Rain and bad light sees less than 20 overs bowled on Day 2, Sri Lanka 263/6 against Pakistan

[Xoib]

If Shanwari can't do donkey work why is he in the team?

 

[amvbfm]

Err....what is Azhar trying to do here? I am sure the pacers wouldn't have gotten tired bowling 4 extra overs (i am assuming they will take the new ball at 80 and that's when the pacers will come back on)

 

[arehaan]

Err....what is Azhar trying to do here? I am sure the pacers wouldn't have gotten tired bowling 4 extra overs (i am assuming they will take the new ball at 80 and that's when the pacers will come back on)

I cant believe how dum can one get

 

[JibranAnsari]

has the new ball been taken?

 

[topspin]

Bad for Pakistan that the playing conditions are not adverse enough to stop play for the rest of the day.

 

[shah_1]

Lol Azhar with no 3rd slip

 

[emranabbas]

has the new ball been taken?

Yes it has after some drama

 

[Boi]

What’s the point taking the new ball if you not going to have a full slip cordon? Absolute numpty this guy.

 

[Markhor]

Worst captain since MoYo.

 

[Abdullah719]

What a captain

 

[minamino]

Worst captain since MoYo.

since Misbah*

 

[KingKhanXi]

Pakistan has to hope for more rain to be saved from embarrassment. More lost over means they have to play less in 4th innings. SL has two spinners.

 

[shah_1]

Wonderful bowling Naseem

 

[emranabbas]

Sri Lanka in ODI mode lol

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Shaheen is class!

Edit: Naseem doing pretty well too!

 

[KingKhanXi]

SL knew they have already enough runs for pakistan.

 

[emranabbas]

Pak won't be able rotate strike like Sri Lanka

 

[m.awais]

Wickets are very important with second new ball

 

[emranabbas]

Wicket

 

[shah_1]

Wicket

Shahbash Shaheen

 

[shah_1]

Shaheen will be world class bowler

 

[m.shah]

Is Azhar the worst captain Pakistan ever had?

 

[Abdullah719]

Shaheen has been consistently swinging the new ball into the right-hander in this innings.

 

[shah_1]

Shaheen has become potent since bringing the ball back to right handers

 

[minamino]

Is Azhar the worst captain Pakistan ever had?

Give him pre-banned Ajmal and YK. He wouldn't be worse than Misbah

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Afridi is bowling superbly. The scary thing is I don't think he's anywhere near his best either.

 

[Boi]

Shaheen has been consistently swinging the new ball into the right-hander in this innings.

[MENTION=1269]Bewal Express[/MENTION]

 

[Fahdi]

Don't worry about getting driven Naseem. Keep at it!

 

[Fahdi]

With the ball swinging this much why isn't there a 3rd slip?!?!!

 

[Mueez]

Shaheen has learned to swing the ball towards a right-hander.

We have two potentially world-class bowlers, we have to be careful with these youngsters...

 

[ARK Rafay]

2:30 pm local time and it's bad light. Salute to PCB for arranging test match in Rawalpindi at this season

 

[Xoib]

Afridi is bowling superbly. The scary thing is I don't think he's anywhere near his best either.

Yes his lengths are too short for test cricket once he starts hitting the hard good length he will pick wickets in clusters

 

[Fahdi]

Bad light stops play.... Damn annoying!

 

[Omer2002]

honestly just when it was getting interesting....bad light seriously...how and why...

 

[Xoib]

Naseem big problem right now is one four ball every over mohd sami never got over this problem so could never amount to anything Naseem has to quickly remove this issue.

 

[Green Patriot]

So frustrating.

 

[Fahdi]

2:30 pm local time and it's bad light. Salute to PCB for arranging test match in Rawalpindi at this season

Limited options. Considering renovations and security protocols they only had 3 real options: Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi. During the negotiations Lahore's smog problem probably took that off the table, so Rawalpindi and Karachi got the matches.

 

[m.awais]

This match would most probably end as a draw

 

[Omer2002]

they were bad balls but good drives by lankans..he has been very unlucky to be honest ..but no doubt the stand out bowler is Shaheen. Him and Naseem been great and been extremely unlucky

 

[Kroll]

they were bad balls but good drives by lankans..he has been very unlucky to be honest ..but no doubt the stand out bowler is Shaheen. Him and Naseem been great and been extremely unlucky

Just goes to show, if we give opportunities to the talented youngsters, they’re far more likely to perform than the budday Misbah likes to keep picking.

 

[ARK Rafay]

Limited options. Considering renovations and security protocols they only had 3 real options: Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi. During the negotiations Lahore's smog problem probably took that off the table, so Rawalpindi and Karachi got the matches.

Could PCB have thought of Day Night Test in Rawalpindi then?

 

[Bel_Homme]

Sorry to say but UAE was a better venue for test cricket compared to Pak.

 

[Fahdi]

Could PCB have thought of Day Night Test in Rawalpindi then?

Maybe. Though it gets quite chilly but if there isn't any issue with the outfield then that may have been the best choice. They had to get SL to agree as well though.

 

[Abdullah719]

Stumps Day 2.

 

[Bewal Express]

[MENTION=1269]Bewal Express[/MENTION]

I havent seen any of his bowling but That is music to my ears. It means that we have a bowler that will last the course in the years to come. I saw Naseems bowling but saw little of Afridi except the brilliant ball that got the Captain out. For left armers, no swing into Right handers means very short careers.

 

[sharmaji]

I hope the test doesn't end in a draw.

 

[Jabo]

Lol

Bravo

 

[Captain caveman]

Its getting really boring watching Pakistan play(or not play as in today).
I am spending more time on timepass then on here.

 

[Titan24]

Shaheen has been consistently swinging the new ball into the right-hander in this innings.

Noticed that in Aus as well, have to give credit to Waqar here as previously there was no swing into the right handers from Shaheen.

 

[Abdullah719]

Draw on the cards as Rawalpindi weather caps second day at 18.2 overs

Spoiler

Inclement weather scuppered proceedings for the second successive day in Rawalpindi, allowing only 18.2 overs to be bowled on the second day, as the landmark first Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka seemed set to taper towards a draw.

In the little play that was possible, Pakistan availed the second new ball, and Shaheen Shah Afridi broke through within five overs, inducing the outside edge from Niroshan Dickwella, who kept fishing at balls outside off until he was caught at gully after being manipulated by the angle across him.

The passage before the second new ball was taken was largely dealt with easily by Dickwella and Dhananjaya de Silva, who extended their sixth-wicket partnership to 67. Pakistan’s bowlers largely bowled straight lines, but with little to no movement in the air or off the deck, Dickwella and de Silva negotiated them with crisp strokes, largely presenting a straight bat.

This, even as the drizzle began five overs into the day, and the light meter came out two overs later. One over after recording the opening reading for the day, the players made way for the covers, as the ground remained under wraps for close to three-and-a-half hours.

It took three rounds of inspection from the umpires before play eventually resumed at 1:45pm local time, in what was supposed to be an extended second session of two hours and 15 minutes. Barely a third of that allotted time had passed when the players trudged off, this time for good, as the umpires deemed the light to be too bad for Sri Lanka’s batsmen to deal with a fiery new ball spell from Afridi.

https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/1527701

 

[Mainul]

What a pity. Wasnt there any place in Pakistan for a 90 overs per day of play ?Deaf and dumb Pak administrators in action.

 

[Mirpur express]

What a joke the PCB is ,it takes 10 years to bring test cricket home & they couldn’t be bothered checking the weather forecast* Azhar , the guy going downhill for 2 years is the captain , just because he speaks cringey English.. I literally hid my face when he was talking about Babar improving his stats in Australia .. just shows the mentality of our players.. stats before performance

 

[Pete Rose]

Again, no issue with playing four fast bowlers as long as you have the over rate under control.
What I will say is that I think Shinwari is basically a shorter wahab who is more prone to injury. He will get a few wickets here or there but seems like a 35 to 37 average bowler across all formats

 

[Abdullah]

Pak should be looking to win this game still. If we get 240 overs in.we should try to get them out in 15 bat for 140 and then put them under pressure in the last day bowling from before lunch

290 plays 450 in the first innings.

 

[MMHS]

Now you can't blame them for everything. They have to consider the quality of the facilities and more importantly security. I am sure the venues would've been decided in consultation with the government and security establishment and Pindi preferred for some valid reason.

No, I’ll blame them for this one. It’s not that a sudden cyclone has hit Pindi - the climate is like this forever during this part of the year. Even if we don’t consider rain/fog, no way you can get more than 70 overs there in mid December, when sunsets at 4:45pm or so.

This was a grand occasion and everyone is looking at it; including future touring boards. Before December closing, I am hell busy these days, yet for last two days I have slept between 7pm to 11pm, just to watch this game - for a different reason, otherwise PAK-SRL these days isn’t that a crowd puller you know.

Days have changed- it’s not anymore those olden day’s bilateral series that one Test ending in direct result can serve for the series. These are part of Test Championship and every game is worth 60 points - no team would like to play such jokes where after 70 overs day ends and there is imaginary make-up time. Also, world has changed as well - 20 years back, people used to follow Test matches on day five, even if the 3rd innings of the game is on; just to see some batsman or bowler for useless stats. These days, even Test addict like me doesn’t bother to follow a Test from Day 3, if there is no chance of a direct result.

If MULTAN wasn’t ready, they should have hosted both Tests at Karachi (Lahore would be similar to Pindi) - it’s better to be monotonous, rather than such pathetic display. On a broader prospective, PCB should have fixed the Multan stadium first - this is something I have been writing for at least last 4 years that since PSL is eating the best period of PAK season, PCB must develop southern venues for winter Tests. It’s not even a rocket science you know - you need 330 minutes of broad day light for a Test match and for that PAK doesn’t need to be large like Australia or India; a little common sense can help better.

On a longer perspective, PCB should look to build a Test class venue at Gwadar, where you can play till 5:30 (& start at 9:00) even on 23rd December. There is an airport, Pearl Continental hotel and for that small port city with lots of Chinese civilians, security won’t be any issue; weather should also be best for December Test.

 

[Markhor]

I think they are trying to make up for the over rate with Shafiq and Sohail.

Which begs the question why pick four seamers in the first place ?!

 

[barah_admi]

The PCB is not in control of the weather...jeez can everyone pick their battles?

Anyway, I see this as a positive for the Pakistan team otherwise their four bowlers would have disintegrated under this workload (Crazy that no spinner has been picked).

 

[Abdullah476]

No, I’ll blame them for this one. It’s not that a sudden cyclone has hit Pindi - the climate is like this forever during this part of the year. Even if we don’t consider rain/fog, no way you can get more than 70 overs there in mid December, when sunsets at 4:45pm or so.

This was a grand occasion and everyone is looking at it; including future touring boards. Before December closing, I am hell busy these days, yet for last two days I have slept between 7pm to 11pm, just to watch this game - for a different reason, otherwise PAK-SRL these days isn’t that a crowd puller you know.

Days have changed- it’s not anymore those olden day’s bilateral series that one Test ending in direct result can serve for the series. These are part of Test Championship and every game is worth 60 points - no team would like to play such jokes where after 70 overs day ends and there is imaginary make-up time. Also, world has changed as well - 20 years back, people used to follow Test matches on day five, even if the 3rd innings of the game is on; just to see some batsman or bowler for useless stats. These days, even Test addict like me doesn’t bother to follow a Test from Day 3, if there is no chance of a direct result.

If MULTAN wasn’t ready, they should have hosted both Tests at Karachi (Lahore would be similar to Pindi) - it’s better to be monotonous, rather than such pathetic display. On a broader prospective, PCB should have fixed the Multan stadium first - this is something I have been writing for at least last 4 years that since PSL is eating the best period of PAK season, PCB must develop southern venues for winter Tests. It’s not even a rocket science you know - you need 330 minutes of broad day light for a Test match and for that PAK doesn’t need to be large like Australia or India; a little common sense can help better.

On a longer perspective, PCB should look to build a Test class venue at Gwadar, where you can play till 5:30 (& start at 9:00) even on 23rd December. There is an airport, Pearl Continental hotel and for that small port city with lots of Chinese civilians, security won’t be any issue; weather should also be best for December Test.

I don't agree with your claim that Gwadar is safe. It may be safe for the local civilians but if an international cricket team goes there, the terrorists are more likely to target them so they can use it for propaganda.

Terror groups, such as BLA, don't carry out their terror attacks in the major cities such as Lahore, Karachi or Islamabad often. They're limited to Balochistan. So hosting a match in Gwadar would mean that the security will have to be increased even further which will just add to the inconvenience for the players.

 

[MMHS]

The PCB is not in control of the weather...jeez can everyone pick their battles?

Anyway, I see this as a positive for the Pakistan team otherwise their four bowlers would have disintegrated under this workload (Crazy that no spinner has been picked).

Sorry to bother, but I have to correct you here. Not only PCB but no one can control weather.

BUT, don’t you think it’s a bit stupid to plan 450 overs Test match, when you know that sunset is at around 4:50PM? No one bothers to pick a battle with PCB, but I guess you got the point; or is this like first time in Pindi that light was offered at 4:20PM and without any weather interruptions, we had 68 overs in a full day’s play? Even Inzamam Ul Haq knew that this Test won’t allow more that 350 overs, without a single minute of weather interruptions!!!!! Stop backing PCB blindly for everything, otherwise things won’t change.


Despite having the one of the best teams around (I am talking and in past tense here), PAK has produced some of the most boring Test matches ever, the main reason isn’t wicket rather the duration of the game. How - let me explain with this very game -

Consider that somehow, in next 3 days 250 overs will be possible (83/day - won’t happen, but we are considering for the sake) - that makes it roughly a 350 overs game. Now, SRL ends their first innings at 319 and by the end of Day 3, we have two scenarios - a. PAK ending day 3 at 197/2 or b. PAK ending day 3 at 197/9.

For first scenario, from start of Day 4, SRL will use every technique to slow over rate & PAK’s scoring rate; because with 160-170 overs possible in remaining time, they have absolutely no chance to win this Test conceding a lead of even 100 - they’ll settle for an ugly draw. Second scenario will be exactly opposite - PAKs last pair will change everything up to underwear if allowed within 15 minutes of start of play so that they can eat up the time. Then, PAK captain will use every possible ways to slow over rate, waste time, block SRLs scoring rate. Because, even best case scenario, if PAK gets SRL all out for 125 in 2nd innings, in remaining time, chasing 250ish target in 75-80 overs, only one team can win - and that’s not PAK.

This negative tactics is because, both teams know that somehow they need to spend 5 hours .... there is not enough day light to prolong the game or make up in next days and neither can come back from slightly behind in remaining time to win this Test, a draw is best possible outcome. I know the over rate fine in terms of points, which is another ICC B*ll Sh*t - a draw can earn you 30 points.... how much slow over rate is costing for that - one can do the maths. A Test match can end in 3, even 2 days; but there must have to be genuine chance for 450 overs, otherwise whichever team is slightly behind after day 2, will go for the negative tactics.

Here, PCB has just allowed that - a slow, boring Test; they can’t hide behind the rain excuse from those who understand this game a little. It’s not a fight, rather an explanation of why Test matches even in UAE is often more exciting than in Pakistan!!!!

 

[Yati]

People that are blaming the PCB in regards to the weather/scheduling, just shut it. You people just always need something to complain about just take the positives, it's been 10 years since we seen a test match in pakistan just enjoy the moment rain and all, but no you all need to bring negatives into everything. I am a pakistani myself, but one thing I must say pakistani fans are some of the biggest complainers and negative fans base out there when it comes to supporting your own team nothing ever is good enough for you people no matter what decisions are. Some of you guys need to learn to have patience (specially on this forum) and see things through they don't have a magic wand to fix everything in a day.

 

[Titan24]

People that are blaming the PCB in regards to the weather/scheduling, just shut it. You people just always need something to complain about just take the positives, it's been 10 years since we seen a test match in pakistan just enjoy the moment rain and all, but no you all need to bring negatives into everything. I am a pakistani myself, but one thing I must say pakistani fans are some of the biggest complainers and negative fans base out there when it comes to supporting your own team nothing ever is good enough for you people no matter what decisions are. Some of you guys need to learn to have patience (specially on this forum) and see things through they don't have a magic wand to fix everything in a day.

I really appreciate the positivity as its a rare thing. Yes somethings need improvement but as you mentioned Rome wasn't built in a day. People need to realize its not just players and groundsmen doing their jobs in Pakistan after a decade but also its been the same time for PCB to host a test series.

Hopefully things regarding scheduling will get better once more tours take place.

 

[Professor]

People that are blaming the PCB in regards to the weather/scheduling, just shut it. You people just always need something to complain about just take the positives, it's been 10 years since we seen a test match in pakistan just enjoy the moment rain and all, but no you all need to bring negatives into everything. I am a pakistani myself, but one thing I must say pakistani fans are some of the biggest complainers and negative fans base out there when it comes to supporting your own team nothing ever is good enough for you people no matter what decisions are. Some of you guys need to learn to have patience (specially on this forum) and see things through they don't have a magic wand to fix everything in a day.

Good post. Some people here don't realize how big it is for Pakistan to have test cricket back. Obviously things aren't perfect but at least they are moving in the right direction.

 

[MMHS]

I don't agree with your claim that Gwadar is safe. It may be safe for the local civilians but if an international cricket team goes there, the terrorists are more likely to target them so they can use it for propaganda.

Terror groups, such as BLA, don't carry out their terror attacks in the major cities such as Lahore, Karachi or Islamabad often. They're limited to Balochistan. So hosting a match in Gwadar would mean that the security will have to be increased even further which will just add to the inconvenience for the players.

Even a Country like Eritrea or Lesotho can protect 35 people from all sorts of terrorist threats ... unless there is a nuclear attack. PAK with one of the strongest & advanced armed forces in world and an unique Intelligence agency can definitely counter any such threats, probably even at planning stage. Problem is not there - as a tourist, my problem is the thought of Usama Bin Laden living 5 years with family within a KM of PAK's Defense Academy!!!!! There must have to be a sect in that armed forces who should have known this and they allowed it to continue.

In that regard, I do believe Gwadar is protected naturally for the presence of many Chinese citizens, including defense people. PAK Army won't allow anything to happen in that town - you can take my bet here at any stake, and that Army is quite capable in their job...... if they are willing.