June 8, 2009
A day of missed chances
It seems like Pakistan have made a habit of squandering every possible opportunity of winning a game without doubt. Yesterday was no different with the mercurial team dropping at least 4 catches & numerous occasions of sloppy fielding galore. It started out brilliantly for them with Mohammad Aamer getting rid of the dangerous Ravi Bopara with his second ball but after that it was England all the way. It was a do or die encounter for the Poms but the emphatic win ensures their route to the super eights. It also can be said of Pakistan that they are almost out of the tournament unless they thrash Netherlands on Tuesday. It was a day when England were far superior than their opponents in all three forms of the game be it bowling, batting or fielding not to mention catching of course. Kevin Pieterson was at his belligerent best & Pakistan were left shell shocked at the end of the day when one of the tournament favourites, at least for the Pakistani veterans, are heading towards an early exit.
The day started of with a packed house & it was expected to be a tight contest but ended up as a comprehensive victory for the hosts as Pakistan was never really into the chase after Kamran Akmal & Salman Butt perished in quick succession. But leaving it all in the end for sloggers like Afridi & Misbah was equally baffling as a promotion for them in the batting order was not only necessary but also the need of the hour since spin was introduced at both ends pretty early into the innings. That was the final nail in the coffin for Pakistan as Adil Rashid with his exuberance of youth & Wiley leg breaks coupled with Graeme Swann’s tight off spin returned figures of none for 24 & 1 for 27 respectively in their quota of 4 over’s each. England on the other hand were much better in shaping their innings after losing Bopara in the second over of the match with Luke Wright stroking a blistering 34 from 16 balls & Owais Shah’s effective 34 from 33 balls giving ample support to England’s former skipper’s brilliant half century in the middle. Whatever happened to Pieterson’s Achilles heel certainly didn’t stop him & in the end was the major difference between the two sides.
Kennington Oval, London
Result – England won by 48 runs
Extras (lb 3, w 4, nb 3) 10
Total (5 wickets; 20 overs) 185 (9.25 runs per over)
Fall of wickets: 1. Ravi Bopara 9 (1.2), 2. Luke Wright 62 (5.3), 3. Owais Shah 128 (13.2), 4. Paul Collingwood 152 (16.1), 5. Kevin Pietersen 156 (16.5)
Extras (lb 1,w 5) 6
Total (7 wickets; 20 overs) 137
Fall of wickets: 1. Ahmed Shehzad 13 (2.1), 2. Kamran Akmal 41 (5.5), 3. Salman Butt 41 (6), 4. Shoaib Malik 87 (12.2), 5. Shahid Afridi 102 (15.1), 6. Misbah-ul-Haq 117 (17.1), 7. Yasir Arafat 129 (19)
Man of the match: Luke Wright
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