Pakistan in trouble again after Younis's hundred

SHARJAH: Paceman Chanaka Welegedara took two wickets with the second new ball, including that of centurion Younis Khan, to give Sri Lanka the edge in the third Test against Pakistan at Sharjah stadium here on Saturday.The 30-year-old left-arm paceman dismissed Younis (100) with the first delivery of the second new-ball and then had Asad Shafiq (16) in the same spell to leave Pakistan at 282-6 at the close on the third day.Sri Lanka, who scored 413 in their first innings, still lead by 131 runs and are seeking a big first innings lead to give them a chance of levelling the series after losing the second Test by nine wickets in Dubai.The first Test in Abu Dhabi ended in a draw.With just two overs to go left-arm spinner Rangana Herath removed Adnan Akmal, leg before wicket for seven to leave Sri Lanka on top.At close, skipper Misbah-ul Haq, who reached his 13th half-century in the penultimate over, was unbeaten on 50 and with him Abdul Rehman on three not out.The first two sessions had belonged to Pakistan as Younis added 98 for the third wicket with Azhar Ali (53) and another 100 with Misbah for the fourth wicket but Welegedara's double strike slumped Pakistan from 233-3 to 258-5.Younis had completed his 18th Test hundred with a sharp single off Welegedara in the last over before tea, taking 188 balls studded with eleven boundaries and a six.Misbah was mostly blocking before hitting the 53rd delivery he faced for his first boundary, ensuring Pakistan didn't lose sight of winning 2-0 if they want to replace Sri Lanka at number five and jump one place up the current Test rankings.After tea, both the batsmen upped the tempo as Younis hit a boundary and six off Herath to take Pakistan past the follow-on mark of 213, before notching another four off a reverse sweep as Sri Lanka delayed the second new ball until the 91st over.The new ball was effective as Welegedara struck with the first delivery, bowling Younis with a sharp incoming delivery. Younis hit 12 boundaries and two sixes during his 211-ball knock.Welegedara, who finished with 3-62 off 25 overs, then had Shafiq caught behind.Earlier in the morning, Sri Lanka were a bowler short after frontline paceman Dhammika Prasad injured a muscle and was unable to bowl after Pakistan resumed at 35-2.That helped Ali, who scored his maiden hundred in the last match in Dubai, and Younis to bat out the first session taking Pakistan to 126-2 by lunch.Younis, on 30, survived a close leg-before shout against Herath who extracted some spin out of an otherwise batting-friendly pitch.Ali reached his 11th Test fifty soon after lunch but was bowled by medium pacer Kosala Kulasekara's delivery in the sixth over after lunch, for the debutant's first Test wicket.

Read More

Younis leads Pakistan fightback against Sri Lanka

SHARJAH: A Younis Khan century steered his team closer to Sri Lanka's first innings total as Pakistan reached 199 for three at tea on the third day of the third and final Test in neutral Sharjah on Saturday.Put on the back foot for a majority of the first two days, Pakistan still trail Sri Lanka by 214 runs but Younis (100 not out), with the help of Azhar Ali (53) and Misbah-ul-Haq (16 not out), got Pakistan back into the match after resuming on 35-2. Younis, who scored his first run off the 31st delivery he faced, brought up his 18th test century when he drove Chanaka Welegedara into the covers for a single in the last over before the interval. Younis and Ali batted cautiously at the start, with the first run in their partnership coming after more than 50 balls, but started scoring freely as they spent longer at the crease. The pair added 98 for the third wicket before Ali became Kosala Kulasekara's first Test victim when the nippy right-armer got one to angle back sharply into the Pakistan batsman's stumps. Captain Misbah then came to the crease and looked untroubled, scoring his runs patiently from 72 deliveries. Sri Lanka, trailing the three match series 1-0, were dealt a blow to their bowling attack when paceman Dhammika Prasad was ruled out from the remainder of the test with a thigh strain. Left-arm seamer Welegedara managed to trouble the batsmen on a few occasions but the Sri Lankan spinners failed to extract any purchase out of the wicket, making it easier for the batsmen to score. Pakistan, who won the second test by nine wickets, are playing "home" Tests in the Gulf region due to security concerns in their own country. (Reuters)

Read More

An angry teammate blew the whistle: Azhar Majeed

LONDON: The brother of convicted agent Mazhar Majeed, has alleged that an angry Pakistani cricketer harboring grudge against the then captain blew the whistle to set a British journalist at Mazhar and the other players Azhar Majeed said Saqlain Mushtaq introduced him to Inzimam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Asif, and Mushtaq Ahmed who he made friends with down the line. He also revealed that it was he who helped Mazhar strike friendly terms with the cricketers especially Mohammad Asif.Azhar added that Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) believed he was Mazhar’s business partner, which was not true at all, as neither International Cricket Council (ICC), nor PCB, English Cricket Board (ECB), police etc. raised any questions in this connection. An emotional Azhar said that both he and his brother love the sport of cricket and he had no clue whatsoever what spot-fixing was until the media broke the news. He lamented his bother’s wrongdoing saying what Mazhar did was deplorable. “No one should ever indulge in such practices”, Azhar warned.

Read More