There has never been a greater Left hand bowler in the history of world cricket let alone Pakistani cricket than Wasim Akram. Wasim Akram alongwith his partner Waqar Younis were known as the Sultan's of swing. Wasim Akram could swing the ball both ways that is inswing, outswing and was expert in late swing also which is known as reverse swing making him a lethal pace bowler. Wasim Akram could not only swing the ball , he used to swing the ball at extremely high speeds. Alongwith his bowling partner at the other end Waqar Younis , Wasim Akram also used to bowl toe crushing lethal yorkers just like Waqar Younis. Both Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis learnt the art of reverse swing from their captain and maestro the great all rounder Imran Khan.
Wasim Akram with 502 ODI wickets is the second highest wicket taker in ODI cricket behind the retired Sri Lankan off spinner Mutaiha Muralitharan who has above 800 wickets in ODI cricket. Wasim Akram has got a lot of variety in his bowling. He can not only bowl at extreme pace but also has a very good slower ball showing variety in his bowling. He alongwith Waqar Younis bowled Pakistan to a lot of memorable victories. During Wasim-Waqar era Pakistan used to defend meagre and very low totals. They used to defend totals set by the inept Pakistani batting at that time which Pakistan were sure to lose but only Wasim-Waqar in those days were capable of defending such totals. Wasim Akram was known to get the top order batsmen out regularly while Waqar Younis was known to get the lower order and tailenders out regularly.
Wasim Akram was Pakistan's main strike bowler in the 1992 World Cup with 19 wickets. His clean bowling of Allan Lamb and Chris Lewis in the 1992 World Cup Final of consecutive deliveries which swung a mile is very memorable indeed.
Wasim Akram also led Pakistan to quite a lot of memorable victories as captain, particularly the Carlton and United Series in 1996/1997, The Asian test Championship in 1999 and to the 1999 World Cup Final only to lose to a rampaging Australian team in the 1999 World Cup Final.
After the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, after Pakistan's disastrous campaign where they lost all their matches against good opposition in the league matches and won only against minnows Holland and Namibia, Wasim Akram the great Pakistani paceman retired from all forms of international cricket.
Monday, 27 April 2020
Sunday, 19 April 2020
Pakistani Legend Javed Miandad.
No Pakistani cricketer was ever as charismatic and as technically sound as Javed Miandad. Javed Miandad was not only very technically sound but was also known for his exceptional fighting abilities especially against Pakistan's arch rivals India. Javed Miandad in his era was known as the finest Pakistani batsmen ever produced. When Javed Miandad retired from international cricket after the Bangalore World Cup Quarter Final against India in 1996, the entire Indian population thanked God and made huge sigh of relief which shows Javed Miandad's dominance over India.
Javed Miandad made such a huge impact on India that after Miandad's six off the last ball win over India in Sharjah in 1986, Pakistan always started as favourites against India from there on and really dominated India after that six off the bowling of Chetan Sharma by Miandad.
Javed Miandad held the Pakistani record of scoring most runs for Pakistan in test cricket. He scored 8,832 runs in test cricket which was a record for Pakistani batsmen in test cricket until it was beaten by Younis Khan who scored over 10,000 runs in test cricket. Miandad's 23 centuries and 43 fifties were a Pakistani record until it was beaten by Inzamam ul Haq. Javed Miandad scored six double centuries during his test career which is a Pakistani record.
Pakistan recorded their first win in a major tournament in Austral-Asia Cup in 1986 in Sharjah when Javed Miandad played that heroic innings against India in the Final. After that innings Javed Miandad became a national hero.
Javed Miandad also captained Pakistan in test cricket and was also head coach of Pakistan for many years. There has never been a Pakistani cricketer whom the opposition used to fear that he can win a match on his own for Pakistan, only Miandad could do that for Pakistan and that's why he is a Pakistani legend.
Javed Miandad made such a huge impact on India that after Miandad's six off the last ball win over India in Sharjah in 1986, Pakistan always started as favourites against India from there on and really dominated India after that six off the bowling of Chetan Sharma by Miandad.
Javed Miandad held the Pakistani record of scoring most runs for Pakistan in test cricket. He scored 8,832 runs in test cricket which was a record for Pakistani batsmen in test cricket until it was beaten by Younis Khan who scored over 10,000 runs in test cricket. Miandad's 23 centuries and 43 fifties were a Pakistani record until it was beaten by Inzamam ul Haq. Javed Miandad scored six double centuries during his test career which is a Pakistani record.
Pakistan recorded their first win in a major tournament in Austral-Asia Cup in 1986 in Sharjah when Javed Miandad played that heroic innings against India in the Final. After that innings Javed Miandad became a national hero.
Javed Miandad also captained Pakistan in test cricket and was also head coach of Pakistan for many years. There has never been a Pakistani cricketer whom the opposition used to fear that he can win a match on his own for Pakistan, only Miandad could do that for Pakistan and that's why he is a Pakistani legend.
Sunday, 22 March 2020
Pakistani Legend Imran Khan
There have been many Pakistani cricketers who have captained Pakistan but there has never been a Pakistani captain as inspirational, tactically proficient and shrewd as Imran Khan. Imran Khan as the statistics show is Pakistan's second most successful captain after Misbah Ul Haq with 14 test wins as captain of Pakistan cricket team. Imran Khan is the only Pakistani captain to have lead Pakistan to a World Cup win in 1992 which is Pakistan's solitary World Cup win in the 50 over format of the game. They did come close in 1999 World Cup when Wasim Akram led Pakistan team reached the final only to lose to a rampaging Australian team in 1999 World Cup final. Pakistan has never come even close to a World Cup win ever since which makes Imran Khan's achievement of a World Cup win for Pakistan even more remarkable.
Imran Khan's captaincy is not only known for the World Cup win in 1992 but also for many other memorable series victories like the Nehru Cup in India, beating England in England in a test series in 1987 and also for defeating India in India in 1987 after a thrilling test match in Bangalore.
Imran Khan is also known for being a great All rounder. He was rated as great as and in the category of great all rounders like Ian Botham, Sir Richard Hadlee, Kapil Dev and Sir Garfield Sobers. He was not only known for his great pace bowling but also known for his hard hitting batting. Imran Khan took over 362 test wickets and scored over 3000 runs which proves he was a great all rounder. But after suffering from a serious back injury, Imran Khan was reduced from a fast bowler with extreme pace to a medium pacer particularly in the 1992 World Cup.
Imran Khan retired after the shock 1987 World Cup loss to Australia in the semi finals but upon the continued persuasion of Zia Ul Haq the then Pakistani president Imran Khan came out of retirement and that proved to be a wise decision because after that decision Imran Khan led Pakistan to it's only world cup win in 1992 at the age of 39.
Imran Khan's captaincy is not only known for the World Cup win in 1992 but also for many other memorable series victories like the Nehru Cup in India, beating England in England in a test series in 1987 and also for defeating India in India in 1987 after a thrilling test match in Bangalore.
Imran Khan is also known for being a great All rounder. He was rated as great as and in the category of great all rounders like Ian Botham, Sir Richard Hadlee, Kapil Dev and Sir Garfield Sobers. He was not only known for his great pace bowling but also known for his hard hitting batting. Imran Khan took over 362 test wickets and scored over 3000 runs which proves he was a great all rounder. But after suffering from a serious back injury, Imran Khan was reduced from a fast bowler with extreme pace to a medium pacer particularly in the 1992 World Cup.
Imran Khan retired after the shock 1987 World Cup loss to Australia in the semi finals but upon the continued persuasion of Zia Ul Haq the then Pakistani president Imran Khan came out of retirement and that proved to be a wise decision because after that decision Imran Khan led Pakistan to it's only world cup win in 1992 at the age of 39.
Tuesday, 20 March 2018
Pakistani legend Inzamam ul Haq
There have been many players for Pakistan but no player guaranteed Pakistan a win as much as Inzamam whenever he played a substantial innings. It has been said and looking at the statistics whenever Inzamam averaged above 35 runs Pakistan won it's matches 75 percent of the times. it clearly shows that no one is a bigger match winner than Inzamam in Pakistan cricket.
In the 1992 World Cup Semi final , Imran Khan and Javed Miandad slow batting had left Pakistan way behind the asking run rate. In stepped Inzamam whose innnings of 60 runs of 37 balls proved to be a match winnings innings when Pakistan were chasing 262 runs for victory in their 50 overs and Inzamam coming in with Pakistan score at 140 for 4. Inzamam played a key role in Pakistan's World Cup victory in 1992. Inzamam although was new to international cricket but made a huge impact at the 1992 World Cup. It was indication of a new World talent and of greater things to come from him.
In 2003 almost immediately after World Cup, Inzamam was made the captain of Pakistan cricket team. This was after being dropped from a four nation tournament in Sharjah.
In 2007 World Cup shortly after the untimely death of Bob Woolmer the then Pakistan cricket coach, Inzamam retired from ODI cricket after leading Pakistan to a disastrous first round exit. Pakistan lost to Ireland in that World Cup who at that moment were only an associate side.
In 2016 Inzamam was made the chief selector of Pakistan cricket team. Under his selection, Pakistan won the ICC Champions trophy in 2017 and were briefly ranked no. 1 in test cricket. They are currently ranked no.1 in Twenty20 ICC rankings. In this way Inzamam ul Haq a legend and a match winner is continuing to serve Pakistani cricket.
In the 1992 World Cup Semi final , Imran Khan and Javed Miandad slow batting had left Pakistan way behind the asking run rate. In stepped Inzamam whose innnings of 60 runs of 37 balls proved to be a match winnings innings when Pakistan were chasing 262 runs for victory in their 50 overs and Inzamam coming in with Pakistan score at 140 for 4. Inzamam played a key role in Pakistan's World Cup victory in 1992. Inzamam although was new to international cricket but made a huge impact at the 1992 World Cup. It was indication of a new World talent and of greater things to come from him.
In 2003 almost immediately after World Cup, Inzamam was made the captain of Pakistan cricket team. This was after being dropped from a four nation tournament in Sharjah.
In 2007 World Cup shortly after the untimely death of Bob Woolmer the then Pakistan cricket coach, Inzamam retired from ODI cricket after leading Pakistan to a disastrous first round exit. Pakistan lost to Ireland in that World Cup who at that moment were only an associate side.
In 2016 Inzamam was made the chief selector of Pakistan cricket team. Under his selection, Pakistan won the ICC Champions trophy in 2017 and were briefly ranked no. 1 in test cricket. They are currently ranked no.1 in Twenty20 ICC rankings. In this way Inzamam ul Haq a legend and a match winner is continuing to serve Pakistani cricket.
Monday, 24 July 2017
Pakistani legend Younis Khan
Younis Khan is Pakistan's highest scorer in test cricket. Younis Khan has over 10,000 runs in test more than any Pakistani and very much above Javed Miandad and Inzamam ul Haq who have scored over 8000 runs. On the otherhand , in comparison Younis Khan is a more defensive batsmen than either Miandad and Inzamam. Younis Khan was a more workmanlike accumulator of runs and thus more watchful batsman than either Miandad or Inzamam that's why he wasnt a successful batsman in the ODI format of the game. In ODI cricket you need a more sense of urgency which was lacking in Younis Khan's style of batting. His strike rate in ODI cricket was also too low to consider him as a good ODI batsman.Therefore I see no reason why he fought with the PCB in the past to include him in the ODI team particularly in the World Cup 2015 squad where he performed poorly. Neverthless there is no denying fact that he was a very talented and excellent test batsmen. He also led Pakistan to it's only Twenty20 title in 2009 when he was captain of the Pakistani cricket team in the ICC World Twenty20 of 2009.
Sunday, 30 April 2017
Pakistan Super League
It was a very nice decision to organize Pakistan's very own league named Pakistan Super League. Pakistan Super League will actually boost Pakistan's cricket talent and create new talented players. Pakistan's bench strength will increase and Pakistan will be able to create back up talent for all formats i.e. Test, ODI and Twenty20.
The teams participating in PSL are:
Karachi Kings: Karachi Kings finished 4th in last years PSL. Karachi Kings won only two matches in the entire PSL last year in 2016. This year Karachi Kings hired Chris Gayle who is a top Twenty20 player in cricket leagues all around the world. Karachi Kings have the services of Kumar Sangakkara,Imad Wasim, Shoaib Malik, Kieron Pollard and Mohammad Amir in their team. Karachi Kings this time fared a little better than last time. They finished third in PSL 2017 a position above last years champion Islamabad United.
Quetta Gladiators: Quetta Gladiators finished 2nd in last years PSL. Viv Richards a legendary player of his time seems to be a great influence of the team coaching Quetta Gladiators. Viv Richards is proving to be a great mentor for the team. His valuable experience and input will be very beneficial for this team. Quetta has been a successful team in PSL despite being the cheapest franchise in both editions of PSL. They finished runners up in both editions of PSL so far.
Lahore Qalandars: Lahore Qalandars finished bottom of the league in both editions of PSL so far. Lahore Qalandars had Chris Gayle as a player in 2016 edition of PSL but this time they didnt have the services of Chris Gayle as a player who was bought by Karachi Kings. This is why Lahore Qalandars campaign this time failed.
Islamabad United: Islamabad United finished fourth in PSL 2017 a place just above Lahore Qalandars in this year's PSL. Misbah ul Haq is captain of Islamabad United who were champions of PSL 2016. This time they lost to Karachi Kings in the eliminator to finish fourth.
Peshawar Zalmi: Peshawar Zalmi had the services of Shahid Afridi who is an all time great of Twenty20 internationals all round the world. Darren Sammy who is former captain of West Indies was captain of Peshawar Zalmi. Peshawar Zalmi defeated Quetta Gladiators to become champions of PSL 2017 which was staged historically for the first time in Pakistan in Lahore.
The teams participating in PSL are:
Karachi Kings: Karachi Kings finished 4th in last years PSL. Karachi Kings won only two matches in the entire PSL last year in 2016. This year Karachi Kings hired Chris Gayle who is a top Twenty20 player in cricket leagues all around the world. Karachi Kings have the services of Kumar Sangakkara,Imad Wasim, Shoaib Malik, Kieron Pollard and Mohammad Amir in their team. Karachi Kings this time fared a little better than last time. They finished third in PSL 2017 a position above last years champion Islamabad United.
Quetta Gladiators: Quetta Gladiators finished 2nd in last years PSL. Viv Richards a legendary player of his time seems to be a great influence of the team coaching Quetta Gladiators. Viv Richards is proving to be a great mentor for the team. His valuable experience and input will be very beneficial for this team. Quetta has been a successful team in PSL despite being the cheapest franchise in both editions of PSL. They finished runners up in both editions of PSL so far.
Lahore Qalandars: Lahore Qalandars finished bottom of the league in both editions of PSL so far. Lahore Qalandars had Chris Gayle as a player in 2016 edition of PSL but this time they didnt have the services of Chris Gayle as a player who was bought by Karachi Kings. This is why Lahore Qalandars campaign this time failed.
Islamabad United: Islamabad United finished fourth in PSL 2017 a place just above Lahore Qalandars in this year's PSL. Misbah ul Haq is captain of Islamabad United who were champions of PSL 2016. This time they lost to Karachi Kings in the eliminator to finish fourth.
Peshawar Zalmi: Peshawar Zalmi had the services of Shahid Afridi who is an all time great of Twenty20 internationals all round the world. Darren Sammy who is former captain of West Indies was captain of Peshawar Zalmi. Peshawar Zalmi defeated Quetta Gladiators to become champions of PSL 2017 which was staged historically for the first time in Pakistan in Lahore.
Sunday, 12 February 2017
Mickey Arthur as coach
Mickey Arthur as coach of Pakistani cricket team is doing a fine job. it was a good decision by PCB to appoint Mickey Arthur as coach of Pakistani cricket team. Our test team was doing well under Waqar Younis's coaching but our ODI and Twenty20 team under Waqar was producing unacceptable and poor results. Under Waqar's coaching Pakistan failed to go beyond round robin matches in Asia Cup Twenty20 matches and ICC Twenty20 in 2016. When Waqar was coach our ODI rating was a poor 9th in ICC rankings and we reached only the Quarter Finals of the 2015 World Cup. Whereas under Mickey Arthur we white washed West Indies 3-0 in ODI series in UAE and just won an ODI in Australia ,against Australia for the first time in 12 years. Our last ODI win against Australia in Australia was in an triangular series also featuring West Indies in 2005. In Twenty20 cricket we showed improvement under Mickey Arthur as we defeated World Champions West Indies 3-0 in UAE besides winning one off Twenty20 against England in Manchester in 2016.
The selection under Mickey Arthur's coaching will be unbiased that's what I like about him. Under Waqar Younis the selection was very biased in favour of players from Punjab. Waqar Younis was doing this because he is a punjabi and he was deliberately ignoring players from other provinces particularly from port city of Karachi. Under Waqar, Mohammad Hafeez, Azhar Ali, Mohammad Irfan , Wahab Riaz, Shoaib Malik, and Misbah ul Haq to name a few all belonged to Punjab while only Sharjeel Khan and Sarfraz Ahmed belonged to outside of Punjab.
Not only selection but the way Mickey Arthur is handling the players is highly commendable. He praises the players like he declared Babar Azam as the Virat Kohli of Pakistan and Sharjeel Khan as David Warner of Pakistan. These comparisons will really encourage the players and they will perform well in their future assignments.
The selection under Mickey Arthur's coaching will be unbiased that's what I like about him. Under Waqar Younis the selection was very biased in favour of players from Punjab. Waqar Younis was doing this because he is a punjabi and he was deliberately ignoring players from other provinces particularly from port city of Karachi. Under Waqar, Mohammad Hafeez, Azhar Ali, Mohammad Irfan , Wahab Riaz, Shoaib Malik, and Misbah ul Haq to name a few all belonged to Punjab while only Sharjeel Khan and Sarfraz Ahmed belonged to outside of Punjab.
Not only selection but the way Mickey Arthur is handling the players is highly commendable. He praises the players like he declared Babar Azam as the Virat Kohli of Pakistan and Sharjeel Khan as David Warner of Pakistan. These comparisons will really encourage the players and they will perform well in their future assignments.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)