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WEEKLY
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| Asif leads Pakistan fightback |
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Saturday, November 28, 2009
DUNEDIN: Skillful, rousing bowling from Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif evoked New Zealand’s famous second-innings collapses against Pakistan, and almost neutralised the disadvantage of a 97-run first-innings deficit on the fourth day of the first Test.
Pakistan held all the momentum after a dramatic day, which featured swing, reverse-swing, cutters, two wickets for no run, the last six for 53, drama over reviews, rain, and bad light. New Zealand began the day looking to give themselves enough time to take 10 second-innings wickets. By the end of it they were thankful that time was actually lost.
Aamer bowled two superb spells of swing bowling, the conventional variety getting the first two wickets, and the reverse leaving the middle order befuddled. Asif took 2 for 2 in his spell before tea, following it up with two more after the break.
Pakistan also improved in previously slack areas: fielding and reviews. Khurram Manzoor hit the only stump he could see from square leg and ran out Ross Taylor, the only man who looked like he could score runs. Asif successfully challenged an lbw decision to dismiss Tim McIntosh, and nearly got another against Grant Elliott overturned in unique circumstances. New Zealand were 113 for 5 when a reversing delivery caught Elliott in front, but Asif couldn’t get the decision from Billy Doctrove. The replays revealed a marginal no-ball. It appeared a minute part of his heel had landed behind the line and then slid onto it, but third umpire Rudi Koertzen thought otherwise.
If this was unique, Peter Fulton — low on form and confidence — enacted the bizarre. Suspecting an inside edge when given lbw off Umar Gul, he walked back unimpressed, holding his bat upside-down, but was reminded of the existence of reviews by his team-mates only when he was about to cross the rope. Fulton was the fourth man out, with the score on 91, minutes after Taylor’s attempt at arresting the all-too-familiar slide ended in a misunderstanding and he was run out for 59 out of the 87 runs scored until then. He was edgy, uncomfortable, and fortunate at times but still battled and scored quickly.
After the wickets of Taylor and Fulton, Aamer came back for a spell of reverse-swing that brought back memories of Wasim Akram. McIntosh, who avoided the pair but didn’t care much about scoring, survived twice by shouldering arms to deliveries that jagged back in. After a spell of 4-2-2-0 from Aamer, Asif took over and did that extra bit to get the wickets.
The ball that got McIntosh pitched just within the stumps and straightened a touch, and the confidence and awareness showed in how Asif called for the review. Moments after the Elliott review fiasco, he ended Brendon McCullum’s painstaking stay with a beauty, pitching one short of a length, just outside off, and getting it to move away a touch. —Cricinfo
Pakistan won toss
New Zealand 1st 429 (L R P L Taylor 94, B B McCullum 78, D L Vettori 99; Mohammad Asif 108-4)
Pakistan 1st innings
Khurram Manzoor b Martin 6
Imran Farhat lbw b Martin 22
Fawad Alam c McCullum b Bond 29
*Mohammad Yousuf c & b Bond 17
Umar Akmal c Fulton b Bond 129
Shoaib Malik b Bond 2
†Kamran Akmal c Taylor b Vettori 82
Mohammad Aamer c Vettori b Bond 26
Umar Gul lbw b Vettori 6
Mohammad Asif c McIntosh b Martin 10
Saeed Ajmal not out 1
Extras (nb2) 2
Total (all out, 96.5 overs) 332
Fall: 1-11, 2-43, 3-74, 4-79, 5-85, 6-261, 7-293, 8-302, 9-320
Bowling: Bond 27.5-4-107-5; Martin 21-8-63-3 (2nb); O’Brien 21-3-98-0; Vettori 27-7-64-2
New Zealand 2nd innings
M J Guptill b Mohammad Aamer 0
T G McIntosh lbw b Mohammad Asif 31
D R Flynn lbw b Mohammad Aamer 0
L R P L Taylor run out (Khurram Manzoor) 59
P G Fulton lbw b Umar Gul 0
G D Elliott not out 20
†B B McCullum c Kamran Akmal b Asif 0
*D L Vettori c Fawad Alam b Asif 8
S E Bond b Mohammad Asif 7
I E O’Brien not out 4
Extras (b4, lb5, w1, nb3, pen5) 18
Total (8 wickets, 61.5 overs) 147
To bat: C S Martin
Fall: 1-0, 2-0, 3-87, 4-91, 5-112, 6-115, 7-123, 8-143
Bowling: Mohammad Aamer 16-7-29-2; Mohammad Asif 17.5-6-41-4 (1nb, 1w); Umar Gul 11-3-37-1 (2nb); Saeed Ajmal 17-5-26-0
Test debut: Umar Akmal (Pakistan)
Umpires: B R Doctrove (West Indies) and S J A Taufel (Australia). TV umpire: R E Koertzen (South Africa)
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ISSN 1563-9479 
