Cricket Banter

^^ All the required overs were bowled on days 1 to 4. At lunch on day 5 Pakistan were 125-5, & in command, in the middle session New Zealand went wicketless, & bowled just 25 overs. At 273-6 Pakistan looked on course to knock off 46 more runs, before 3 wickets fell which made New Zealand favourites, suddenly they showed more urgency, trying to complete the remaining overs in search of the final wicket. Teams definitely manipulate the overrate dependent on the match situation.

(06-01-2023 21:08 )Boomerangutangangbang Wrote:  ^^ All the required overs were bowled on days 1 to 4. At lunch on day 5 Pakistan were 125-5, & in command, in the middle session New Zealand went wicketless, & bowled just 25 overs. At 273-6 Pakistan looked on course to knock off 46 more runs, before 3 wickets fell which made New Zealand favourites, suddenly they showed more urgency, trying to complete the remaining overs in search of the final wicket. Teams definitely manipulate the overrate dependent on the match situation.

The manipulation point is a good one.
However I still think the match should have been completed.
There was jeopardy for both teams so I would have made them feel the self imposed stress right to the end .
Reap what you sow and all that .

(05-01-2023 14:03 )Boomerangutangangbang Wrote:  AUS v SA 3rd Test Sydney Day 5
AUS 475-4 dec (131 overs) Khawaja 195 no Smith 104 Labuschagne 79 Nortje 2-55
SA 55 (108 overs) Maharaj 53 Harmer 47 Zondo 39 Bavuma 35 Hazlewood 4-48 Cummins 3-60 Lyon 2-88
SA 82-2 F/O (32 overs) Klaasen 35 no Erwee 31 no

AUS v SA 3rd Test Sydney Day 5
SA 106-2 f/o (41.5 overs) Erwee 42 no Klaasen 35
Match drawn

First ODI

Pakistan v New Zealand - Karachi.

Pakistan won toss and field

NZ: 255/9 (50 overs) Bracewell 43, Latham 42.
Naseem Shah 5/57

Pakistan: 258/4 (48.1 overs)
Rizwan 77no, Babar 66

Pakistan won by 6 wickets.

^ And in the end, relatively comfortable! Although the pitches in Pakistan are flat, at least this one was sufficiently testing, that NZ had to work to compile their target! Pakistan too were made to manage the chase, with few boundaries overall, and an approach where accumulation was crucial - a real contest! ODIs need more of these pitches (maybe a touch quicker elsewhere in the world) that ask the batsmen to produce their full range of skills, instead of being able to just play through the line with impunity! Obviously elsewhere also, bowlers will get more in the way of bounce and - one would hope - some lateral movement.

Pakistan New Zealand 2nd ODI Karachi
New Zealand elected to bat
NZ 261 (49.5 overs) Conway 101 Williamson 85 Santner 37 Nawaz 4-38 Naseem 3-58
Pakistan 182 (43 overs) Babar 79 Rizwan 28 Salman 25 Southee 2-33 Sodhi 2-38
New Zealand won by 79 runs

New Zealand innings fell away dramatically after Conway & Williamson had added 181 for the 2nd wicket, before Santner managed some late runs.

A match where both innings fell away very badly. Still, with it now being 1-1 in the series it sets things up very nicely.

Pakistan v New Zealand 3rd ODI Karachi (09.30 GMT)
Pakistan elected to bat
Pakistan 280-9 Fakhar 101 Rizwan 77 Saman 45 Southee 3-56 Ferguson 2-63
NZ 281-8 (48.1 Overs) Williamson 53 Conway 52 Mitchelll 31 Phillips 63 no Wasim 2-35 Saman 2-42
New Zealand on by 2 wickets