PAKISTAN BACK IN CONTENTION AFTER SIXTH-WICKET DRIVE

Captain Moin Khan and Yousuf Youhana established a sixth wicket partnership of 92 in 118 balls after England had earlier reduced Pakistan to 151 for five and by the close, the score was 243 for five after a day in which the balance of the game swung back and forth with each session.

The final session started with Ashley Giles bowling to Moin Khan with a shout for LBW on the first ball, turned down by the umpire. With a sweep to fine leg off Gough, Youhana hoisted his 11th half-century in 26 tests with the help of six boundaries.

It was an impressive innings with no chances, no risks and few adventures and responded well to the need to provide stability after the earlier clatter of wickets.

But in the 63rd over, the game started to swing in Pakistan's favour when Moin Khan lifted White over the mid-wicket boundary for the first six of the day raising Pakistan’s score to 209 for 5.Youhana followed suit by smashing the bowler for four providing impetus to the dwindling run-rate. With the steady rise in total the batsmen were regaining confidence as well as boldness.

Moin reached his half century with a mighty six to Giles over the long on boundary. Though England spinners were now extracting lot of spin from the pitch, the two batsmen faced them with confidence, selecting both their shots and their direction. The runs gradually added up providing respectability to Pakistan’s total.

At close of play Yousuf Youhana (61) and Moin Khan (57) were holding the fort. They had steered the team out of the crisis that at one time, looked like it was going to cause stagnation in the Pakistan innings.

Ashley Giles was England's most successful bowler claiming three wickets for 63 runs and demonstrating the true character of a turning pitch. With five wickets in hand and the two batsmen in full flow, Pakistan upset England's first day plans with the day finishing with honours even.

ENGLAND REMAINS IN FULL COMMAND

When Pakistan lost three important wickets, having been 96 for one after 22 overs, much depended on the pair of Saleem Elahi and Yousuf Youhana. The first 100 of Pakistan’s innings came immediately after lunch when Youhana drove Giles to point boundary for a sparkling four.

But the batsmen struggled to maintain the scoring rate and against Giles at one end and pace at the other, Pakistan became bogged down. The scoreboard showed 115 runs in 30 overs as compared to the first 50 that came in 11 overs.

Though Youhana was able to score two boundaries in his 15 runs made from 40 balls, the batsmen looked under pressure.

Caddick was given a long spell of bowling and kept the batsmen in check. England achieved the fourth success when Saleem Elahi tried to cut Giles and was caught by Atherton for 41 scored in 93 balls. Pakistan were now four down for only 130 runs on the board.

When Abdur Razzaq came in to bat, England were in total command with Nasser Hussain sticking with his policy of using spin at one end and pace bowlers at the other.

Gough was brought on again to replace Caddick with a view to keeping the score in check. Leg-spinner Ian Salisbury came on to bowl in the 42nd over and immediately dispatched for four by Youhana.

Craig White took over from Gough and bowled Razzaq with a delivery that came in, after the batsman had scored nine with Pakistan struggling on 151 for five.

Skipper Moin Khan came under instant pressure with a loud appeal for LBW from a Salisbury delivery which was turned down by the umpire.

With the batsmen taking no risks and playing a purely defensive game the runs came slowly through singles and twos only. At tea Pakistan were 168 for 5 with Youhana (36) and Moin Khan (9) holding their respective ends.

The run rate of five per over in the first session had been reduced to three reflecting the balance of power in the game with England in a strong position.

GILES CHANGES COMPLEXION OF THE GAME

The Warwickshire left-arm spinner came on in the 16th over of the morning and immediately made a difference by taking the wickets of Saeed Anwar and Inzamam-ul-Haq who had ambushed England in the early overs with some hard-hitting strokeplay.

And with the two dangermen gone, Giles struck again just 13 overs after the interval removing Saleem Elahi to finish an 11 over spell with 3-22, which left Pakistan on 130 for four by mid-afternoon.

Earlier, Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first but before play got underway, Wasim Akram was presented with a souvenir by the Pakistan players to mark his 100th Test.

The pitch was described as little faster than Lahore, hard, dry and dusty. Pakistan chose to play with three spinners including Arshad Khan and 18 year-old leg-spinner Danish Kaneria, making his debut. Both the crowd and weather were good for the game.

Pakistan opened the innings with Saeed Anwar and Shahid Afridi against Darren Gough and Andrew Caddick with four slips and a gully to support them. Despite the ball rising occasionally, Saeed Anwar started quite aggressively hitting three fours in the first five overs. Shahid Afridi the pinch hitter of one-day cricket was, however, exercising lot of restraint.

While Saeed had scored 16 he had only two runs to his credit. Against his very nature he even ducked to the couple of bouncers that he received. Doing so he faced a strong appeal for LBW when a ball from Gough did not rise as expected and hit him on the pads. He smashed him for a straight four on the next ball but was out immediately after, offering an easy catch to Thorpe in the slips after scoring ten slow and steady runs. Pakistan lost the first wicket with 33 runs on the board.

Saleem Elahi joined Saeed Anwar who was constantly maintaining his run-making spree having hit two more boundaries to Gough in one over. Pakistan’s 50 of the innings came in nine overs while the first hour of play yielded 56 runs.

Despite conceding runs, the pace bowlers otherwise looked impressive. Craig White replaced Gough in the 13th over. Continuing with his aggressive designs, Saeed Anwar drove Caddick for another two fours in the 14th over. Spin was introduced in the 16th over when Ashley Giles came on to bowl but he was unlucky in dropping Saeed Anwar on his own ball when the batsman was at 46. A little later Saleem came down the pitch to hit Giles for four.

With a straight drive to White in the 19th over Saeed hoisted his 50 of the innings. His 52 from 50 balls showed excellent batting for a Test match. Failing to continue with his offensive any more, Saeed lost his wicket to Giles when the Warwickshire left-armer tossed the ball up in the air to tempt the batsmen into making a mistake.

Saeed marched down the pitch trying to strike the ball over mid-wicket but instead found the safe hands of Graham Thorpe.

Inzamam followed just two balls later. Forced on the back to foot to defend a high-bouncing delivery, he was beaten by a ball that spun back after hitting the ground and clipped his wicket to earn Giles figures of two for eight from his four overs at the interval.

Having reduced Pakistan to 96 for three, Giles had almost changed the whole complexion of the game. He clinched two wickets in three balls. With Yousuf Youhana, the last recognized batsman at the crease, Pakistan’s domination of the field was eclipsed. The morning session ended with Pakistan at 97 for 3.

PRE MATCH SCENARIO

People being fond of cricket one feels they would throng the stadium en -mass. They have the faint memories of the 1987 Test that ended on account of the unpleasant Rana-Gatting tussle. With the passage of 13 years the incident is not likely to diminish their enthusiasm to watch the new England team in action.

Once upon a time the Faisalabad pitch used to be so dull that some great cricketers including Dennis Lillie gave some funny remarks about it. Most of the matches used to end in a draw but it is not so now. For the past few years it has been result oriented to such an extent that Abdul Qadir routed the West Indies team for its lowest total of 53 runs grabbing 6 wickets for only 16 runs in the year 1986. It is generally hoped that the match will end in a result.

Pakistan coach Javed Miandad showed great optimism ahead of the match, saying his side would pull of a win in the test. Surprisingly despite the Lahore fiasco, Pakistan has again opted to go for a spinning track. As seen by the experts the pitch is hard and likely to take spin. Pakistan is thus likely to have a spin oriented bowling attack. Leg spinner Mushtaq Ahmed who did not do very well in the previous matches is likely to be replaced by 19 years old upcoming spinner Danis Kaneria.

With a brilliant performance in domestic cricket, the youngster is considered to be a good future prospect. With emphasis on spin the indications are that off spinner Arshad Khan having attended the practice camp may also be included in the Playing XI. Counting Saqlain Mushtaq and Shahid Afridi, Pakistan may enter the match with 4 spinners. Star speedster Waqar Younis who was left out of the 1st test was called to the camp on great public demand. If the planners continue to give top priority to spinners, Waqar will only be lucky to get a chance to play.

Super star Wasim Akram will be celebrating his 100th Test in Faisalabad. With overwhelming importance being given to spin, Wasim may not find the pitch to his liking. He shall have to use all his experience and skill to make the occasion memorable.

As for the England team, they also look quite optimistic about their victory. Impressed by Pakistan's overall prowess and some sterling performances they expected Pakistan to have a clean sweep over them. Contrary to the expectations they almost turned the tables on Pakistan in the 1st test. With a good performance at Lahore they now appear having made a lot of improvement against spinners. The England players find the pitch almost similar to the one at Lahore, expected to keep low in the 2nd innings. Faisalabad is, however, in the grip of a bad weather with excessive fog having shrouded the atmosphere. The day's play may have to be curtailed if the weather does not improve.

As anticipated Pakistan chose to go in with 3 regular spinners plus Shahid Afridi a batsman cum effective leg spinner while Waqar Younus did not find a place in the playing squad. England included Andrew Flintoff in the team. The pitch was described as a little quicker than Lahore, hard, dry and dusty. There being no signs of morning fog the play commenced amidst clear weather.

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Date-stamped : 30 Nov2000 - 10:23