S Rajesh provides the Plays of the day from the match between Australia and Pakistan
S Rajesh in Johannesburg18-Sep-2007
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Awesome Afridi
Ricky Ponting and Andrew Symonds were running away with it, scoring at
nearly ten an over after eight, when Shahid Afridi, after going for
13 in his first, did the incredible, bowling a wicket maiden and having a
chance missed. The first three balls were all outside off, and Ponting
missed two cuts and a sweep. Next ball, Ponting charged madly, missed, and
so did Kamran Akmal. A bye was taken, which turned out to be a bad move
for Symonds, as next ball he charged, didn’t connect, and was bowled. And
when Mike Hussey played a dot ball next, Afridi achieved the rare feat of
taking a wicket in an over without conceding a bat run.A drought of sixes
Usually, an Australian hitting a six in a Twenty20 game would hardly merit
mention, simply because you’d expect so many in an innings. Michael
Hussey’s straight hit off Afridi which hit the sightscreen deserves to
written about, if only because it was the only six of the innings. It was
a superb hit, straight and clean, but you’d have expected many more of
them from Australia.On the ball, in the field
Pakistan’s fielding has never been their strongest suit, but in this game
there were two moments of sheer inspiration. Only one produced a wicket,
but both were worthy of celebration. First, Imran Nazir scored in from
midwicket as Brad Hodge and Hussey attempted a risky second run.
Pakistan rejoiced as if they had nailed a wicket, and even though replays
showed otherwise, the celebrations were justified just for the quality of
the throw. Afridi then went one better, knocking down the stumps from
point to send Michael Clarke on his way for a duck. Inspirational, and
very unlike the usual Pakistan outfit.The battle of the metronomes
Mohammad Asif and Stuart Clark have both, at various times in their
careers, been touted as the new McGrath. This game pitted them against one
another, and there was no question about who won the battle: with clever
change of pace and control, Clark winkled out three batsmen and gave very
little away; Asif, on the other hand, was subdued and largely listless and
went at 8.50 runs per over.Captain, my captain
With Pakistan falling slightly behind the eight-ball, Shoaib Malik decided
that the way to go was to lead from the front. In the 12th over, from
Clarke, Malik stepped it up, clouting two fours over the bowlers
head and a stunning inside-out blow over extra-cover. The captain had made
his move, and Pakistan were on their way.Deft touches, meaty blows
The captain made the first move, but his partner stepped it up to an even
higher plane. Misbah-ul-Haq virtually decided the game in Pakistan’s
favour in the 15th over. A reverse-sweep, a cut and a pull off Andrew
Symonds all beat the fielders and found the boundary. Add a couple of
twos, and it enough to plummet the asking rate from eight to 6.20. From
there the winner was never in doubt.
