MULTAN, 1 October 2004 — Allrounder Abdul Razzaq cracked an aggressive unbeaten hundred and Shahid Afridi a fiery fifty to help Pakistan down Zimbabwe by 144 runs in the opening tri-series match at the Multan cricket stadium yesterday.
Razzaq smashed 107 off just 114 balls while Afridi blasted 58 off 26 deliveries to lift their team from 146-6 to 292-7 in the allotted 50 overs after Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat. Zimbabwe could manage 148 in 38.3 overs with Vusimuzi Sibanda top scoring with 57.
Dion Ebrahim with 29 was the other notable contributor as the tourists found Pakistan bowling hard to cope in a match Zimbabwe started well before being blown away by Razzaq and Afridi.
The Razzaq-Afridi pair punished the tourist’s bowling with their ruthless batting, adding 107 off just 46 balls for the seventh wicket to wrench the inexperienced Zimbabwe hold.
Razzaq’s second One-Day hundred was studded with five towering sixes and as many boundaries while Afridi’s had four sixes and five boundaries. Pakistan added 145 runs in the last 10 overs. “When I went in with the team in trouble at 36-4 my main aim was to survive the new ball and help my captain build the innings,” said Razzaq, who was declared man of the match.
Razzaq first added 95 runs for the fifth wicket with captain Inzamam-ul Haq who initiated his team’s fightback with a labored 73 after Pakistan were reeling at 36-4. Afridi, who also returned figures of 3-18, inspired Razzaq with some lusty hitting, completing his fifty off just 21 balls to thwart an attacking Zimbabwe.
Opener Yasir Hameed edged the very first delivery of the game by Tinashe Panyangara to wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu. Panyangara’s new ball partner Douglas Hondo then joined the act, dismissing Shoaib Malik (1) and Yousuf Youhana (1) in the space of eight balls to leave Pakistan reeling at 6-3.
Debutant Bazid Khan shaped well for his 12 but chased a wide delivery from Panyangara and was well caught by Taibu behind the stumps. It was the sixth instance of a father-son appearing in One-Day Internationals, after India’s Sunil and Rohan Gavaskar and Yograj and Yuvraj Singh, England’s Donald and Derek Pringle and David and Graham Lloyd and New Zealand’s Lance and Chris Cairns.
After Bazid’s dismissal, Inzamam hit eight boundaries and a six before he was judged leg before wicket.
Hayden Finds Form in Tour Opener
Australia opener Matthew Hayden made a brisk 67 on the opening day of a three-day tour game against Ranji Trophy champions Bombay yesterday.
The 32-year-old Queenslander swept and drove with authority on a Brabourne stadium affording low bounce. Australia, choosing to bat first, were 159 for three at the close. The start of play was delayed by more than three hours due to a damp field caused by overnight rain.
Hayden hit a run-a-ball fifty, sharing a 69-run opening stand with fellow left-hander Justin Langer, who made 24. He was eventually out hitting an attempted drive back to former test leg-spinner Sairaj Bahutule, the Bombay captain.
Simon Katich was out for 30, pulling left-arm spinner Nilesh Kulkarni to mid-wicket. Damien Martyn (28 not out) and Brad Hodge (six not out) were together at the close.
More Named India’s New Chief Selector
Former India wicketkeeper Kiran More has been named the chairman of India’s new selection committee, it was announced in Calcutta yesterday.
The 42-year-old, who takes over from former wicketkeeper-batsman Syed Kirmani, will head the five-member body for the next two years. The other selectors are former middle-order batsman Yashpal Sharma, a member of the 1983 World Cup-winning squad, off-spinner Gopal Sharma, opener Pranab Roy and V. B. Chandrasekhar.
BCCI Says Sony to Beam Australia Tests
India’s home Test series against Australia next month will be telecast on Sony television, with live pictures to be produced by the Dubai-based TEN Sports, the Indian cricket board said.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Ranbir Mahendra said in a statement BCCI would itself produce and distribute the television feed for the four-Test series that starts next week.
The telecast has been mired in controversy after the country’s largest listed media firm, Zee Telefilms Ltd., moved the courts following the board’s decision to cancel the multimillion dollar telecast rights awarded to it.
“On the basis of the recommendation of the marketing committee, the general body has decided the board would itself produce and distribute the feed and sell the telecast of the four test matches on a revenue-sharing basis,” Mahendra said in a statement.
“While TEN Sports would produce the feed, Sony Entertainment Television would telecast, distribute and market the telecast.”
Zimbabwe Race Probe Collapses
A formal hearing into allegations of racism in Zimbabwe cricket, set up in Harare by the International Cricket Council (ICC), collapsed in disarray yesterday when the Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) and the rebel players refused to budge on witness procedure.
One of the adjudicators, South African Justice Steven Majiedt said they had no alternative but to “terminate these proceedings.” ICC President Ehsan Mani labeled the events in Zimbabwe as ‘disappointing’.
The impasse was caused when the ZCU demanded that three of its directors should be allowed to hear what the players had to say. The players — former captain Heath Streak, batsman Stuart Carlisle and all-rounder Trevor Gripper — refused to accept this condition.
