Pakistan take shaky start in second Test against South Africa

Once again, South African pace attack has bamboozled Pakistan batting. Batting first in the second Test, the Green Shirts have lost four wickets just for 33.

The Pakistan batsmen were uncomfortable right from the beginnings. Dale Steyn gradually picked up the pace, and started delivering amazing deliveries. Nasir Jamshed, who made it to the final line-up after proving his fitness, was the first man to go.

On the very next ball after he was dropped at slips, Jamshed tried to play an extravagant drive. AB de Villiers continued to enjoy good times behind the stumps, and took an easy catch.

Mohammad Hafeez, who played a couple of confident shots, failed to capitalise, and gave away his wicket after scoring 17. An easy catch was taken by Graeme Smith on Steyn’s bowling.

After Steyn and Philander, Morne Morkel joined the party, and showed Azhar Ali the way back. The right-hander made a massive mistake by playing an aggressive drive against the lanky pacer.

The ball went straight into the hands of the wicket-keeper after kissing the bat. After three early losses, it was on Misbah-ul-Haq to give some relief to the side.

But nothing worked well for the tourists. The skipper lost his wicket without adding a run to the total. Morkel produced a quick delivery, and Elgar, who was waiting for the opportunity, took an easy catch.

Now, Younis Khan and Asad Shafiq are at the crease. Khan is looking solid, but the way his partners are playing, there is going to be massive pressure on him. The young Shafiq is trying to settle down.

Earlier in the day, Smith decided to field first after winning the toss. The experts criticised this move, because the wicket is likely to spin in the four innings.

The Cornered Tigers are trying to put a decent score on the board. On the other hand, the Proteas have different plans. The home side will look to send the opposition quickly back to the pavilion, and take a huge lead in the first innings.

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Posted by Rana Nasir Ghafoor on Feb 14 2013. Filed under Pakistan, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry