The first day at Sharjah was almost like the absorbing days
of 80s and early 90s when the batting teams were made to feel the heat of Test
match cricket by the nagging and incisive bowling of the opposition pace-bowlers.
The challenges were stifling and the battles were a treat for the lovers of
Test cricket.
Anyhow, James Anderson and Stuart Broad were just too good
to watch today. Both of them debunked the theory that they are nothing on
flat-decks. Their length and line of attack
were so disciplined and testing
that it poured pressure on the Pakistani batsmen and left them on the
backfoot
from the word go. Both Broad and Anderson pitched the ball in and around the
full and good -length-area targeting the top of off stump with an astonishing
regularity. It was almost like a Richard Hadlee and Glenn McGrath stuff. The Pakistani batsmen hardly had any answers
to Broad and Anderson’s supreme stuff.
It was Misbah-ul-Haq whose bat again came to the rescue of Pakistan and how
important his and Younis’ resilience has been for Pakistan in recent times
remains a moot question. While the rest of the batters struggled to survive, Misbah’s
resolve and composure helped Pakistan to stabilize the innings, which would
have cut a sorry figure had Misbah’s bat not shone.
The first session will be crucial tomorrow.
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
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