cricketjoshila
Test Captain
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2011
- Runs
- 47,985
- Post of the Week
- 1
After Pakistan were once again "Herathed", Posters on PP got down to the usual banter, Point scoring and in some cases wrist slitting.I will admit that yours truly was also involved in some.But in all this we may have all forgotten what a remarkable test match this was.
Coming to "Fortress UAE" a Lankan team, thats had just lost 9-0 to India at home was expected to just roll over.It had been labelled as mediocre and the entire selection committee had resigned.Few days before the test they lost Angelo Matthews.
The test match started and soon Lanka were 60 odd for 3 and people just expected them to collapse.They didnot.First Karunaratne and Chandimal and then Chandimal and Dickwella steadied the ship and took Sri Lanka to 419.Dinesh Chandimal, a man who was widely believed to be the heir to the throne of Jayawardena and Sangakkara, showed glimpses of his ability which is undeniable, but so is his inconsistency. His 155 was instrumental in getting Sri Lanka to 419.
In reply, Pakistan began solidly ending the day with 64 for no loss.The next day they reached 100 for no loss and then went onto play excruciatingly slow to end the day at 221 for 4, with Azhar Ali still holding fort. Pakistan lost a flurry of wickets and was staring at a first innings deficit before the debutant Haris Sohail guided the tail and took Pakistan to a slender first innings lead.A few lusty blows from Hassan Ali helped the cause.A certain HMRKB Herath had silently taken a fifer.
By the time Sri Lanka finshed the 4th day it was evident that the pitch was turning, not alarmingly, but still turning. Sri Lanka were cleaned up by Yasir Shah on day 5. The recently declared "fit" leg spinner ran through the Sri Lankan side picking a fifer, only Dickwella showed any resistance to his magic.
Pakistan were expected to chase down the paltry total, with the pitch still not doing anything alarming. Sami Aslam went first, falling to Herath. Azhar Ali inexplicably fell to the "Fast Bowling" of Lakmal on a 5th day pitch in UAE.Shan Masood fidegeted for a while before falling to one of the Perera's from a long list of Perera's from Sri Lanka.Babar Azam also fell to Perera, convincing many that he may not be a "Test Batsman" yet. Asad Shafiq once again showed why the logic of picking him actually defies logic. Sarfaraz Khan and Haris Sohail steadied the ship and slowly took Pakistan towards the target.Then, to put it in the words of a certain Australian cricketer Sarfaraz had a brain freeze,he went down the pitch and got himself stumped. Pakistan were staring down the barrel. Once Haris Sohail lost his wicket to Perera,it was all lost.
Pakistan lost the test by 21 runs.Their first in Abu Dhabi. A "mediocre" side had suddenly sent a message of competence. A star batsman has shown why he was considered a "Rising Star" and why he isnt a lost cause yet. A debutant making his return to cricket after a long injury lay off at almost 29 justified his selection. Two spinners, whose abdominal girth may have made a lot of news recently, showed that while fitness is important, its not everything. Above All dont forget that he may be 39, but you can still be HERATHED.
Lets enjoy this buffet of cricket performances that this test match has served us.
Coming to "Fortress UAE" a Lankan team, thats had just lost 9-0 to India at home was expected to just roll over.It had been labelled as mediocre and the entire selection committee had resigned.Few days before the test they lost Angelo Matthews.
The test match started and soon Lanka were 60 odd for 3 and people just expected them to collapse.They didnot.First Karunaratne and Chandimal and then Chandimal and Dickwella steadied the ship and took Sri Lanka to 419.Dinesh Chandimal, a man who was widely believed to be the heir to the throne of Jayawardena and Sangakkara, showed glimpses of his ability which is undeniable, but so is his inconsistency. His 155 was instrumental in getting Sri Lanka to 419.
In reply, Pakistan began solidly ending the day with 64 for no loss.The next day they reached 100 for no loss and then went onto play excruciatingly slow to end the day at 221 for 4, with Azhar Ali still holding fort. Pakistan lost a flurry of wickets and was staring at a first innings deficit before the debutant Haris Sohail guided the tail and took Pakistan to a slender first innings lead.A few lusty blows from Hassan Ali helped the cause.A certain HMRKB Herath had silently taken a fifer.
By the time Sri Lanka finshed the 4th day it was evident that the pitch was turning, not alarmingly, but still turning. Sri Lanka were cleaned up by Yasir Shah on day 5. The recently declared "fit" leg spinner ran through the Sri Lankan side picking a fifer, only Dickwella showed any resistance to his magic.
Pakistan were expected to chase down the paltry total, with the pitch still not doing anything alarming. Sami Aslam went first, falling to Herath. Azhar Ali inexplicably fell to the "Fast Bowling" of Lakmal on a 5th day pitch in UAE.Shan Masood fidegeted for a while before falling to one of the Perera's from a long list of Perera's from Sri Lanka.Babar Azam also fell to Perera, convincing many that he may not be a "Test Batsman" yet. Asad Shafiq once again showed why the logic of picking him actually defies logic. Sarfaraz Khan and Haris Sohail steadied the ship and slowly took Pakistan towards the target.Then, to put it in the words of a certain Australian cricketer Sarfaraz had a brain freeze,he went down the pitch and got himself stumped. Pakistan were staring down the barrel. Once Haris Sohail lost his wicket to Perera,it was all lost.
Pakistan lost the test by 21 runs.Their first in Abu Dhabi. A "mediocre" side had suddenly sent a message of competence. A star batsman has shown why he was considered a "Rising Star" and why he isnt a lost cause yet. A debutant making his return to cricket after a long injury lay off at almost 29 justified his selection. Two spinners, whose abdominal girth may have made a lot of news recently, showed that while fitness is important, its not everything. Above All dont forget that he may be 39, but you can still be HERATHED.
Lets enjoy this buffet of cricket performances that this test match has served us.
