Pakistan A squeeze out two-wicket win
** Cricinfo staff
July 23, 2006
***
Pakistan A 8 for 123 (Hafeez 39, Tait 3-23) beat Australia A 122 (Cosgrove 44) by 2 wickets* Scorecard
Australia A fought back spiritedly in the field after posting just 122, but Pakistan A held their nerve to eke out a two-wicket win in a Twenty20 game in Cairns. In a game which didn’t see the usual frenetic hitting associated with this format, Pakistan A almost lost their plot, sinking to 8 for 107, before Abdur Rehman and Mohammad Irshad added 16 for the ninth wicket guide them home.
Requiring just 123 for victory, the Pakistanis got off to a good start as Mohammad Hafeez and Shahid Yousuf added 27 in less than three overs. However, three wickets then went down in eight balls as they slumped to 3 for 30. Hafeez played a fine hand, scoring 39 from 29 balls with four fours, but he was next out in the 11th over. Wickets continued to tumble regularly and when Bazid Khan fell for 20, Pakistan A required a further 16 from 13 balls, with only two wickets in hand.
Rehman proved equal to the task, flicking Shane Watson and then driving him past mid-on for two fours in the 19th over. Irshad levelled the scores by slogging James Hopes down the ground for four in the next over, and the winning run came via a scampered single on the off side.
The Australian innings never got any sort of momentum, as Phil Jaques and Shane Watson were dismissed with only ten runs on the board. Mark Cosgrove kept the innings together with a fine 44, off just 32 balls, but apart from Shaun Marsh, who clubbed two sixes en route to 23, none of the other batsmen came to the party. The total seemed too low to challenge Pakistan, but a fine effort in the field almost brought the Australians an unlikely victory.
And thank heavens, that Wasim Khan is finally dropped for Akhtar Ayub. Miserable performance throughout the series, that Wasim Khan.
Although I am glad to notice Abdur Rehman shining through and getting his well-deserved chances in the 'A' team. He has chimed in with both bat and ball coupled with a few very useful knocks as well as a handful of key wickets. Sooner rather than later, I'd reckon him be a part of the National camp. Of course, that is after the course when those sifaarshis in the name of Iftikhar, Sami and Arshad leave the place for good, which, considering as they have recently hit their collective primes, might be long ways to come.
I think its a khichri kind of a thing with a mix of Twenty20, ODIs and the longer version. We only have a couple of FULL ODIs left, one being played right now and the last one scheduled for Thursday between Pak A and NZ A...
Muhammad Irshad is playing too and he sure as hell wants to fill Shoaib Akhtar's shoes. :D
Over 7.2: Watson OUT! Full ball pitching in line and straightening, hits Watson on the pad, loud appeal and the umpire's finger goes up. Australia A 2/16.
A video of Mohammad Irshad’s bowling analysis was posted by Khan Sahab quite a while ago during the season of ABN AMRO Twenty20 Cup. Uploaded once again for the rest of our peers.
