Re: First Test @Karachi..... Pakistan Vs Srilanka
I know alot of people here would tell me this...give credit where its due. Yes, he played a 'decent' innings...I would no way call this a great innings.
scoring 158 against any team is no easy feat.
But for me...his 158 doesnt match up to Malik's 56 or Misbah's 42 and of course Younus's 313.
Why? because when Malik and Misbah came to bat...they were facing a 'fresh' and 'fired up' Murli and Mendis. Pakistan at that stage was still fighting to avoid the follow on. Considering that pressure, and facing 2 top spinners raring to go...and to play so solidly like Malik and Misbah did was a great achievement as Pakistani batsmen are known to crumble under pressure. We all know Malik and Misbah like to play their strokes. But, they changed their style and went into complete defensive mode to save the game. It was Younus mostly, Malik and Misbah who saved Pakistan from a certain defeat.
When Akmal came onto bat...the pressue was gone...game was already saved. He was facing a dejected Sri Lankan bowling attack who werent even trying to get wickets anymore...they were on the defensive and saving runs. To top it off, he only faced Murli and Mendis for only a few overs...and scored majority of his runs against people who were bowling probably for the first time in their career or first time in many years. I'm sorry...to me that doesnt count as a quality innings.
I give him credit for scoring 158...it was an entertaining knock to me...but to me it still doesnt prove his batting is consistent enough...just like his sloppy keeping.
I know he didnt drop any catches in this game...lets see how long he continues...hopefully for a long time for Pakistan's sake because Akmal has been given more than enough chances to prove his worth.
Sarfraz Ahmed has scored 3 50's in his last 3 innings in the ongoing domestic tournament....and his first class batting average has gone up to 45...so there's no shortage of talent...and to me Sarfraz if given even half the amount of chances as Akmal...will prove to be much better than Akmal in batting and keeping.