Re: Shahid Afridi to lead Patron's X1 against Zimbabwe
Patron's XI v Zimbabweans, Karachi, 4th day
Maruma delays Patron's XI charge
The Bulletin by Faras Ghani in Karachi
January 17, 2008
Lunch Zimbabweans 209 and 193 for 7 (Maruma 59*, Masakadza 44, Sami 4-35) trail Patron's XI 479 for 6d by 77 runs
Scorecard
Timycen Maruma flayed the Patron's XI attack with an entertaining 59 as the Zimbabweans survived the morning session to go into lunch on 193 for 7, now needing another 77 to make the home side bat again.
At 111 for 6 with Sohail Khan and Samiullah Niazi fired up by last night's heroics, the match was expected to come to a swift conclusion. As Elton Chigumbura (2 off 39 balls) was adjudged leg-before to Samiullah, the stage looked set. Maruma, however, not only defied the fiery pace of Sohail and the movement of Samiullah, but also managed to keep the scorecard moving at a lively pace.
Dropped twice by Sarfraz Ahmed - both edges off the bowling of the unlucky Sohail - Maruma played his shots without fear. An overpitching and off-colour Kamran Hussain was edged between the slips and gully for four before Yasir Shah, the leg spinner, was hit over mid-off for a four. Although streaky at times, Maruma, who was ably supported by Gary Brent's defensive tactics at the other end, then attacked Sohail as he returned for a second spell with the new ball.
Following the drop, Sohail was driven past mid-on before being blasted past extra cover by Maruma to reach his first first-class 50. The next over saw another drive over extra-cover before a wild slash brought about the second drop. Riding on his luck, and Pakistan's poor fielding as a few overthrows complemented the dropped catches, Maruma took his side within touching distance of the 200-mark, a psychological achievement if nothing else before the ODI series.
For the home side, Samiullah bowled well and had a few leg-before appeals turned down while Sohail, not as fast as he was towards close yesterday, did manage to beat the edge on a number of occasions. Developing a deadly, swinging yorker, Sohail almost had Maruma and Brent lbw but edges saved both batsmen at the last minute.
Faras Ghani is an editorial assistant at Cricinfo
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Kamran Akmal must be all smiles...get ready to see Akmal spill catches left right and centre for 5 more years without getting dropped :( only hope was Sarfraz, but with selectors keenly watching this match, those 2 dropped catches must have put a doubt in their mind of Sarfraz's abilties...but he is a much much better keeper than Akmal anyday! Sarfraz must have been having a bad day :( common selectors please drop Akmal!