Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Younis makes history hitting triple ton against SL


His extra-ordinary innings not only helped his team to make a huge total of 574 runs for the loss of five wickets in reply to Sri Lanka’s 644-7 declared in the first innings by the end of the fourth day’s play in the first Test.Younis Khan is still at the crease batting for almost 12 hours and he is looking towards the Test record for the highest individual innings, set by Brain Lara of the West Indies who made 400 not out in 2004. He has an ample time for creating this record as the match is heading towards a draw. The new Pakistan captain was well supported by former captain Shoaib Malik (56), Misbah-ul-Haq (42) and Faisal Iqbal (57) and was involved in three consecutive century wicket partnerships – 149 for the third, 130 for the fourth and 174 for the fifth wicket, respectively. The fifth wicket stand is a new record against Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan bowlers toiled hard throughout the day but could not affect the concentration and determination of the King Khan who has so far hammered 27 fours and four sixes in his unbeaten innings. He overpowered all the opponent bowlers including magician spinner Muttiah Muralitharan and uprising spinner Ajantha Mendis.Younis took 681 minutes and faced 510 balls becoming the third Pakistani and the 20th batsman in Test cricket to reach 300 runs in an innings. The two earlier Pakistanis were Hanif Mohammad (337) and Inzamam-ul-Haq (329).Besides, Younis is the first batsman to hit a Test triple hundred against Sri Lanka as the highest individual score against them was 299 by Martin Crowe of New Zealand.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

India pull out of Pakistan tour


They were due to arrive in Pakistan on 4 January for three Tests, five one-day games and a Twenty20 international but the Indian government stepped in.
Pakistan Cricket Board spokesman Salim Altaf conceded: "It was a decision neither in their nor in our hands."
Meanwhile, the PCB has invited Sri Lanka to tour in India's place.
This new tour would involve three Test matches, three one-day internationals and one Twenty20 game.
Altaf said: "We hope they will agree to it and come after 20 January, shortly after hosting Bangladesh."
India's tour had been in jeopardy since last month's attacks, which India has blamed on Pakistan-based militants.
Pakistan has denied involvement after the attacks left more than 170 dead.
It is the third major cricket tour to Pakistan this year to be cancelled on security grounds.
Australia pulled out of their scheduled visit in March, while the International Cricket Council also postponed the Champions Trophy one-day tournament in September.
As a result, Pakistan have played no Test cricket this year and just 21 one-day internationals, mostly against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

The Pakistan Cricket Board fears this latest decision could cost it £13m.
PCB's Altaf said: "If there is no India series we gain nothing from our new television deal and lose out on other sources of income as well."
The PCB recently signed a new television rights deal worth approximately £90m with the Dubai-based organisation Ten Sports, but it includes a clause which stipulates that if a series is cancelled, nothing will be paid.
Indian sports minister MS Gill made the final call on cancelling the tour, with the government's Ministry of External Affairs having already refused permission for a junior hockey team to travel to Pakistan.
"We received a communication from the government stating that in the present circumstances, it is not feasible to tour Pakistan," said Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) official Ratnakar Shetty.
It is a disappointment, but it does not come as a surprise
Former PCB chief Shahryar Khan
But Shetty has not ruled out the possibility of playing the games at a neutral venue, with the PCB having previously floated the idea of moving the fixtures to the United Arab Emirates.
"No decision has been made on playing Pakistan at a neutral venue," said Shetty.
Meanwhile, he denied that the decision could damage the next Cricket World Cup, which is meant to be jointly hosted by India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
"It will not affect the 2011 World Cup as that is a different tournament," he said.
Shetty also believes that relations between the respective cricket boards would not be harmed and Altaf agrees.
He added: "We are still on normal terms with BCCI because it was a decision neither in their nor in our hands."
"They have also said that if the situation gets normal in the future it would send its team to Pakistan.
"We still maintain sport should not be mixed with politics.
"We believe cricket can help improve relations between the two nations."
Former PCB chief Shahryar Khan said he was not shocked by the Indian government's decision.
"It is a disappointment, but it does not come as a surprise," he said.
"We all hope that it can be rescheduled later.
"I know that the Pakistan Board is already making alternative arrangements."
It was to have been the fifth series between the two countries since 2004, when cricket ties resumed after a 15-year gap caused by

Friday, October 17, 2008

Tendulkar sets world record of most test runs


He reached this important milestone when he took three runs just after tea break on the first day of the second Test match against Australia on Friday.Tendulkar performed this feat in his 152nd Test and 247th innings when he broke retired West Indies captain Brian Lara's record of 11,953 Test runs to set a fourth world record in his illustrious career.Tendulkar is already the top scorer in one-day internationals (16,361 runs) and has the highest number of centuries in Test (39) and one-day international (42) cricket.The middle-order batsman, 35, reached the latest landmark in the first over after tea when he steered debutant paceman Peter Siddle past third-man for three runs to move past 15.His nearest rivals still playing Tests are compatriot Rahul Dravid (10,341 runs) and Australian captain Ricky Ponting (10,239).The record came just when Tendulkar was under pressure to deliver after a rare failure in the recent Test series in Sri Lanka where he scored only 95 runs in six innings.