Tag: Rawalpindi Test

RAWALPINDI: As the England Test side embarks on its first tour of Pakistan after 17 years gap, the Pindi stadium witnessed a busy day on Tuesday as both teams raced up their preparations for the opening Test at the venue.   

England will lock horns with the hosts for the three-match Test series, starting from December 1 (Thursday) with the Rawalpindi Test, while the remaining two fixtures will be held in Multan and Karachi respectively.

The players of the two squads carried out robust training sessions on Tuesday ahead of the first Test amid tight security at the stadium.

According to the details, foolproof security arrangements were ensured around the stadium and on the team routes for the practice session which lasted till the afternoon.

Ben Stokes-led side engaged in vigorous fielding drills alongside net sessions for bowling and batting practice for the second consecutive day, while the national squad also geared up their preparations for the home assignment.

It is pertinent to mention here that England will play Pakistan in a test series for the first time since 2005 when they last toured the country for three tests and five ODIs.

England’s white-ball side had already visited the country in September this year for the seven T20 matches and defeated the hosts 4-3 in the series.

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KARACHI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) assessed the Rawalpindi surface as ‘below average’ on Thursday, where the first Test of the historic Pakistan-Australia series was played.

Following this, the venue has been given one demerit point under the ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process.

The match referee of the Rawalpindi Test Ranjan Madugalle, who is also a member of the ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees, rated the pitch and said the character of ‘pitch hardly changed’.

“The character of the pitch hardly changed over the course of five days and that there has been no deterioration apart from the bounce getting slightly lower,” he said.

“The pitch did not have a great deal of pace and bounce in it for the seamers nor assisted the spinners as the match progressed. In my view, this does not represent an even contest between bat and ball. Therefore, in keeping with the ICC guidelines, I rate this pitch as below average,” he further stated.

It is pertinent to mention here that according to the amended ICC Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process, match referees will award one demerit point to venues with below-average pitches, while three and five demerit points would be handed to venues with poor and unsuitable pitches, respectively. Whereas, demerit points will remain active for a rolling five-year period.

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RAWALPINDI: Pakistan’s openers Imam-ul-Haq and Abdullah Shafique scored centuries on the closing day but the first Test of the Benaud-Qadir Trophy between Pakistan and Australia ended in a draw.

In the last session of the fifth Test of the Rawalpindi Test, the opening pair of Imam and Abdullah further added 61 runs to their astonishing opening partnership but the historic Test ended without concluding a result with Australia due to bat in the second innings.

In the second innings, Pakistan finished the proceedings at 252/0 with Abdullah leading the way with his brilliant knock of 136, while Imam also followed with his century; scoring 111.

The right-handed batter faced 242 balls and smashed 16 boundaries including a six in the course of his innings. Whereas Imam faced 223 and hit nine boundaries including two sixes.

In the second session, starting with a lead of 19 runs, the pair of Abdullah and Imam provided another solid start to the home side with both scoring half-centuries. The pair added 115 in the second session at a decent 5.22 run rate.

Earlier, in the first session, Australia bowled out for 459 in response to Pakistan’s 476 in the first innings.

Usman Khawaja remained the top scorer for the touring side with his magnificent 97 while Marnus Labuschagne followed back with his 90.

For Pakistan, Nauman Ali starred with the ball; taking six wickets, while Shaheen Shah Afridi bagged two. Sajid Khan and Naseem Shah, on the other hand, made one scalp each.

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RAWALPINDI: Pakistan’s left-arm spinner Nauman Ali took four wickets but Australia managed to carry their bat throughout the fourth day of the first Test, here on Monday.

At the conclusion of the fourth day, the Aussies paused their proceedings at 449/7.

In the third session, the touring side managed to add 85 runs for the cost of three wickets as their set batter Steve Smith also made his way back to the pavilion.

The experienced batter notched up an important 79 runs partnership for the fifth wicket with Cameron Green but the latter went back after missing his half-century by just two runs.

Smith then further looked to proceed the innings with a brief 15-runs partnership with Alex Carey but this time he fell short while attempting to sweep Nauman’s delivery. He scored
78 off 196 balls with the help of eight boundaries.

Following his departure, Carey too, soon perished in the second last over before the stumps as Naseem Shah castled the former for 19.

Earlier, after the first session called off due to the wet outfield, the second session of the ongoing fourth day turned out to be an eventful one as Australia piled up further 93 runs, while Pakistan managed to take two wickets.

Resuming at an overnight score of 271/2, Australian top-order batter Marnus Labuschagne extended his important third-wicket partnership with Smith to a triple-figure mark.

Labuschagne, who was looking in great touch fell victim to the nervous ninties as the left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi removed the prior on 90. He faced 158 balls and hit a dozen boundaries in the course of his brilliant knock.

Following Labuschagne’s dismissal, Travis Head made his way to the centre and could not extend his stay at the crease as the left-handed batter fell short to Nauman for a mere eight.

For Pakistan, Nauman picked four wickets, while Shaheen, Naseem, and Sajid Khan made one scalp each.

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RAWALPINDI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has shared the good news for the cricket fans that the action of the fourth day will start at 1 AM as the outfield is now clear after the overnight showers.

According to the latest update shared by the PCB, the fourth day’s action will now commence at 1 PM and a maximum of 67 overs will be bowled in the day.

⛅️ Update:
Day 4 to start at 1 PM. Maximum of 67 overs in the day's play. #BoysReadyHain l #PAKvAUS pic.twitter.com/04jDRtSBu7

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) March 7, 2022

It is pertinent to mention here that Australia will resume their first inning 271-2. Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith will look to further propel their third-wicket stand.

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RAWALPINDI: Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith put on an unbeaten 68-runs partnership for the third wicket against Pakistan before the bad light stopped the action of the third day of the first Test, here on Sunday.

After the conclusion of the 73rd over, the umpires called for the bad light and stopped the action which resulted in the early stumps on the third day of the Rawalpindi Test.

Before the stumps, Australia scored 271/2 as Labuschagne and Smith stood firm with their 68-runs stand for the third wicket.

Before walking back to the pavilion, Labuschagne scored an unbeaten 69 with the help of nine boundaries, while Smith is not out for 24; including three boundaries.

The two batters will now resume the proceedings for Australia at 271/2 on the fourth day of the ongoing Test.

Earlier, in the second session, the touring side’s left-handed opener Usman Khawaja, who was eyeing his 11th Test century, missed the milestone by a mere three runs while attempting to play a reverse sweep of Nauman Ali’s delivery and handed an easy catch to Imam-ul-Haq at the silly point.

The left-handed batter scored 97 off 159 balls with the help of 15 boundaries. His opening partner, David Warner, on the other hand, fell in the first half of the session as Sajid Khan castled the left-hander for 68. Warner faced 114 balls and smacked a dozen boundaries.

Resuming at an overnight score of 5/0, Usman and Warner provided a fruitful session to the touring side by adding a further 133 runs into their opening partnership. The pair dominated the first session of the ongoing day and scored at a decent run rate of 4.16.

For Pakistan, Sajid and Nauman managed to make one scalp each.

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RAWALPINDI: Pakistan’s experienced batter Azhar Ali, who played a sensational 185-runs knock against Australia in the ongoing first Test, credited Australian bowlers for not allowing the home side to score freely.

Azhar, while talking to the post-match presser, revealed that the Pindi Stadium pitch was quite challenging and scoring the runs freely was not an easy task.

“The Australian bowlers bowled really well, due to which we couldn’t carve out the runs freely,” he said.

The veteran also revealed his desire to score a double-ton but remained short of 15 runs as the opposition bowlers did not allow the smooth run flow, also claimed that he likes to score runs against Australia.

“I wanted to score a double hundred, but they did not allow quick runs. When I took risks against spinners, I got out,” he said, after falling to a reverse sweep off part-time spinner Marnus Labuschagne.

“I enjoy scoring runs against Australia, who are definitely one of the top teams in the world,” said Azhar, whose hundred was his fourth against the visitors over the years.

He further claimed that the pitch will become more challenging by the conclusion of day three, however, acknowledged that the team needs to do good planning to get the opposition out.

“I think the pitch will become more challenging by the end of the third day and it would become more difficult to freely score runs,” he said.

“We have to do good planning against the Australian team, as it will not be easy to get their batters out,” he added.

Azhar also showed delight upon Imam-ul-Haq’s magnificent first Test century as the left-handed batter played a brilliant 157-runs knock.

“I am glad to see Imam performing so well in Test matches as his performance in ODIs was already excellent,” Azhar said.

It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan declared their first innings at 476-4 in 162 overs before the early stumps, which resulted in Australia only managing to score 5/0 as the touring side’s openers could only bat for a single over.

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RAWALPINDI: Australian openers David Warner and Usman Khawaja could only manage to bat for a single over against Pakistan as the bad light forced early stumps on the second day of the first Test, here on Saturday.

Khawaja and Warner, who came out to bat in response to Pakistan’s mammoth 476, only faced one over of Sajid Khan before the umpires firstly suspended the match due to the bad light which later turned into early stumps.

Australia managed to finish the day at 5/0, while Khawaja (5*) and Warner (0*) will resume the proceedings for the touring side on the third day.

Moments earlier, Pakistan declared their first innings at 476/4 after adding 86 runs for the loss of two wickets in the final session of the second day of the Rawalpindi Test. The wicket-keeper Mohammad Rizwan (29*) and Iftikhar Ahmed (13*) remained not out before the declaration.

The experienced top-order batter Azhar led the way with his 185 and lost his wicket in an attempt to further accelerate the innings. The right-handed batter faced 361 deliveries and smashed 18 boundaries including three sixes.

Babar, on the other hand, also looked to play a quick knock, as the skipper scored 36 off 82 balls including three boundaries before falling short to Marnus Labuschagne’s direct hit.

Earlier, the duo of Azhar and Babar bolstered Pakistan to 390-2 at the stroke of the Tea break. The pair appeared solid and scored runs at a quick rate; putting on an important 81-runs partnership of 127 balls.

Azhar, who was just five shy of his century, brought up his 19th Test century and his sixth 150 plus score in the longest format.

The last day’s centurion Imam, however, walked back to the pavilion in the 121st over as Pat Cummins trapped the left-hander in legs. Imam scored a magnificent 157 off 358 balls including 16 boundaries and two sixes.

Resuming at an overnight score of 245-1, Azhar and Imam provided a rather defensive but effective start to the home side on the second day of the first Test of the Benaud-Qadir Trophy. The pair added 57 runs in the first session, with Imam bringing up his first 150 plus score in Test cricket.

So far in the historic Rawalpindi Test, Nathan Lyon, Labuschagne and Cummins managed to pick a wicket apiece for Australia.

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RAWALPINDI: Pakistan’s left-handed opener Imam-ul-Haq scored a magnificent century on his return to put the home side into the commanding position against Australia on the first day of the Rawalpindi Test, here on Friday.

Pakistan finished the first day of the Rawalpindi Test on a high; scoring 245/1 at the end of the first day. Imam, alongside Azhar, added 64 runs in the final session and extended their partnership to 140.

Imam, who last played a Test match in late 2019, scored a magnificent half-century on his return. He scored an unbeaten 132 off 271 balls; smashing 15 boundaries and two sixes.

His partner, Azhar, on the other hand, batted sensibly and scored a terrific half-century. The right-handed batter is currently unbeaten for 64. The southpaw faced 165 deliveries and hit five boundaries including a six in the course of his brilliant knock.

The two batters will now resume the proceedings for Pakistan at 245-1 on the second day of the first Test.

After opting to bat first in the historic Rawalpindi Test of the Benaud-Qadir Trophy, Pakistani openers Imam and Abdullah provided a solid start to the home side; putting on an astonishing 105-runs partnership.

Abdullah Shafique, who was looking in top-notch remained unlucky as the right-handed batter missed on his well-deserved half-century after attempting to hit Nathan Lyon for a six on 44. He faced 105 deliveries in the course of his innings with the help of three boundaries and a six.

For Australia, only Lyon managed to make one scalp, while the rest of the Aussie bowlers went wicketless on the opening day.

PLAYING XIs

PAKISTAN: Babar Azam (c), Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Azhar Ali, Fawad Alam, Mohammad Rizwan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah

AUSTRALIA: Pat Cummins (c), David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood

RAWALPINDI: According to the weather forecast, the first Test of the historic Benaud-Qadir Trophy between Pakistan and Australia can be hindered by rain.

As per the BBC weather forecast, the rain is likely to come into play during the historic Rawalpindi Test – starting from tomorrow.

The weather is foreseen to remain clear for the opening day of the first Test, while on the second day the prospects of rain are likely to go up by eight percent.

In addition, the third day of the Rawalpindi Test has the highest chance of rain, with a probability of up to 68 percent, as scattered showers are expected to pour between 11 AM and midnight.

Rain probability will then decrease to 16 percent on the fourth day, with only light showers and a gentle breeze passing over Rawalpindi Stadium. Whereas, on the fifth day, the stadium will be covered by light clouds.

It is apropos to mention here that Australia is touring Pakistan after a gap of 24 years. The touring side will play three Tests which will take place in Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Karachi respectively. While the white-ball series which comprises three ODIs and one-off T20I will be played here.

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