Punjab 184 (Raza 45, Sohail 4-57) and 202 all out (Misbah ul Haq 51 ,Ammar mahmood 40, Anwar Ali 4-45, Sohail Khan 2-41) v Sind 417 for 7 dec (Sarfraz Ahmed 82,Rizwan Ahmed 79, Faisal Iqbal 65, Wahab Riaz 4-99)
Pentangular cup batting averages
Pentangular cup bowling averages
UPDATE
Sind wrapped up an innings-and-31-run win over Punjab thanks to some smart lower-order batting and a tidy bowling display on day three at the National Stadium in Karachi.
An unbeaten 82 from Sarfraz Ahmed, the wicketkeeper with international experience, in a 79-run eight-wicket stand with Anwar Ali, the former Under-19 star, extended Sind’s total to 417 before the declaration. Then it was over to the bowlers, lead by Ali and Shahid Afridi. Afridi dealt three blows to account for Punjab’s top order and Ali, bowling his sharp swingers, ran through the lower order.
Punjab could only manage 202 in 55 overs, with captain Misbah-ul-Haq’s 72-ball 51 being the best of the innings. Ali picked up 4 for 45 to cap his unbeaten 33 from 59 balls.
Baluchistan 308 and 243 for 4 (Bin Nasir 118*, Maqsood 70) trail NWFP 664 for 6 (Hameed 300, Yasir Shah 51*) by 113 runs
Scorecard
Riding on a mountain of runs, NWFP finished day three of their match against Baluchistan in a comfortable position. Thanks to a career-best 300 from Yasir Hameed, who earlier added 431 with Asad Shafiq, NWFP rattled up 664 for 6 and then reduced Baluchistan to 243 for 4. Still behind by 113 runs, Baluchistan’s hopes were pinned on Saeed Bin Nasir, unbeaten on 118 as stumps were drawn in Peshawar.
Hameed resumed the third day on 265, and duly reached his maiden first-class triple. His brisk innings required just 367 deliveries and included 49 fours. He fell just after reaching the landmark but Younis Khan, with a run-a-ball 44 not out, and Yasir Shah, unbeaten on 51, maintained NWFP’s dominance.
Baluchistan’s second innings started poorly. Opening bowler Waqar Ahmed grabbed two to reduce them to 14 for 2, which became 53 for 3 when Yasir removed Gulraiz Sadaf, the wicketkeeper-batsman. It took a 121-run stand between Bin Nasir and Sohaib Maqsood to stem the rot. Maqsood was next out at 173 after hitting 70 from 69 balls but Bin Nasir went on to notch up his 13th first-class hundred. He was unbeaten at the close, adding a further 69 with Nasim Khan, his captain, but Baluchistan have plenty to do stave off defeat on the fourth day.
Shahid Afridi won the toss and decided to field first, the pitch had some grass on it and was reported to assist the fast bowlers on the first day. Shoaib Malik and Mohammed Yousuf were missing from the Punjab line up, Yousuf is reported to be disgruntled with PCB and has not played any match after the first one in this tournament, he is accusing PCB of mishandling his ICL case as a result of which no team has bid for him in IPL, although he will not play in Ipl but he will still get his base pay. Shoaib Malik who didn’t play the first match chose to skip the most important match of the tournament rumors are that he got some flak from the PCB management and selectors for ordering to shave off the pitch in the match against Baluchistan which his team won comfortably and came back in the tournament, now the news are that his mother is sick because of which he was unable to play this most important match.
I think PCB should take a serious note of Malik’s deliberate absence, if he cannot lead from the front in domestic competitions and show some courage then we can’t expect much from him against International teams, it should be noted here that the match is being played on a lively pitch and so far in the tournament Sind’s pace bowlers have created havoc in almost all the matches they have played so far, Sohail Khan is in good form and is bowling at a good pace he has taken 89 wickets so far this season which is a record, IMO he is the fastest bowler after Shoaib Akhter in the country right now, the only thing which is lacking in his bowling is movement at times he appears too flat but he has improved considerably since his ODI debut.
Coming back to Malik, PCB should take a serious note of his behavior pattern, this is not the first time he has skipped a match to hide his form, Pakistan’s cricket has already hit its lowest ebb and if the leader of the team will hide behind excuses then we might never recover from this crisis. So far all the matches that Punjab has played in the tournament were played on docile pitches and its batsmen never faced a real test, this is the first match which is being played on a green top pitch and after the first day Punjab’s star studded batting line up has already been exposed, and were bundled out for 184 Sohail Khan took 4-57, Misbah who scored a double century in the last match could only manage 4 in the first innings and Salman Butt who has scored more than 600 runs in the tournament could only manage 20 in the first innings of this match.
I am sure if Punjab had played all the matches on lively tracks like the one in National stadium they would have been out of the tournament by now, Sind played all the matches on lively tracks although their batting failed in most of the matches but their bowlers saved them so far in the tournament in almost all the matches except the current one they conceded first innings lead and fought back in the second innings, Shahid Afridi so far in the tournament failed with the bat with the exception of one innings but he led his team aggressively although his team lost a match against Federal areas by one wicket and some may question his declaration at 394 but IMO Sind would have won this match also if their fielders had not spilled four crucial catches.
The selectors and PCB management devised a policy for this tournament, it was mandatory for all the players to participate in all the matches, the Pitches were supposed to assist bowlers. Their vision was excellent but the management faltered on its implementation and “a vision without action is just a dream.” Shoaib Akhter, Mohammad Yousuf, Shoaib Malik failed to play all the matches, Mohammad Asif , Umar Gul and Rao Iftikhar were supposed to play from the second round they also never played, Hassan Reza, Sami, and Naved Latif were lost to ICL. If we take a closer look almost all the frontline Pakistani pacemen failed to showcase in the tournament, All the pitches were supposed to assist bowlers in order to assess the true form of the batsmen, but except for a few matches most of them were played on flat tracks and in some cases the pitches were shaved off a night before the match at the behest of some senior players. Strict actions should be taken against the players who have tried to defy the policies of the management and the selectors if an action is not taken this whole exercise of rebuilding will be derailed.
The Pentangular cup has exposed the bowling of Pakistan,other than Sohail Khan and Sohail Tanvir and Anwar Ali none of the fast bowlers were impressive in the tournament, Shoaib Akhter was axed after the first match Umar gul and Asif were injured
and Rao Iftikhar played only one match because of poor form.
In the spin department this problem is even more worse,none of the young spinners have give any noticeable performance in the tournament,and their is no hope that under this coach and management Pakistan’s bowling strength will be restored, I hope that the new government removes Nasim Ashraf and his cronies as soon as possible and Majid Khan should be appointed the new PCB chief.
Pentangular cup was a success as far as its objectives are concerned although PCB could have done better marketing and earned more revenue.
Here is a list of players who should be considered for future selection.
Openers:
mat inn runs HS Ave 100 50 cat
Salman Butt 4 6 688 290 137.6 3 1 1
Nasir Jamshed 4 6 371 140 74.57 2 1 2
Yasir Hameed 4 5 475 300 95 2 3
Raheel Majeed 4 7 387 107 55.28 1 3 3
Khurram Manzoor 4 7 258 118 36.85 1 1 5
Middle Order:
Bazid Khan 4 7 522 172 74.57 3 0 5
Misbah Ul Haq 4 6 425 208 106.25 2 2 3
Younus Khan 4 5 343 117 85.75 2 1 3
Saeed Bin Nasir 4 8 394 149 65.66 2 0 1
Naved Ashraf 4 6 364 141 60.66 1 2 1
Allrounders:
Sohail Tanvir 4 7 211 132 35.16 1 1 1
Rizwan Ahmed 2 3 177 79 59 2 3
Shoaib Malik 2 2 101 60 50.5 1
Shahid Afridi 4 5 135 70 27.7 1 4
Fawad Alam 3 5 123 51 30.75 1 2
Bowlers: Mat wkts BB 5wkts
Sohail Khan 4 23 6/21 2
Sohail Tanvir 4 19 5/58 2
Wahab Riaz 4 17 5/113 1
Anwar Ali 4 16 4/41
Shahid Afridi 4 17 5/55 1
Danish Kineria 4 14 5/62 1
Wicket Keepers:
Sarfraz Ahmed was the best wicket keeper batsman in the tournament although Kamran Akmal took more catches but his performance with the bat was dismal.
I hope that PCB will keep give these guys chance on International level in near future.
Pentangular cup is over, Sind’s team was able to beat a depleted Punjab’s team which played the final match without its captain Malik and ace batsman Mohammed yousuf,both of them should have played this match as the Punjab team already had a handicap in the Pace department as their resources in the pace department were shared by other teams.
Sind’s victory was only due to the stellar performance of Sohail Khan and Anwar Ali, Afraidi fans are trying to attribute this victory to his leadership skills,Afraidi only scored 135 runs in 5 innings at an average of 27 his highest score was 70 in the tournament he scored only 65 runs in the other 4 innings his bowling performance was good and consistent with his international career he took 17 wickets in the tournament.
Coach Lawson in his report to the chairman PCB has already asked to put Afraidi’s performance under the microscope and hinted Kamran Hussain as the future all rounder in the team.
I completely agree with Coach Lawson as Afraidi’s performance since the last three years has been pathetic with the bat he is still playing in the team because of his bowling and their are several upcoming players who are better allrounders than Afraidi, Fawad Alam is one, surprisingly Afraidi considering him as a threat gave Fawad only one over to bowl in the whole tournament,Fawad averaged 30.75 in the three matches he played,Rizwan Ahmed is another player he is an excellent fielder he averaged 59 and took three wickets in the final match, again he was not used much as a bowler by Afraidi.Kamran Hussain is another player who is an excellent bowler and a much better and reliable batsman than Afraidi.
Afraidi can never prove to be a good captain for the national team as he is the most inconsistent and bone headed player in the world, his place in the team has always been questionable, his suicidal style of batting cannot inspire others to perform responsibly,I think he should be more concerned about his place in the team as several youngsters are ready to take up his place.
Don’t be surprised to see some scathing criticism of coach Lawson from Afraidi fans especially from that “DALAL FROM MONTREAL”.
Convivincing and commanding victories from Sindh and NWFP. Inresting to see Yasir Hameed scoring a triple hundred, I wonder if the guy has improved!
Meanwhile Australia have offically POSTPONED the tour of pakistan. My verdict is that it will be better to play the series in November next year.