Pakistan Prepare For Battle In City of Kings
BULAWAYO: The Pakistan cricket squad arrived in the ‘City of Kings’ on Thursday to begin preparations for the second and final Test of the series against Zimbabwe this weekend.
Having won the first Test in Harare by 119 runs with a day to spare, Waqar Younis’s team will approach Saturday’s Test full of warrior confidence in a city also known as ‘the place of killing’ because of its bloody past.
They will be playing on a slowish wicket that will last all scheduled five days and the weather, if it stays dry, might well be very hot. This will suit the Pakistanis, even though their tactics call for only four bowlers.
Their team which will be revealed on Friday is likely to be the same as the one which defeated Zimbabwe, despite some shaky batting performances by Saleem Elahi, Younis Khan and Hasan Raza.
The policy appears to be that batsmen should be given a fair run to prove themselves. Elahi, in particular, though scoring only two runs in two innings, has been in and out of the side several times.
Coach Richard Pybus said all members of the squad are fit and there are no qualms about the bowling work being shared between only four - Younis, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami and Saqlain Mushtaq.
Although they were made to toil against Zimbabwe in the home side’s second innings of 310, they were basically secured the victory by confining their opponents to 225 in the first. This, in any event, is the opinion of Zimbabwe captain Alistair Campbell, who pointed out that this was the main reason for the home side’s defeat, rather than the 169 runs partnership of century makers Inzamam-ul-Haq and Taufeeq Umar on the third day.
Despite the huge impact of Inzamam’s 112 scored in 103 balls and his reaching 6000 runs in Test cricket, Taufeeq has been the main success of the tour so far by scoring, in a manner beyond his 20 years, 111 and 75 in the first Test. And he got 84 a few days earlier against Zimbabwe ‘A’.
Zimbabwe also had too many batting failures for their own liking at Harare, Campbell’s 2 and 30 once again belied his true capabilities. Guy Whittall, who once hit a century off Pakistan, scraped up nine runs in two innings.
Hamilton Masakadza, who hit a century off West Indies here in his maiden Test innings last year, also managed only nine runs.
That Zimbabwe made a match of it was down to Dion Ebrahim and the Flower brothers Grant and Andy, with some improbable half century help from the wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu and the flamboyant former model Andy Blignaut.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe have dropped all rounders Whittall and Blessing Mahwire from the team named late Wednesday. Batsman Mark Vermeulen and all rounder Mluleki Nkala were named in the side that will attempt to square the two-match series.
Two days after the completion of the Pakistan tour, a full solar eclipse will race across the western extremities of Zimbabwe and come close to Bulawayo. On the evidence of the first Test, a cricketing eclipse might have already happened if the Zimbabweans don’t improve in all departments.
