Posts tagged World Cup

3:38 p.m. Fitting end that, with Tait knocking over last man Ajmal. What a dominating performance. But as Chappelli has said all day, it’s par for the course when these two teams meet. Pakistan really are quite pathetic. And Australia are really quite good. Anyway, that’s it from me.

3:36 p.m. “This game ending not with a bang but with a whimper,” Harsha cheerily informs us. You can say that again. This game has been over for half an hour. It’s the test match equivalent of a game being over in three days.

3:33 p.m. A great catch! Fawad slogs one from Johnson to deep midwicket, where Pup takes an excellent catch. That was dying on him. 151/9.

3:31 p.m. So two overs to go. 44 required. Fawad and Sami batting. I think we’re okay here. Heh.

3:29 p.m. And Hussey gets Aamer, skying one to long off. This is too easy. This is too fun. 146/8.

3:28 p.m. Hussey back into the attack.

3:27 p.m. Now Fawad hits a meaningless six. He’s batting too low for me. Was one of the few Pakistanis who played well in Australia last summer. Anyway, 52 off 18 required.

3:24 p.m. After smacking a meaningless six, Misbah holes out trying to do it again. He’s played a fairly useless innings, Misbah. The card will show him being Pakistan’s best player today, but that’s why statistics are so misleading. He was crucial to Australia’s success today, first with two dropped catches and then with a slow and too-steady innings.

3:23 p.m. Australia are a class apart from this Pakistan team. In case you didn’t know already. 66 off 24. God, finish this already.

3:20 p.m. Fawad and Misbah are just knocking it around for singles now.

3:19 p.m. Well, Pakistan need 71 off five overs. Plenty of fat ladies clearing their throats here.

3:17 p.m. Razzaq gone! Nannes gets him to hole out to long off. What a truly dominating performance this has been from Australia. Killed them from the start.

3:16 p.m. Well, while I was gone, Tait got Afridi. Have no idea how. But it’s good news, you never know with Afridi what he could do at the end. Pakistan need a highly unlikely 72 off 32.

3:13 p.m. Crap, my feed is acting up again. Hold on.

3:10 p.m. Tait replaces Watson. Pup hasn’t allowed any bowler more than an over if they’ve leaked runs. Good strategy, keeping these guys guessing.

3:08 p.m. Excellent over from Johnson. Six off it, when Pakistan basically need double that. 112/4 in 13. 80 needed off 42.

3:08 p.m. Good over from Johnson, this. Just four off four so far.

3:06 p.m. Johnson replaces Smith. Good change. Swing and a miss from Afridi first up.

3:05 p.m. Runs off every ball in that over, nine off it. 106/4 in 12. 86 needed off 48. They’re making a good try of it here, Pakistan. I really thought they would just collapse.

3:03 p.m. Damnitt. Afridi lifts it over short fine leg by moving across and scooping it. Four more.

3:03 p.m. Watson back into the attack. Two singles off the first two balls. Just brings an element of control on proceedings does Watto.

3:01 p.m. 17 in total off that Smith over. 97/4 in 11. 95 needed off 54 balls.

3:00 p.m. Oh dear. Afridi is laying into Smith here. 4,4,6. One to cover, the second to wide long on, the third to cover again. As long as he’s there, Pup should just keep the quicks on.

2:57 p.m. Well, safe enough. Two to wide long on. The squeeze is most definitely on, just six runs off that over. 80/4 after ten. Pakistan need 112 runs in 10 overs. Hahaha.

2:56 p.m. Johnson bowls a no ball, and gives Afridi a free hit. I bet he gets over excited and screws it up.

2:54 p.m. Johnson beats Afridi all ends up. Good change bringing in the quickie against Afridi.

2:53 p.m. So after a couple of bad overs, OZ pull it back with the big wicket of Umar and just seven off it. 74/4 after nine.

2:51 p.m. Who, exactly, is behind these ads that end up on Star Cricket? They’re terrible. Anyway, Afridi in.

2:50 p.m. Gone! Umar is beaten in the flight, and slices one to deep cover, where it’s juggled but taken in the end. 70/4.

2:49 p.m. Steve Smith, the leggie, is on. Umar paddles his first ball for two.

2:48 p.m. Misbah charges and hits Clarke over his head for four. Another expensive over, fourteen off it. We really should just keep our pacers on against these guys. Anyway, it’s 67/3 after eight.

2:45 p.m. Clarke brings himself on, and his second ball is smacked by Misbah over midwicket for six. Good running off the next ball gets two. Well, they’re trying Pakistan, give them that.

2:44 p.m. Just the four off the over, nice bowling. Got through it in a hurry too.

2:42 p.m. David Hussey into the attack, to bowl his offies.

2:42 p.m. Expensive over that, as Misbah works a couple off the last ball. 49/3 after six, and that’s the end of the powerplay.

2:41 p.m. It really says something that a uniformed policeman in the crowd is a better fielder than half of the Pakistani team.

2:40 p.m. Bang! Umar Akmal just lays into Watson. Goes well into the stands for six, where a policeman takes it one-handed. Harsha enjoyed that.

2:39 p.m. Watson replaces Tait. Umar charges and smacks it, but it’s cut off by mid off.

2:37 p.m. 5 runs and a wicket off that over. 38-3 after five, and Australia look like they’re going to win this in a canter. Again. Hahahaha.

2:35 p.m. Pakistan just restricted to singles here. Required rate is already over 10.

2:33 p.m. Hahaha. Hafeez smacks a short ball from Johnson straight to the man at deep square, who literally didn’t have to move. Three wickets in 4.2 overs, Australia doing well. Misbah in.

2:33 p.m Mitchell Johnson replaces Nannes.

2:32 p.m. Hafeez with an ungainly slog over midwicket gets a boundary, sorta kinda ruining the Tait over. Anyway, 33-2 after four.

2:31 p.m. Great over this from Tait, just cramping Hafeez and keeping it back of a length. They can’t get him away.

2:27 p.m. Gone! That was predictable. Tait was hurrying these guys. Butt tried to hoik a short one over midwicket, only to get an edge, and it’s a safe catch to mid-on. Umar Akmal in.

2:26 p.m. Could’ve been a lot worse too, if Hafeez had eluded the short fine leg with his glance. As it stands, 14 off it. 28-1 after three.

2:25 p.m. And now some overcompensation from Nannes, hurling it down the leg side. Goes for a wide, and they get a bye too. Horrible over, this.

2:24 p.m. And again! More width from Nannes. Clarke might think about plugging the off-side, it’s the only place this guy can score runs.

2:24 p.m. Nice shot from Butt, a wristy flick through the covers. Four more.

2:22 p.m. Ah, some width from Nannes, exacerbated by the fact that Butt gave himself room. Slices it over point for four.

2:22 p.m. I don’t think anybody told Messrs Butt and Hafeez what total Pakistan are chasing here.

2:21 p.m. 14-1 after two.

2:20 p.m. Tait beats Hafeez for pace twice in a row. He’s getting out very soon, Hafeez. You watch.

2:19 p.m. Rameez, please stop talking. Please. You’re really, really annoying.

2:17 p.m. And we’re back. 4 runs off Tait’s first three balls.

2:16 p.m. Damn, my feed is giving me problems again.

2:15 p.m. Aargh. Nannes ruins a goodish over with one sliding down the leg side, which Hafeez swivels behind square for four. 9-1 after 1. Tait from the other end?

2:14 p.m. “You’ve got to be careful when you’re running with Salman Butt,” advises Rameez.

2:12 p.m. Ah, nice shot from Hafeez first up. Driven on the up through the covers. Pakistan’s first boundary.

2:10 p.m. Hahhahahahaha. This is seriously awesome. Akmal slices Nannes’s widish delivery straight to third man. And unfortunately for Akmal, Salman Butt wasn’t fielding there. Pakistan 1-1 after 1 ball. Good times.

2:10 p.m. And we’re off. Nannes starts off with a wide down the leg side to Akmal. Butt on the other end.

1:56 p.m. Here’s the crazy thing: there were only thirteen dot balls in the entire innings, six of them in the last over. Jeez.

1:52 p.m. What a crazy, crazy over. Aamer bowls Tait off his last ball, giving Pakistan 5 wickets in the last over, three to Aamer and two run outs. And no runs! Still, not a problem. Watson with 81 off 49 and Hussey with 53 off 29 were the stars. Pakistan will need 192 to win. Be back soon.

1:51 p.m. And it’s the same thing off the fourth ball, with this time Smith running to the batter’s end and getting run out. 4 balls in this over for 0 runs and 4 wickets.

1:50 p.m. By the way, Madrid scored an 89th minute winner. Disgusting.

1:49 p.m. Well, if Aamer didn’t get his hat-trick, the team did. Smith misses and they go for a bye, but Kamran Akmal is on target with his throw, and Hussey is run out. Three in three for Pakistan. 191/8.

1:47 p.m. And now Johnson’s gone, bowled off a yorker. Crap.

1:46 p.m. Gone! Haddin tries to smack Aamer out of the ground, gets an edge, and is caught by Sami at short third. Well, that’s going to happen at this stage — the job is basically done anyway. Pakistan are going to get nowhere near this total.

1:45 p.m. And a boundary to end the over. 191-5 in 19 then. So last over coming up, from Aamer.

1:44 p.m. Give Ajmal credit, he’s bowled well. The only Pakistani to do so. But then again, if you get 101 off two bowlers, it’s really not a big deal if one of them does bowl well.

1:42 p.m. Gone! White holes out to deep square — he didn’t get all of that short one from Ajmal. No worries, Haddin is in. 181/5 in 18.2.

1:41 p.m. Butt misfields and gifts White two. “Some of his out cricket is quite ordinary,” Chappeli tsk-tsks.

1:39 p.m. Hussey ruins Sami’s good over by moving across and looping it over the short fine leg. 179/4 after 18. Sami’s gone for 54 in his four overs; him and Hafeez have conceded more than a hundred between them. Good times.

1:37 p.m. Sami bowls a beamer, and they get two. Next ball is two more, as a yorker is squeezed out to Razzaq at deep square. “Ambled in” is right, Sanjay.

1:36 p.m. Sami continuing. Two singles off the first two balls. Come on guys. Finish this.

1:33 p.m. Anyway, two relatively new players at the crease: Mike Hussey and Cameron White. Australia are 167-4 after 17. Pakistan are going to be chasing 210 today. They’ll get about 110. Write it down.

1:32 p.m. Watson gone! Ah well, can’t say he didn’t do his job, eh? Ajmal gets him LBW with a quicker one there.

1:31 p.m. The ever reliable Cricinfo suggests that Hussey hit Sami for four sixes in one over. Hahaha. Too good.

1:30 p.m. Okay, I clearly missed quite a bit of action. Thirty runs and a wicket in about one over. What the hell happened?

1:25 p.m. Nooo!! My feed has disappeared. Crap, hold on, let me find another.

1:23 p.m. I can’t type fast enough to keep up with Australia’s strokeplay here. Suffice it to say, it’s 133-2 after fifteen.

1:21 p.m. Ajmal continuing, and his second ball is swept expertly behind square for four. As Harsha notes, OZ have simply not taken their foot off the pedal today. Not for a second. Joy to watch.

1:20 p.m. By the way, it’s 123-2 off 14.

1:19 p.m. Hahahhahahaha. Butt drops an absolute sitter at long off from a Hussey strike. Hahahaha. They’re going to pay for that. Oh man, it’s fun playing Pakistan. It’s so much fun.

1:18 p.m. Four more! OZ really do look like they’re on a mission here.

1:17 p.m. Harsha and Rameez are having a go at Afridi’s captaincy for bowling Hafeez that early, and not taking him off when he was going for runs. Well, everyone was going for runs. What was he supposed to do?

1:16 p.m. Sami back into the attack.

1:15 p.m. Big over then, fifteen off it. 116-2 after 13. Afridi bowled out too, conceding 33 off his four.

1:14 p.m. And now a six from Watson off Afridi. This is carnage, and again, they’re not even really trying.

1:13 p.m. Bang! That’s Hussey’s first big shot, who just lifts Afridi effortlessly over his head for six. This has been a fantastic batting performance from OZ.

1:12 p.m. So seven off that over then. 101-2. We’re looking good here, especially if Razzaq bowls on this wicket. I wonder when he’ll be brought into the attack.

1:11 p.m. Haha. Just as Rameez Raja says Watson will have a more difficult time against Ajmal than he did Hafeez, he carves him for four to extra cover off a low full toss.

1:10 p.m. Ajmal into the attack, replacing the expensive Hafeez.

1:09 p.m. Eight off that over, OZ are 94-2 after eleven.

1:08 p.m. Watson is just murdering these guys. He moves on to 63 off 36, without even really trying. Hundred is on for him, no question.

1:08 p.m. Sorry for my mistake; Afridi is continuing here, not Razzaq.

1:06 p.m. Unfortunately Hafeez’s quota is now over; he went for 47 in four overs. Razzaq replacing Afridi from the other end, Australia are 86-2 after ten. Like I said, 200 is on.

1:05 p.m. One more! Watson on fire here, brings up his fifty in style. Fun stuff.

1:04 p.m. Hahaha. Watson just gets down on one knee and bludgeons it over long on for six. He didn’t even look like he was trying there. This Hafeez chap is quite crap, Pup will be kicking himself for getting out to him.

1:03 p.m. Watson smacks a quicker one for four behind square, then runs hard for two to mid on. A good over for OZ, eight off it. 72-2 after nine.

1:02 p.m. David Hussey needs to be careful here. Don’t try to go too hard against Afridi early on. Just settle in first.

12:59 p.m. Damn! Hafeez bowls Pup with a fairly innocuous delivery. Really? You lose a wicket to this guy? Anyway, David Hussey in, and Afridi to continue. 64-2 after eight.

12:57 p.m. Hafeez is bowling all sorts of rubbish here. A low full toss is smacked for four by Watson down to long on, the next one is short and would’ve been four but for a nice stop on the boundary from Sami.

12:57 p.m. Hafeez back into the attack.

12:55 p.m. Some nice bowling from Afridi, mixing it up both in terms of pace and direction and trajectory. Just the single off the over. 56-1 after 7. It’s okay, our start has ensured we can have a couple of quiet overs and not really have it affect us.

12:54 p.m. Oops, sorry about that, that last boundary was from Watson, not Pup. Anyway, Afridi into the attack.

12:53 p.m. Rubbish delivery from Sami to end the over, short and going down the legside, gifting Pup his first boundary. 55-1 after six.

12:51 p.m. Crap! Warner got over excited with a short delivery from Sami, top-edged it, and holes out to deep square. Well, he did his job. 51-1 in the sixth over. Captain Clarke in.

12:48 p.m. Sami replaces the very successful Hafeez.

12:48 p.m. 48-0 after five. Like I said, I’m feeling 200 today.

12:47 p.m. Bang! Two more boundaries! One over midwicket, one to wide mid off. Now Aamer is falling apart.

12:45 p.m. Yes! Another dropped chance, though to be fair to Misbah, it was a half chance, which for Pakistan is usually a one-tenth chance. How are these guys still allowed to play international cricket? After sweeping them back home in the summer (3-0 in tests, 5-0 in ODIs and beating them in the only T20), you’d think they’d just quit.

12:43 p.m. Warner just murders a tossed up half volley down the ground. 17 in all off the over, 37-0 after four. Fantastic start. Also, there have been two additional goals at the Bernabeu, it’s now 2-2.

12:42 p.m. Haha. A four, a dropped catch, a six. Oh, it’s fun to play Pakistan.

12:40 p.m. 7 runs off the over then, without any bother whatsoever: just good, hard running and moderate aggression in shot selection. 20-0 after three, and I have a good feeling about this. I’m feeling a big total.

12:38 p.m. Good batting here from Australia, getting runs off every ball, even the good ones (of which Aamer is bowling plenty).

12:35 p.m. Smack! After a good start from Hafeez, conceding only two singles off the first five, Warner dances down and deposits Hafeez over long off for six. 13-0 after two. Nice solid start here.

12:34 p.m. What have we here? Mohd Hafeez, an offie, bowling with the new ball. That’s too bad, I would’ve liked seeing Warner and Watson facing Mohd Sami on this pitch with the new ball. On target first up.

12:33 p.m. And a thick outside edge to third man for a single ends the first over. OZ 5-0 after one.

12:31 p.m. Aamer’s come back well in this over after the boundary. Back on a good line and length, moving it out and in alternately. Warner needs to calm down here.

12:30 p.m. Bang! Warner smacks Aamer behind square off one that was sliding down the leg side. First boundary.

12:30 p.m. And straight away there’s some nip there for young Aamer outside off, as Warner nibbles at it.

12:27 p.m. By the way, if Madrid draw today, then Barca can afford to lose away to Sevilla and still win the title if they win their other two games. Ok, back to the cricket. Warner and Watson to open for us, facing Aamer first up.

12:24 p.m. Damn. Ronaldo just equalized for Madrid. Terrible goal-keeping — how do you get beaten near post from there? Ugh.

12:22 p.m. By the way, sincere thanks to all the people on Twitter who gave me the links to watch this game. Much appreciated.

12:19 p.m. Ravi Shastri is yelling the pitch report. Chill out, dude. Seriously. Just calm down.

12:17 p.m. Australia have won the toss and will bat first. Come on, boys! Put up 200 against these Paki cheats.

12:16 p.m. Anyway, team news: we’re going with Warner, Watson, Clark, White, D Hussey, M Hussey, Haddin, Smith, Johnson, Tait, Nannes. Pakistan is going with Butt, Akmal, Hafeez, Afridi, U Akmal, Alam, Misbah, Razzaq, Aamer, Sami, Ajmal.

12:13 p.m. Despite this, I prefer Star Cricket to Geo Super which actually cut away to ads in between overs for Kurlz chips. Pretty much guarantees I’m never eating Kurlz chips in my life. Screw you, Kurlz.

12:11 p.m. I know this is horribly naive and all that, but can’t cricket channels just show, you know, cricket? What’s with all the bells and whistles and “analysis” and highlights packages and bimbos in skirts?

12:10 p.m. By the way, Osasuna are up a goal against Real. At the Bernabeu. Heh.

12:06 p.m. By the way, just to let you know, I’m supporting Australia in this game. After the debacle at Sydney, after Pakistan confirmed the worst suspicion of every fan alive, I decided to end this abusive relationship with Pakistan cricket. I filed for divorce, and am now rooting against it whenever I can. So: GO AUSTRALIA! WOOH!

12:04 p.m. Hey, Wasim Akram is clearly dyeing his hair, right?