We must carry on with the momentum – Misbah-ul-Haq

Ecstatic with his side’s performance in the second fixture of the five-match One Day International (ODI) series against South Africa at Centurion, Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, wants to carry on with the momentum.

Having lost the opening encounter of the series at Bloemfontein by a massive margin of 125 runs, the visitors bounced back in the series emphatically on Friday, dismantling the Proteas by six wickets.

South Africa won the toss and opted to bat first. The decision however, did not turn out to be the right one as the home team lost their top five batsmen for merely 62 runs on the board. AB de Villiers and company eventually posted 191 runs on the board before being bowled out in the 44^th over of the innings.

Pakistan chased down the total for the loss of four wickets, with Misbah and Shoaib Malik constructing an unbeaten partnership of 77 runs, which sealed the show for the visitors.

Mohammad Irfan, the lanky pacer, who picked up four wickets in South Africa’s innings, was named as the Man of the Match.

While speaking during the post-match presentation ceremony, the skipper praised Irfan’s efforts and said that the tall fast bowler turned out to be the difference between the two teams. Misbah is also happy with an improved batting performance.

“The way we started, Irfan taking four wickets in the first 10 overs, that set the game as well. All the other bowlers bowled well, and we performed well with the bat. It is really satisfying for us. Picking Irfan was an attacking move,” said the Pakistan captain.

The cricketer from Mianwali further added that the pitch at Centurion was not an ideal one for batting and is happy that his side crossed the line without much of a fuss. However, Misbah wants the batsmen to further improve their game and be consistent.

He added, “There were a few spots in the pitch where the ball was stopping and kicking, there was a bit of variable bounce, it was not easy to bat on. We need to keep this momentum. We’re settling down and getting out, we need to show responsibility, if someone gets 20-30 runs, he needs to carry on.”

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Posted by Yasir Hashmi on Mar 16 2013. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.