Taufeeq Umar, the Pakistan batsman, defended his side’s cautious batting approach on the third day of the Mirpur Test, saying that the plan was to first get close to Bangladesh’s 338 without losing too many wickets. “I think we were on the back foot [initially] and we would have been in deeper trouble had we lost two, three early wickets,” Taufeeq said. "We wanted to get closer to the [Bangladesh] runs and then see how it stands.
“We wanted to stay at the wicket and wait for the bad deliveries. I think we were quite successful. Now we are in a good position and we will accelerate tomorrow and see how the things are going.”
The safety-first batting strategy has worked well for Pakistan so far as they have won five out of nine Test matches this year. Taufeeq, whose patient accumulation at the top of the order has characterised this approach, made 130 today, his third century in 2011. He has made 828 runs this year, the most by a Pakistan batsman in 2011.
Taufeeq said that his batting style was dictated by the instructions of the team management. “It all depends on what the team needs from you. If the captain and the coach say that you have to survive the new ball and then play shots, you have to do that.”
He also said that while every Test hundred was important, the 236 that he made against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi earlier this year stood out for him. “I scored a double hundred against Sri Lanka and that was very special because I had not made a double hundred before. I think that century [104 against Bangladesh in Multan in 2001] was the best one because that was on my debut and I will always remember that century.”
With only two days left in the game which has been affected by fog and bad light, Taufeeq maintained that Pakistan still had time to force a result. “Definitely we have got two days to go but it all depends on the weather. I still believe we have a chance. We have a world-class bowling attack that can bowl out any side if they get two sessions. If we can take a good lead we will try our best to win this game.”
and if you lost the game then Man In test no need to take risks. Just wait for the bad ball and stroke :cobra:
Don’t mix up Test Cricket with T20 & ODI. We are continuously playing on neutral venue and w/out our leading bowlers. So no need to take risks even its Bangladesh. Play every ball on merit
and you think be scoring 150 all out before lunch in 25 overs with SR of 100 on first day we’ll win the Test match against test match :cobra: Dude if we’ll be able to draw the series then still it will be good for us.
BTW every one can’t be Bradman, Sehwag
Aik kahawat hay "kissi dosray ka munh laal daikh kar apna munh chapirain maar maar kar laal naheen kar laina chahiye " :femme: I hope you got my point
woh kia kahtay hain **"kawa chala hans key chaal aur apni chaal bhi bhool gia " ** So don’t think that Misbah, Younis, Taufeeq in 30’s ll change their batting style.
I would be ok with us batting with such extreme caution and showing stickability against teams like England and South Africa.
The point is we were secure and had wickets in hand on day3, and that's why we should have looked to up the tempo, especially because there was no sense of threat from BD.
**What safety are we looking for against BD? If we play like scared bunch even against Bangladesh then I am sure we will be found out against England. The difference will be the loss of more wickets @ same RPO!!
There's a fine line between being cautious and being negative. You have to score when the opportunity presents itself. Unfortunately, Azhar lacks that ability.
**We're not asking for 4xs and 6xs or anything too much. All we want is a bit of positive approach and there is no better place or time than a poor bowling attack, a flat pitch etc.
Pakistanis are defensive in approach, which is probably the right thing as our batting lineup isn't exactly world class. Just be glad we haven't seen batting collapses recently.
I would go with this approach as our batting line up is not particularly strong. The horrendous batting collapses of recent past are still fresh. Bottom line, so long as they win who cares. Result matters, the same team would have been vilified if they had played shots got out and lost the match.
Game has changed a lot since Miandad or Malik last played. Even then, I’d understand if Pakistani batsmen plays with such defensive mind against top teams like Eng, SA, Aus etc but when opponent is not of top quality and under tha mat, this is almost a sin.
Now, I dont want them to go out and swing on every ball they see inch out of the off stump but ROTATING THE STRIKE should be the order of the day. 3-4 singles and odd boundary is not impossible while playing cautiously.
There are many ways to keep the scoreboard moving other than 6 dot balls or 6 sixes.
Man In test no need to take risks. Just wait for the bad ball and stroke :cobra:
So don’t think that Misbah, Younis, Taufeeq in 30’s ll change their batting style.