In some interesting cricket news from abroad, No 1 Test team England were inflicted another humiliating defeat at the hands of Pakistan as their bowlers sealed an emphatic 71-run win in the third and final Test in Dubai on Monday. Set a daunting 324-run target, England were bowled out for 252 with paceman Umar Gul taking 4-61 and off-spinner Saeed Ajmal 4-67 to help Pakistan achieve a first-ever Test clean sweep against their opponents. With the ball turning again it was always a difficult task for England’s batsmen, who have been unable to play the Pakistani spinners throughout the series, on a weary fourth day pitch at Dubai Stadium. Pakistan won the first Test by ten wickets and the second by 72 runs in Abu Dhabi, says The Indian Express.
Pakistan have also become the first team to win a Test after being bowled out for under 100 since 1907 when England, shot out for 76, beat South Africa at Leeds. It was England’s seventh series whitewash, their first at the hands of Pakistan. Pakistan have now recorded five series whitewashes, their last coming in a 3-0 win over Bangladesh in 2003. England’s last series whitewash came in 2007 when they were routed by Australia 5-0. So dominating have been Pakistan spinners that Ajmal finished the series with 24 wickets and Rehman with 19. Ajmal was named the Man of the Series while Azhar Ali was named Man of the Match for his 157 in Pakistan’s second innings.
Pakistan's cricket team has been lauded for its historic win against England in the three-match Test series played at Dubai. Minister for Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan Monday felicitated the Pakistan cricket team. According to a report in DNA, she said the Pakistani players showed excellent team-work.
Meanwhile, Australian great Steve Waugh batted for Sachin Tendulkar and said that Sachin’s aura as a batsman will not diminish even if he does not score his much awaited 100th international century. "I think it's a huge statistic and India is obsessed by stats. The whole country wants him to get his one-hundredth 100 so maybe that's where the real pressure is coming from. It will be nice if he could get it down the road, but if he doesn't get it I certainly won't think any less of him as a player," Waugh said according to a TOI report.
Former Australian batsman Dean Jones believes India's bowling and fielding could be brutally exposed in the ongoing ODI tri-series against Australia and Sri Lanka despite the presence of younger and more agile players in the fold. "They need to get their bowling right. It would be sorted out here in Australia. The weakness is bowling and fielding," stated Jones, according to The Tribune.
Coming to IPL, stung by Sahara's pull-out as sponsor of Indian cricket team and owner of IPL franchise Pune Warriors, the BCCI on Monday took a more reconciliatory stand towards the aggrieved corporate giant, saying it was ready to sit across the table and sort out all the matters. Two days after Sahara's shock decision to severe ties with the BCCI, its President N Srinivasan said that he was ready for a dialogue with the group to sort out the issues, says the newspapers’ report.
IPL Chairman Rajiv Shukla also sought to diffuse the situation by saying that the authorities were open to discussions to resolve the contentious issues. "Most certainly, we are ready to meet and sort out the matters. We have no problems with that. We do appreciate what Sahara have done. They might have felt aggrieved and did not get what they wanted from the IPL. We had good relationships and so we should sort out the issues," Srinivasan said.
