I agree, all in all, a pretty good day for Pakistan, and one which will give a lot of joy to all their long-suffering supporters! A 200 run partnership, not involving Inzi; who in their right minds would have expected that?
Good point about Bucknor Shaka. He was consistently very good. Shame about the appealing, it did border on the rude and offensive, especially by Harbhajan and, more rarely, Kumble. The whole brouhaha over Yoyo's "dismissal" off his arm(!) towards the end, when everyone started celebrating even though it had not been given out, was clearly in very bad taste and should be censured by Chris Broad.
On a postive note, its excellent to note that Inzi & Co are not being complacent:
Quote:
"We would like to continue on Day Three because we feel the job is not even half-done," said vice-captain Younis, who scored an unbeaten 108 on the second day for his seventh Test century.
"We need to go on like this and if we get a lead of 250-plus it will help us force a win," said Youhana.
"I have only half a smile on my face," said Inzamam. "I will smile broadly if we take a match-winning lead. It could be 250-plus because it won't be easy to bat on this pitch on the last two days."
"On many occasions we have spurned an opportunity to post big totals," he said. "In Mebourne last year against Australia, we were bowled out for under-350 after being 250-3 at one stage.
"So it would be nice if Younis and Youhana bat for another two hours on the third day and we post a big total because we need to get India out a second time." |
Pretty grounded stuff from the big man, hopefully the team will follow the words through with actions on Day 3 too. Pakistani batting collapses have been two-a-penny, the one at Melbourne being just one example, hence India are by no means out of it... at all!
Younis Khan was a revelation, and his post-day
comments shows he is a modest, decent chap he is. I was particularly pleased to note the following:
Quote:
Question to Younis Khan: "On being backed by his team"....
Answer: That's what pleased and touched me no end. Everyone in the team backed me, and a day before the Test here, Inzamam sat me down and had a long chat. I appreciate everything the team did for me, and in return, I wanted to make sure that I did not let them down. That I have managed to repay them for the faith they showed in me is my most important achievement today.
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Shows the captain can inspire and motivate his followers, at least behind the scenes, something at which I think his influence is sometimes underrated.