among the Bangladesh players as the captain led from the front, anchoring an ‘ordinary’ bowling attack. Lanky fast bowler Shahadat Hossain then picked the wickets of Gambhir and Dravid in quick succession.

And when VVS Laxman and Yuvraj Singh fell cheaply to the superb bowling of the Bangladesh captain, the world’s No.1 Test team was reeling at 160/6 at tea on the first day with Sachin Tendulkar holding fort at 50 and Mishra who had just entered the crease following the wicket of the Indian wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik. Game on! Certainly, even after tea, there was no respite for the Indian batsman as the lower order crumbled like a pack of cards. Tendulkar batted exceptionally well to remain unbeaten on 76 as he ran out of partners from time to time.

On the next day, Tendulkar completed his 44th hundred in majestic fashion when he hit Shahadat Hossain, the tormentor-in-chief for two boundaries in a row. Yet Bangladesh had the upper hand in the game when India was bowled out for 243 with Tendulkar unbeaten, in what was perhaps one of his best hundreds away from home. Hossain along with Shakib al Hasan achieved five-wicket hauls in a bowling performance that proved that Bangladesh were no underdogs.

Bangladesh started off superbly with the openers Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes smashing the Indian bowlers to all parts of the ground and in the process, bringing up their 50-run partnership until Zaheer Khan struck with the wicket of Kayes who was out lbw for 23. He then bagged the wicket of Iqbal. It was then the turn of Ishant Sharma to do some major damage when he got the wicket of ICL returnee Shahriar Nafees cheaply as Day 2 ended.

Ishant on the next day continued the form he was in the previous day when he picked Mohd. Ashraful’s wicket. India was back in the game in style! Clearly, Bangladesh was losing its way like India did when Shakib al Hasan, who dazzled with the ball, fell for 17 and incidentally was caught by the Indian captain Virender Sehwag off Zaheer Khan’s bowling. After Raqibul Hasan fell of Sreesanth’s bowling, Bangladesh wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim and up-coming all-rounder Mahmudullah forged a 118 run partnership, bringing the hosts close to the Indian total.

However Indian leg-spinner Amit Mishra finished off the Bangladeshi tail. Bangladesh ended their first innings at 242, just a run behind India. A considerable improvement from a precarious position of 98/6 at one stage!

It was after tea on day 3 that India began their second innings. Once again, Gambhir and Sehwag gave India a good start until Sehwag fell for 45. However, this time there was no collapse as India batted merrily till the end of the day’s play with the scoreboard reading 122/1 with Amit Mishra in at No.3 as night-watchman. Day 4 clearly belonged to India as Mishra made a surprise half-century as well as an in-form Gambhir slamming 116 of just 129 balls, in the process scoring his 5th century in as many tests, and breaking Dravid’s record of 4 centuries in 4 Tests in 2002.

Unlike the first innings, Tendulkar didn’t have a great second innings when he was partly responsible in running out a well-set Dravid for 24 as well as he was given out lbw at 16 off Rubel Hossain’s bowling. However, teams around the world have discovered over the years that when one Indian batsman fails, usually the other stands up for him.

That’s exactly what Laxman did for Tendulkar’s failure. Laxman showed how vital he is for India’s batting when he scored 69 and remained not out till Sehwag decided to declare the innings at 413/8, a far better performance the second time around. The positive aspect about this innings was that the lower-order batted well. None of Bangladesh’s bowlers impressed, therefore making people believe that Sehwag was right in his perspective that their bowlers cannot take 20 opposition wickets, which defines the lowest-ranked test team.

Bangladesh had to chase a massive target of 415 to win the Test, which was near to impossible considering India’s potent bowling attack. Yet, the war of words continued between the two teams when Shakib al Hasan believed at the end of the 4th day’s play, that the target was achievable. Despite the fact that Bangladesh were reeling at 67/2 with Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma, continued from where they left off, picking early wickets.

On the final day, Tamim Iqbal showed the talent he possesses by smashing a valuable half-century until he played a silly attacking shot of the bowling of the Indian captain, giving an easy catch at first slip to Rahul Dravid, when there were just 8 minutes left before lunch. Thus Bangladesh suffered a major setback in their run-chase. Mohd Ashraful also looked promising and back in form, but Ishant made full use of the life in the pitch by bowling on good length outside the off-stump and as the ball hit Ashraful’s outside edge, Dravid accepted his second catch gleefully.

Shakib’s poor run with the bat continued when he was undone by a Amit Mishra delivery, helping Sehwag take a simple catch again at silly point, resulting in Bangladesh being in deep trouble at 145/6, with India needing just 4 wickets to win the Test. Mahmudullah and Shahadat Hossain lost their wickets due to poor footwork and shot selection, even as Mushfiqur Rahim was fighting hard at the other end.

Rahim, like Tendulkar in the first innings, was the lone warrior for Bangladesh as he didn’t get enough support from the tail enders and yet he scored his maiden test century. This century would be special for the Bangladeshi wicketkeeper as it was not only his 1st in test cricket, but also against the world’s best test side. The Indians had taunted him as ‘school-boy’ and how did he transform into a man!

Eventually, Bangladesh went on to lose by 113 runs with Rahim the last man out. It was a fighting effort which went down in vain. India would be happy with their team effort, yet their performance and their credibility as the world’s ‘numero uno’ team remains a lot to be desired.

After India’s win in the 1st Test at Chittagong, the action moves on to Mirpur at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium where the much anticipated 2nd Test is going to be played. The hosts would be looking forward to win this test to level the series while India would want to maintain their World No.1 ranking by taking the series 2-0.

On the first day, Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat first on a sporting wicket as well as under extreme sunshine, unlike Chittagong where conditions were extremely murky. So, Bangladesh had the opportunity to hit back hard on the Indians and exploit the conditions.

On the other hand, India will be boosted with the return of MS Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh from injuries. However, a big setback for India is that Laxman won’t be playing after he sustained an injury on his left hand during the first test. Sreesanth too has flown back home due to a thigh strain.

However, the momentum was surely on India’s side when Ishant Sharma continued his good form by getting opener Imrul Kayes out first ball. The following over saw Zaheer Khan pick Tamim Iqbal who went without scoring too, after a near to unplayable in-winger from the left-arm fast bowler. And soon later, Junaid Siddique who replaced Shahriar Nafees in this match, also lost his wicket to Zaheer and the score was pathetic, 13/3! In came Mohd.

Ashraful, who had been criticized prior to this Test for his poor form. He was under a lot of pressure, but took charge and went after the Indian bowling. In between, Raqibul Hasan’s poor form continued as he gave Ishant his second wicket and Dravid taking an easy catch of a lazy drive on the off-side.

In the process, Bangladesh were four down. And worse, Ashraful too lost his patience and looked to play yet another aggressive but risky shot, as a result getting stumped off the bowling of off-spinner Pragyan Ojha, smashing 39 runs off just 31 balls. As the Bangladeshi skipper Shakib-al-Hasan and wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim were batting, lunch was called with Bangladesh in dire straits at 84/5.

After lunch, to a certain extent, Shakib and Rahim resurrected Bangladesh with a vital 50-run partnership until Ishant Sharma bowled a ripper of a ball, in-swinging to get Rahim lbw for a solid 30. Ishant got his third wicket and was on fire when all-rounder Mahmudullah entered the crease.

He batted remarkably well even as Shakib got out playing a rash shot of Zaheer Khan’s bowling. At 127/7, Mahmudullah had to bat out of his skin to assure Bangladesh reaching a competitive total. And to a certain extent, he did help his team do extremely well as he remained unbeaten on 96, just 4 short of a maiden test hundred.

Some resistance from the low order helped Bangladesh reach 233, with Ishant, the star for the Indians, picking up as many as 4 wickets. Still, it was India who had the upper hand due to no time constraints for the Indians for batting and weather too wasn’t expected to be a problem.

As Gambhir and Sehwag walked out, the tension could be cut with a knife. Can India this time around tear apart the Bangladeshi bowling? The batting wasn’t so convincing at Chittagong, so Bangladesh were in with a chance if they get early wickets. However, at stumps on the first day, India were 69/0 in just 12.5 overs with Sehwag in a usual attacking mode.

The start was ideal as Gambhir played well enough to stay in the hunt for bringing up his 6th century in 6 Tests. The man who has averaged close to 77 since 2008 was determined enough to get to Sir Donald Bradman’s record, even as Sehwag was given out of a good delivery by Shahadat Hossain, who ripped apart the Indian batting line up in the first test.

However, Gambhir was undone by a short delivery from the 2-Test old Shaiful Islam, and was caught by wicket-keeper Rahim for 69. Sehwag too got out in similar fashion, thus both the openers were back in the pavilion. Unfortunately, Gambhir missed out on a record hundred, yet added another half-century to his impressive tally of runs in the last two years.

The score was 130/2 when Tendulkar arrived at the crease. And thus came the marathon partnership. Both the batsmen have nearly 25000 runs between each other in test cricket and are the bulwarks of Indian cricket as they have carried the team forward to some famous victories. And today, was yet another day when the two put up a huge 222-run partnership, battering Bangladesh completely.

The Bangladesh attack, for the first time in the series looked toothless as well as hopeless. Dravid, returning to his best scored a cracking nelson, i.e., 111 before he went retired hurt after being hit on his jaw by a short Shaiful Islam delivery. Whereas Sachin Tendulkar registered his second century of the series with an exceptional 143, before some clever bowling on the leg-stump by the Bangladeshi skipper sent him packing.

But when will Tendulkar’s hunger for runs and making records come to an end? He scored his 45th century which was the highlight of the day as he has now gone 6 ahead of Ponting. Surprisingly, he also surpassed Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene by scoring 5 centuries against Bangladesh in test cricket, whereas Jayawardene has scored 4.

Coming back to the match, Dravid’s injury helped Bangladesh to fight their way back into the game as they were able to dismiss a well-set Murali Vijay for just 30. Vijay replaced Laxman for this game and clearly at that stage, Laxman’s experience could have helped. Especially when its known that Laxman and Tendulkar put up big partnerships more often than not. Bangladesh could celebrate with the wicket of Harbhajan Singh on the last ball of the day by the skipper yet again, leaving Dhoni stranded at 22.

Day 3 is expected to be a thriller as Bangladesh cannot breathe easy due to the possibility of Yuvraj Singh joining the Indian captain at the crease. Rahul Dravid too, could come out to bat. What would be interesting at this stage is the timing of Dhoni’s declaration which could give India’s bowlers ample of time to bowl out the Bangladeshis and win comprehensively 2-0. So, its clearly India whos on the drivers seat in the game.

The 2000’s saw the value of the finger spinner dipping especially of those who couldn’t bowl the one that goes the other way on in other words the “doosra”. Ironically, two of the top wicket takers of the world (2009) in Nathan Hauritz and Graeme Swann are traditional off-spinners who both can’t bowl the doosra.

Nathan Hauritz topped the off-spinners charts in the One-day arena and was the third highest wicket taker in ODI’s in 2009. He took 35 wickets in 30 matches at an economy rate of 4.30. A more then acceptable performance considering cricketing experts like boycott made comments like “It wasn’t an off-spinner. Hauritz doesn’t look like he could bowl my mum out, then he gets the best batsman out”.

This was after Hauritz got pietersen sweeping in the first Ashes test match at Cardiff (2009). It took time coming but Hauritz took his first five wicket hall in the Boxing Day test in 2009. He soon followed it with another. Hauritz is the one of those hand-made spinners and not the ready-made machine ones. He has just his stock ball which is his off break and a quicker one in his repertoire. However, Hauritz is big asset lies in his trajectory. He prides himself on his flight and drift. Hauritz remains a fierce competitor.

One of the matches where one got to see this was in the final of Champions league T20. In spite of being hit for six the previous ball; Hauritz still flighted the ball to Big hitting Kieron Pollard who miscued it to long on. The wicket proved to be decisive in determining the champion. Hauritz had won NSW the Champions league. Simon Katich later lauded Hauritz’s efforts and bravery “It was probably the gutsiest thing I’ve ever seen on a cricket field from a spinner after he’s been hit probably 150 meters into the stands. He tossed it up, gave it some air and he got the result”.

Hauritz has truly become an essential member of the Australian unit in all three forms of the game. From a situation of ‘lack of options’ Hauritz has clearly come to a pass of ‘need’.

Graeme Swann, the poms new spin sensation has been no different if not better. He was the highest wicket taker in tests amongst the spinners (2009) and the second highest overall. He grabbed 54 scalps at 27.92 in 12 matches. Graeme Swann’s major rise to fame started in the Windies, but it was not before the Ashes that he began to raise eyebrows.

He too, like Hauritz doesn’t have a doosra, however Swann has a very good ‘slider’ often tough to pick and has accounted for many. Swann like Hauritz made his international debut a while ago but it took the duo time to settle into international cricket. Often the joker in the lot, Swann enjoys the willow in the hand too with a healthy average of 32 in tests.
Clearly, there’s room for the traditionalists and the finger spinners in international cricket.

Victoria re-proved their credentials as the best twenty 20 outfit in their country by winning their 4th KFC twenty 20 big bash title. Victoria have 4 out of the 5 editions of the title. The achieved the 4th by completing a 48 run victory over the South-Australian Red Backs on Saturday.

Earlier in the day, the bushrangers skipper David Hussey had won the toss and elected to bat at the Adelaide oval. The Victorians were going nowhere until Aaron Finch decided to cut lose in the 4th over.

Finch had been given a chance when he was bowled by Shaun Tait of a no-ball. He capitalized on that chance and went on to make a 34 ball 47. Just when Victoria threatened to take the game away the Red backs broke through letting no major partnership to form. In fact at the 15 over mark the Red backs were bossing the game with the bushrangers at a 109 for 5.

The Red backs were doing the bowling bit right—they almost had one hand on the title. However, it was not to be as Aiden Blizzard had other ideas. The south paw hammered the South Australian bowlers all around the park. He scored 42 of 19 balls including 3 fours and 3 huge sixes at a strike rate of 221.

The left arm spinner Aaron O’Brien was easily the Red backs best bowler with figures of 4-0-26-3. He came on in the power play and struck with his third ball when he had Hodge caught and bowled. He accounted for McDonald and Wade too. The Victorians at the end of their 20 Overs managed a more then respectable score of 166.

South Australia were behind the eight ball right from the start of their innings when they lost their captain Graham Manou for a duck (first ball of the innings) to Nannes. The Victorians quietened the crowd even more after Harris fell to Pattinson caught at midwicket.

South Australia were reeling at 13 for 3. But, it couldn’t be all over, could it especially with ‘cash-rich’ Pollard still to come. Pollard and Cosgrove did put on a decent stand but once that was broken it was curtains.

Although Pollard did flex a muscle or two it was all too late in the bargain and he holed out to David Hussey at the deep midwicket boundary who took a splendid catch. He took the ball above his head running backwards. He knew he was going to touch the rope and showed admirable presence of mind tossed the ball up regained his poise and took the catch. South Australia finished at 118 of their 20 Overs.

Both teams were missing key players due to international commitments. Victoria had managed to win without their regular skipper Cameron White who was on international duties and Shane Harwood. On the other hand the South Australian Red Backs were without their leg-spinning Pakistani all rounder Shahid Afridi. The Bushrangers have managed to win 4 out of the five editions. One going- to the New South Wales Blues.

Cameron White

Start of season, Australia back in green and gold—more green then gold. 1st ODI of the summer. Pakistan VS Australia at the wooloongabba. Pakistan for a change won the toss and decided to bat. They were off to a rollicking start. Kamran Akmal and Salman Butt got off to an explosive start.

They put on 62 before Akmal was foxed by a Watson slower one. In came Younis Khan; his first international game in about three months and understandably he looked scratchy. Salman Butt took off from where Kamran Akmal left off and was soon the aggressor. He pulled, made room and smashed ‘em over cover all be it with a streak of luck—Butt was taking the attack to the Aussies.

Finally, Ponting brought on Bollinger back who was hustling in. He banged one in and Butt miscued the pull which went straight up in the air to be caught by Haddin. Bollinger accounted for Yousuf as well when he bowled a brilliant short delivery which bounced over chest height from just at good length.

Yousuf defended it; the ball bounced behind him and was bowled. Quite a dismissal! Umar Akmal looked in splendid form before he played a lose shot outside the off-stump and was taken by Haddin. Soon, wickets fell quickly and Pakistan were at 227 for 7 struggling to make it to 250. However, Afridi had other ideas. He smashed the ball to all parts of the ground. His 26 ball 48 consisted of 3 sixes and 5 fours. His cameo enabled Pakistan to reach a sizeable total of 274.

Australia were hit hard early by Mohd Aamer who bowled a brut of a delivery to Shane Watson. Australia were soon reduced to 37 for 2 and then 84 for 3 with no major contributions from the top 3. Pakistan were bossing it. Cameron white, the blonde bombshell from Victoria came in and along with Michael Clarke put on a 102 run stand bringing Australia right back into the contest.

Clarke eventually fell for 58 run out by Rana Naved. But, there was no stopping white as he continued on his merry ways. At the 40th over mark Australia still needed 75 of 60. Pakistan could still make a match of it. The next over by Afridi changed the course of the match. The over went 1, 6, 6, 6, 1, 1.

Ferocious hitting by White! Absolutely Brilliant! His first six was a waft over mid wicket. His second was another swing towards cow-corner (a very flat one). The third, best of the lot—took it from length and hammered it over the straight long on boundary. It was the flattest of the flattest—not more than 10 feet above the ground. The equation was simple then 54 of 54. Australia cruised home with Cameron White (105) getting to his second ODI century (1st at home). Michael Hussey yet another not out to him and more importantly yet another victory for Australia.

It’s been over 100 years since the game’s inception—a lot has changed. The game has swayed from bowlers to batsmen. Some of the factors deciding this could be:

Placid wickets: Flat decks are found in most stadiums across the world. This is due to the commercialization of the game as people like to see more runs scored. As the era has moved on, we see a gradual change from uncovered to covered pitches. In the times of English opener Geoffrey Boycott, the pitches were uncovered thus making batting extremely difficult.

However, in the recent era, pitches are covered to protect from adverse weather conditions. A stat to confirm the above – in the 1990’s, only Sachin Tendulkar, Steve Waugh, Brian Lara and XYZ averaged over 50 after playing 20 Tests where as in the 2000’s there’s been a increased rise in the number of batsmen averaging over 50.

Rules:
In order to help batsman take advantage of the new ball, the ICC, after the 1983 World Cup, introduced field restrictions which basically meant that only two fielders would be allowed outside the 30-yard circle for the first 15 Overs. This was tweaked a little when in 2005 when the power-plays were introduced which is an extended version of the field restrictions.

One bouncer per over: To add to this, in 1992, in order to control the aggressive nature of the bowlers, the ICC introduced the one bouncer per over rule. Not a very famous rule amongst the commoners, the ICC had banned bouncers for a 7 year period. However, they re-instated the rule. Thank goodness for that!

Free hit: The inception of the free hit in 2007 just after the Twenty-20 World Cup only added to the agony of the bowlers. Yet, another rule in favour of the batsmen. The free hit means that if the bowler oversteps, the batsman has an opportunity to play a big shot without any fear of being given out. The only possible way of getting out is a run-out. And worse, one run is already added to the batting team’s total (no ball).

Equipments: One of the ongoing issues that has sparked off a debate amongst experts being the size of the cricket bat. Bat widths seem to be growing year after year. The fact of the matter being if that can happen; then why can’t something be done to the 5 and a half ounce cherry. Why isn’t the ball made smaller/lighter? Why favour the batsmen?
The ICC is still to answer this.

Ground sizes: Grounds in South Africa, West Indies and New Zealand are too small in size thus leaving the bowlers with no margin for error.

One of the major reasons to this (batting friendly game) is the sponsors. Take for case Test cricket. The sponsors in order to fill in maximum commercial slots try and take the game to 5 days which doesn’t happen on a green wicket. The ICC needs to take heed of this and make cricket a contest between bat and ball and not a ‘video game’.

Australia went into the series on a high after a not dominating but convincing display against the West- Indies. Another toss to Ponting and predictably Australia chose to bat. Australia amassed a massive 454 in good time with the top 6 all contributing.

“The nearly man” (Watson) was again nearly there (century) but missed out again due to some lack luster running falling for 93. Ponting set up an aggressive declaration at 454 keeping in mind the abilities of his bowlers. Pakistan in their first innings were bundled out for 258 barely avoiding the follow on.

They struggled to build regular partnerships not just through the match but throughout the series. In Australia’s second innings the inevitable finally happened Watson got to a century all be it after being dropped on 99; nevertheless he did.

He was the only contributor in the Australian innings and Ponting declared at 225 thus setting up Pakistan 422 to win.

Pakistan were off to a decent start and ended day 4 at 170 for 3 with Skipper Mohd Yousuf at the crease along with young gun Umar Akmal. They were just 252 away from what seemed the impossible—and so it turned out to be as Mitchell Johnson ripped the heart out of the Pakistan batting order by getting rid of Umar Akmal and Misbah-ul haq.

Pakistan were reeling at 170 for 5. Nathan Hauritz made quick work of it and mopped up the tail with his first five-for.

Australia didn’t put a foot wrong throughout the test match. They had won convincingly again by a 170 runs.

Australia VS Pakistan: 2nd test Match

New Year Test and Ponting had won the toss and chosen to bat on an overcast morning at the SCG. It was a gamble which didn’t pay off. Mohd Asif had surely woken up the right side of the bed that morning. Australia were bowled out for a 127 in under 45 Overs. Asif had 6.

In their first innings Pakistan managed 333 with their top 5 all making sizeable contributions. Australia displayed a much better effort in their second innings making 381. At the end of day 3 it was Pakistan’s game.

Australia resumed day 4 at 286 for 8 with Siddle and Hussey at the crease. The duo put on 123 for the 9th wicket giving the Aussie bowlers 176 runs to play with. Australia had fought back—but it was still to be Pakistan, rite?

If you give Australia an inch—they will grab it, and so they did! In a small run chase Pakistan were off to a good start at 34 for no loss. Bollinger got the first break through—Farhat had gone. Iqbal and Butt followed suit as Johnson knocked off to in an over—one of ‘em brilliantly taken by Brad Haddin.

Nathan Hauritz took a splendid return catch of Yousuf. Umar Akmal too tried to hoick at one only to be caught by Johnson. That was indeed the final nail in the coffin. Australia had again come out on top.

Truly, it was a combination of Pakistan failure and Australian brilliance.

After the Sydney fiasco Pakistan had rung in a lot of changes. It was “just the usual” in the Pakistan camp with controversies over the selection of keeper-batsman Sarfraz Ahmed.

The board sent Sarfraz Ahmed and was staunch on their stance of wanting him to play. Meanwhile, Mohd Yousuf was in full favour of Kamran Akmal playing. As it panned out Akmal was left out leaving Ahmed to make his debut.

For the third time in a row Ponting won the toss and chose to bat again. Critics questioned whether Ponting was still good enough to bat at number three.

Only Ponting was confident in his abilities and a day prior to the test spoke out and maintained he is still the best batsman at 3 in his country. Ponting was having one of his worst home seasons.

He was about to change all of that. Australia lost Katich pretty early in the piece. In came Ponting; a wonderful reception from his home crowd.

Mohd Asif bowled a pretty decent bouncer to Ponting early on only to be dropped by Mohd Aamer at fine leg. Ponting had – had his moment. This was it.

His first fifty was one of the worst one could see Ponting at; nudges plays and misses and also getting hit on the head by an Umar Gul bouncer. Ponting survived all of that.

He then looked as flawless as ever. The drives were back, the pull was back—RICKY PONTING WAS BACK! Ponting went on to score a critic answering 209. He added 300+ with Michael Clarke who hit 166. Australia declared at 519.

Pakistan were off to a decent start before Farhat poked at one away from his body. Pakistan then lost 3 quick wickets and were left reeling at 84 for 4. Salman Butt (102) and Shoaib Malik made (58) the only sizeable contributions as Pakistan were bowled out for 301.

Katich made up for his first innings score by registering his 9th test match century. Ponting too resumed from where he left off in the first innings and the duo set Pakistan a target of 438. Pakistan collapsed for 206 with Khurram Manzoor making 77.

Australia had ended another season on a high.
5 wins out of 6 test matches—pretty satisfying. They would be hoping to replicate the same next time they are back on home shores.

What can Pakistan take out of this series?

Pakistan’s new found youngsters—Umar Akmal and Mohd Aamer—Umar Akmal confirmed in Australia –the trailer (in New Zealand) that his movie was to be a box office hit. On the other hand Mohd Aamer seems to be improving with every match and “fall”!
Pakistan have found back the old Mohd Asif. He is back to his swinging best and put on display a wonderful spell of bowling at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Pakistan seem to have found a steady opening partnership at last in Salman Butt and Imran Farhat.
Note: Pakistan could surely do without their careless running.