Faisalabad Test Third Day
Dhoni shines, again!!
Jan 23, 2006
Wicketkeeper-batsman Mahendra Dhoni smashed a blistering unbeaten maiden Test century yesterday to help India avoid the follow-on in the second cricket Test against Pakistan.
As India finished the third day at 441 for five, Dhoni, 24, was batting on 116 off 133 balls. He hit 14 fours and three sixes in three hours.
The visitors trailed Pakistan by 147 runs after the home team posted a formidable first innings score of 588.
Irfan Pathan ably supported Dhoni and was batting on 49, but got a lifeline in the last over when Pakistani wicketkeeper Karman Akmal failed to cling onto a catch.
Dhoni and Pathan shared an unbeaten 160-run Indian sixth wicket record against Pakistan, eclipsing former captains Kapil Dev and Mohammad Azharuddin's 143-run record at Calcutta in 1986-87 season.
India were in danger of facing the follow-on after they lost four wickets in the second session and tottered to 281 for five.
Dravid (103) and VVS Laxman (90) departed in the space of five runs and fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar removed star batsman
Sachin Tendulkar (14) off a fiery short delivery with the second new ball.
Faisalabad Test Fourth Day
Younis, Akmal prosper as test heads for draw
Jan 24, 2006
After conceding a slender first innings lead of 15 runs, Pakistan ended the fourth day 137 runs ahead of India.
After the swashbuckling Mahendra Singh Dhoni (148) and Irfan Pathan (90) had taken India past the follow-on threat, the tailenders did their bit to give the visitors a small lead before the innings folded up for a mammoth 603 about an hour after the lunch break.
The hosts once again put up a solid batting display to race to 152 for one at close on the penultimate day with the in-form Younis Khan (64) and Kamran Akmal (59), who opened the innings in the absence of Shoiab Malik, at the crease on another frustrating day for the bowlers.
Pakistan now have a lead of 137 runs and with the placid track at the Iqbal Stadium still not providing much assistance to the bowlers, a dreary draw appears to be the only result possible.
Resuming at the overnight score of 441 for five, Dhoni and Pathan kept tormenting Pakistan by scoring runs quite easily before Danish Kaneria brought an end to the record 210-run partnership by sending back Dhoni.
Dhoni clobbered 19 boundaries and four sixes during his 153-ball knock while Pathan was unlucky to miss his maiden Test ton by ten runs but the duo showed remarkable temperament and character to bail the visitors out of a mid-innings wobble in the post-lunch session yesterday.
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Faisalabad Test Fifth Day
New record set for sixes in a Test (27); else boring!!
Jan 25, 2006
India batted out the final few overs of the second test for a draw after bowling Pakistan out for 490 on Wednesday.
India, who made 603 in the first innings, were set a target of 476 after skittling Pakistan, who were reduced to nine batsmen in the absence of injured captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and Shoaib Malik, whose father died on Wednesday. Vangipurappu Laxman (8) and Rahul Dravid (5) safely saw the visitors through to the close of play accumulating 21 runs on the way.
Younis Khan (194) and Mohammad Yousuf (126) had added the 11th and 12th centuries of the series as Pakistan added another huge total to the 588 they made in their first innings. India fast bowler Zaheer Khan claimed four wickets in 10 deliveries on Wednesday before Pakistan's Younis Khan missed another double century in the drawn second Test. After batsmen dominated the first four days, Zaheer finally got some reward with the second new ball in the last session as Pakistan was bowled out for 490 - losing the last five wickets for just two runs.
Meanwhile, stung by severe criticism for tall scores in the first two drawn India-Pakistan Tests in Lahore and Faisalabad, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) blamed "rain, frost and absence of sunshine" while defending its curators. PCB also said that its endeavour was to produce "hard bouncy pitches" for the three Tests, the last of which starts at the National Stadium in Lahore on Sunday.
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Faisalabad Test Scoreboard
Day Five
Jan 25, 2006
Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat
588 all out (136.2 overs)
|
490 for 8 (116.4 overs)
|
603 all out (165.4 overs)
|
21 for 0 (8.0 overs)
|
|
|
Runs |
Balls |
4s |
6s |
Shoaib Malik |
c R Dravid |
b R P Singh |
19 |
33 |
4 |
0 |
Salman Butt |
c M S Dhoni |
b Z Khan |
37 |
57 |
7 |
0 |
Younis Khan |
c Yuvraj Singh |
b R P Singh |
83 |
131 |
13 |
0 |
Mohammad Yousuf |
c M S Dhoni |
b R P Singh |
65 |
119 |
8 |
1 |
Inzamam-ul-Haq |
c M S Dhoni |
b Z Khan |
119 |
193 |
12 |
1 |
Shahid Afridi |
c Yuvraj Singh |
b A Kumble |
156 |
128 |
20 |
6 |
Abdul Razzaq |
c M S Dhoni |
b R P Singh |
37 |
90 |
5 |
0 |
Kamran Akmal |
c V Sehwag |
b A Kumble |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
Shoaib Akhtar |
c Harbhajan Singh |
b Z Khan |
47 |
54 |
5 |
3 |
Mohammad Asif |
not out |
|
6 |
18 |
0 |
0 |
Danish Kaneria |
|
b A Kumble |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
Extras |
|
9nb 3w 3b 4lb |
19 |
|
Total |
|
all out |
588 |
|
Bowler |
O |
M |
R |
W |
I K Pathan |
19.0 |
4 |
106 |
0 |
R P Singh |
25.0 |
3 |
89 |
4 |
Z Khan |
32.0 |
7 |
135 |
3 |
Harbhajan Singh |
25.0 |
1 |
101 |
0 |
A Kumble |
35.2 |
5 |
150 |
3 |
|
|
Fall of wicket |
|
49 |
Shoaib Malik |
62 |
Salman Butt |
207 |
Younis Khan |
216 |
Mohammad Yousuf |
467 |
Shahid Afridi |
469 |
Kamran Akmal |
509 |
Abdul Razzaq |
567 |
Inzamam-ul-Haq |
584 |
Shoaib Akhtar |
588 |
Danish Kaneria |
|
|
|
Runs |
Balls |
4s |
6s |
V Sehwag |
c sub |
b Abdul Razzaq |
31 |
43 |
6 |
0 |
R Dravid |
run out |
|
103 |
220 |
16 |
0 |
V V S Laxman |
c Kamran Akmal |
b Danish Kaneria |
90 |
208 |
11 |
0 |
S R Tendulkar |
c Kamran Akmal |
b Shoaib Akhtar |
14 |
33 |
3 |
0 |
Yuvraj Singh |
c Danish Kaneria |
b Mohammad Asif |
4 |
21 |
0 |
0 |
M S Dhoni |
st Kamran Akmal |
b Danish Kaneria |
144 |
152 |
18 |
4 |
I K Pathan |
lbw |
b Abdul Razzaq |
90 |
171 |
9 |
2 |
A Kumble |
st Kamran Akmal |
b Danish Kaneria |
15 |
60 |
1 |
0 |
Harbhajan Singh |
lbw |
b Shahid Afridi |
38 |
48 |
5 |
2 |
Z Khan |
not out |
|
20 |
32 |
2 |
1 |
R P Singh |
c and b |
Shahid Afridi |
6 |
29 |
0 |
0 |
Extras |
|
27nb 3w 3b 15lb |
48 |
|
Total |
|
all out |
603 |
|
Bowler |
O |
M |
R |
W |
Shoaib Akhtar |
25.0 |
7 |
100 |
1 |
Mohammad Asif |
34.0 |
6 |
103 |
1 |
Abdul Razzaq |
28.0 |
1 |
126 |
2 |
Danish Kaneria |
54.0 |
6 |
165 |
3 |
Shahid Afridi |
24.4 |
0 |
91 |
2 |
|
|
Fall of wicket |
|
39 |
V Sehwag |
236 |
V V S Laxman |
241 |
R Dravid |
258 |
Yuvraj Singh |
281 |
S R Tendulkar |
491 |
M S Dhoni |
529 |
I K Pathan |
553 |
A Kumble |
587 |
Harbhajan Singh |
603 |
R P Singh |
|
|
|
Runs |
Balls |
4s |
6s |
Salman Butt |
c S R Tendulkar |
b A Kumble |
24 |
37 |
5 |
0 |
Kamran Akmal |
c A Kumble |
b I K Pathan |
78 |
152 |
13 |
0 |
Younis Khan |
lbw |
b R P Singh |
194 |
299 |
22 |
1 |
Mohammad Yousuf |
run out |
|
126 |
179 |
11 |
4 |
Abdul Razzaq |
c V V S Laxman |
b Z Khan |
32 |
38 |
2 |
2 |
Shahid Afridi |
c M S Dhoni |
b Z Khan |
1 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
Mohammad Asif |
|
b Z Khan |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
Shoaib Akhtar |
not out |
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Danish Kaneria |
|
b Z Khan |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
Shoaib Malik |
|
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Inzamam-ul-Haq |
|
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Extras |
|
13nb 3w 9b 10lb |
35 |
|
Total |
|
for 8 |
490 |
|
Bowler |
O |
M |
R |
W |
I K Pathan |
22.0 |
2 |
80 |
1 |
R P Singh |
22.0 |
3 |
75 |
1 |
A Kumble |
21.0 |
3 |
118 |
1 |
Z Khan |
19.4 |
4 |
61 |
4 |
Harbhajan Singh |
22.0 |
2 |
78 |
0 |
Yuvraj Singh |
9.0 |
0 |
46 |
0 |
M S Dhoni |
1.0 |
0 |
13 |
0 |
|
|
Fall of wicket |
|
52 |
Salman Butt |
181 |
Kamran Akmal |
423 |
Mohammad Yousuf |
488 |
Abdul Razzaq |
490 |
Shahid Afridi |
490 |
Younis Khan |
490 |
Mohammad Asif |
490 |
Danish Kaneria |
|
|
|
Runs |
Balls |
4s |
6s |
V V S Laxman |
not out |
|
8 |
19 |
1 |
0 |
R Dravid |
not out |
|
5 |
31 |
0 |
0 |
Extras |
|
2nb 6w |
8 |
|
Total |
|
for 0 |
21 |
|
Bowler |
O |
M |
R |
W |
Shahid Afridi |
4.0 |
0 |
16 |
0 |
Younis Khan |
4.0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
|
|
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Umpires: R E Koertzen, S J A Taufel
Pakistan: Salman Butt, Shoaib Malik, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif, Danish Kaneria
India: V Sehwag, R Dravid, V V S Laxman, S R Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, M S Dhoni, I K Pathan, R P Singh, Harbhajan Singh, A Kumble, Z Khan
Indian Cricket Team for Faisalabad Test
Jan 21, 2006 V Sehwag, R Dravid, V V S Laxman, S R Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, M S Dhoni, I K Pathan, R P Singh, Harbhajan Singh, A Kumble, Z Khan
Pakistan Cricket Team for Faisalabad Test
Jan 21, 2006 Salman Butt, Shoaib Malik, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif, Danish Kaneria
The Venue
Jan 21, 2006
The Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad is situated in the northern province of Punjab and is a modern and well-equipped stadium. But no matter how impressive a venue is, not much can be done about the weather and Faisalabad has suffered at the hands of the elements. In 1998-99 fog caused the third Test against Zimbabwe was abandoned without a ball being bowled, while bad light is often an issue especially for matches played during the winter. However, when play has been possible, some memorable performances have taken place. An exciting Test was played out in 1997-98 when South Africa skittled Pakistan for 92, successfully defending a target of 142 on the final day. Then, in 2004-05, Sanath Jayasuriya smashed 253 as Sri Lanka powered to a 201-run victory. But the ground is most famous for the confrontation between Mike Gatting and Shakoor Rana during England's 1987-88 tour, which led to a day being lost during the match and some long-lasting bad feeling between the teams. The stadium itself is only 2km out of the city centre, which can be reached by a walk through the tree-lined suburbs.
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