One commonly known truth about test cricket is that it is always dying. Crowds are always dwindling, ratings are always dropping, and interest is always waning.
Table 1
The below-mentioned table sheds two deliveries into the limelight and most importantly, focuses on a critical topic, pertaining to modern-day batters. The pad blocking the bat trajectory, hindering the batsman from making effective contact with the ball, making him susceptible to lbw, a phenomenon that gets compounded by the decision to play with a cross-bat to deliveries that carry a fair bit of inswing or reverse swing.
Serial Number | Bowler | Batsman | Series | Innings | Stadium | City | Country |
1 | Pat Cummins | Joss Buttler | Ashes 2022 series | 2nd | Sydney Cricket Ground | Sydney | Australia |
2 | Naseem Shah | Steven Peter Devereux Smith | Qadir Benaud Series 2022 | 2nd | Qaddafi Cricket Stadium | Lahore | Pakistan |
| | | | | | | |
Cricket is a stirring reminder of the ebbs and flows in life. Travis Head, after a stellar Ashes series, reminds all young batters out there of the challenges enveloping young batters, especially in the subcontinent. A brilliant player of the offside who looks to score aggressively to up the ante and seize the momentum from the opposition unit, Head every now and then struggles to boss off-spinners, a dilemma depicted upon the penultimate delivery of the 62nd over. Travis, on 7 runs, strides out to embrace his 15th ball and potentially hit it down the ground, but potentially undone by the change of pace., directing it straight into the breadbasket of the promising Sajid Khan instead
Khawaja playing the ball near the body while meeting it underneath his eyeline paints a sound defense . His presence at the crease remains crucial as a fulcrum, anchoring the innings, particularly on spinning Indo-Pak tracks. With the skip taking a stunner at first slip to dismiss him, Uzzie narrowly missed out on another well-deserved century, succumbing to the nervous 90s syndrome like a left-handed Michael Slater.
Cummins taking a sensational return catch to dismiss Azhar Ali, followed by touching images of his son's sad gesture in the stands, goes on to show what a long way the game has come, reigniting joy, suspense, and crowd banter 12 years after the Ghost of Liberty struck in 2009. Special shoutout to Ahsan Raza for officiating here today after being struck in the deadly incident.
It's been a grueling series for Smudge in the slip cordon. It highlights the perils of slip fielders standing close to each other near the wicket. With 4 drops in the second test, aiding Pakistan in holding for the draw and setting up a decider in Lahore, one has to wonder how costly the reprieve would be. Smudge in his tattered baggy-green bearing a resemblance to the modern-day fully clothed Braveheart.
Interesting take by Mike Haysman. The Lahore pitch has been pretty flat so far with rough zones developing and will proceed to slow down even further as the game progresses. The fact that it is not deteriorating at a rapid rate goes on to show that a lot still remains in it for the batters.
The sudden collapse of 7 wickets for 20 runs, courtesy of a bowling masterclass by the dynamic duo of Starc and Cummins (with the former prizing 4 scalps and the latter taking a scintillating 5-wicket haul to lead from the front with the reverse swinging cherry as well as his immaculate leadership).
It was a valiant knock by Babar who held one end firm with wickets tumbling at the other end but you feel that the lower order could have potentially displayed more resistance in their backyard on the surface that is still showcasing some batting-friendly elements.
Australia will look to build on the first-innings lead in the first 2 sessions of the penultimate day. For Pakistan, the onus is on the bowlers to curtail the damage and look to potentially keep making inroads in the wickets column to keep the target south of 350. Looking forward to another engrossing contest between bat and ball
PS: You gotta love the crowd banter, including but not limited to the "No-Run" and "daal-roti saga". Keep rocking Marnus!
Meanwhile, back home, PM Imran Khan asserts on playing the "Trump Card" before the "no-confidence" vote. Happy Pakistan Day btw peeps! May we all leave no stone unturned in putting our best foot forwards when it comes to serving humanity in today's internet-wired satellite global village where absolute control is as ephemeral as a one-legged unicorn taking a leak at the corner of a double rainbow. May the flag soar high. Let us honor our fallen heroes and stand up for a better and more sustainable and prosperous future that features the application of the United Nations Sustainable Goals in tranquility. The world may occasionally dull us with its troubles and strife but may Eternal Happiness brim 24/7 in the teapots of our lives.
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