Mahmood Ahmad
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5th Match: Chief Executive XI v Pakistan Probables at Rawalpindi, 2 Feb 2001 Mahmood Ahmad |
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Chief Executive XI innings:
Pakistan Probables, 2000/01, 5th Match innings: Pre-game: |
The stocky left-hander from Lahore carved his innings with the maturity of an experienced campaigner. After adding 137 for the first wicket, he took the score past 200 along with Mohammed Wasim by the 38th over.
He reached his splendid hundred off only 99 balls, which contained 15 sweetly timed boundaries and one six.
The Chief Executive XI were well in sight of the victory target at this stage. All they needed were some big overs to bring the required run-rate to within easy grasp. However, the fall of Wasim (34 off 40 balls) and then Younis Khan’s (9 off 13 balls) wicket in relatively quick succession failed to help their cause.
Taking full advantage of the tentative approach applied by the Chief Executive XI’s middle order, Wasim Akram made things even harder for them by bowling some very tight overs from the Pavilion End. The skipper was well supported by the off-spinner Shoaib Malik who, bowling with teasing line and length, allowed minimum liberty to the batsmen.
This state of affairs had its expected effect on the stroke playing of Imran, too, as he found it difficult to obtain boundaries. He remained unbeaten on 138 (143 balls), along with Naved-ul-Hasan (14 off 23 balls), when Chief Executive XI’s innings was closed at 260 for three after the allotted 50 overs.
Shoaib Malik was the only bowler from Pakistan Probables who completed his quota of ten overs, giving away 32 runs for one wicket. Azhar Mahmood and Shahid Afridi also had one success each for 31 (7 overs) and 52 (8 overs), respectively.
Both these batsmen were certainly not as explosive as Afridi, but they carried the conviction and determination a batsmen bent upon achieving something big in not the easiest of circumstances.
Not overawed by the international stature of Pakistan Probables’ bowling attack, which had names like Shoaib, Waqar and Saqlain, not to mention Wasim, the two youngsters advanced their innings with utter keenness and sensibility. They defended the straight balls, especially in the initial part of the innings, and relied on loose ones to score runs, of which there were plenty when Shoaib Akhtar was straying in his line.
There was a flurry of boundaries in the initial stages of the innings when the field restrictions were on, and then there came a time when Wasim came into the attack and succeeded in putting brakes on the run rate. But as soon Saqlain was into the attack, the runs began flowing again as Imran Farhat hoisted the off-spinner over mid-wicket for the first six of the innings. The first two overs from Saqlain produced 22 runs.
Imran reached his fifty off only 54 balls, which included nine fours and one six. Taufeeq took 13 balls more to reach the same feat, although he also hit nine boundaries. At the halfway stage of their innings, both building in confidence, they have reached the individual scores of 76 (73 balls) and 56 (79 balls), respectively.
Afridi, the world record holder for the fastest century in One-Day Internationals, unleashed every stroke in the book to reach his century off only 73 balls, as he entertained the crowd at the KRL Stadium with a flurry of fours and sixes.
After the dismissal of Saleem Elahi in the 29th over, Afridi added 61 in only 10.5 overs with Naseer Ahmed, the local youngster, before the former retired to give much-needed match practice to Azhar Mahmood who was playing his first game of the series.
Afridi, the right-handed opening batsmen, hit 16 fours and four sixes in his innings before retiring.
Pakistan Probables had reached 260 by the 40th over, and they certainly would have got more runs had Afridi spent a bit more time at the crease. With the new batsmen at the crease, the scoring rate fell sharply, which was further brought down after Azhar Mahmood was adjudged lbw off the bowling of Yasir for six.
Shoaib Malik, the off-spinner and a reliable batsman, found some boundaries in the closing part of the innings to take the score past the 300-mark in the 47th over. However, he gave his wicket away while trying to go for a big one as he holed out to long on. Moin Khan, however, carried on where Shoaib had left off. He made run-a-ball 20 to help Probables reach a grand total.
Opening the batting with Imran Nazir, after Rashid Latif had elected to field first, Afridi was found to be in an aggressive mood from the beginning as he showed little respect for the bowlers.
He, along with Imran Nazir, added 156 for the first wicket in about one and a half-hour, to leave Rashid Latif regretting his decision to invite the opposition into bat.
Afridi raced towards his fifty off only 38 balls, which contained 9 fours and a huge six off Stephen John, the left-arm local lad.
Imran Nazir was not to be left behind, but he mainly relied on groundstrokes as against Afridi who did not hesitate to go for lofted shots. He reached his fifty, the first of the series, off 61 balls with the help of 7 well-timed boundaries.
After reaching fifty in the 7th over, they accelerated even further to bring up the hundred of the innings in only 13 overs. The rapid shuffling by Rashid Latif in the his bowling at this stage didn’t pay off as none of the bowlers, either pacer or spinner, could help in putting breaks on the spiraling run rate.
The 150 of the innings was reached in a majestic fashion in the 21st over bowled by the left-arm spinner Mohammad Hussain as Afridi hit him for two consecutive boundaries.
The first ball of the next over saw the right-handed pace man, Yasir Arafat, earning first success for his side. Charging in with his longish run up, Yasir tried Imran with an in-cutter. The batsman went for a big heave only to see his off stump knocked out of the ground. He made a fine 61 off 72 balls, which contained 8 boundaries.
Meanwhile, Afridi kept hitting his shots and collecting boundaries off them. He hit his third six in Hussain’s next over, which went way into the stands over long on.
At the end of 25 overs, Pakistan Probables had reached 181 for 1, with Afridi just 8 runs short of a magnificent hundred and Saleem Elahi batting on 13.
Pakistan Probables is led by the ace pace man Wasim Akram. Shoaib Akhtar, the Rawalpindi Express is returned to the side along with Waqar Younis. Moin Khan is also taking part in the match in the role of wicket keeper.
The small KRL stadium is beaming with bright sunshine, with no considerable crowd to be seen so far.
© CricInfo
Date-stamped : 02 Feb2001 - 18:23