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[justforkix]

Both SG and GG gone.

Only 1 hr 40 mins more to bowl 28 overs as apparently it becomes too dark to play after 4:15 pm 

So, pak can bowl as slow as possible and win as long as they are ahead on D/L....

[broadbat]

Both SG and GG gone.

Only 1 hr 40 mins more to bowl 28 overs as apparently it becomes too dark to play after 4:15 pm 

So, pak can bowl as slow as possible and win as long as they are ahead on D/L....

Are they ahead on D/L also why can they not use the lights as a supplement?

[justforkix]

No Idea. "Only Time Will Tell" Lal said this and added - HEHEHE 

[broadbat]

No Idea. "Only Time Will Tell" Lal said this and added - HEHEHE 

Looks like he won't stop chuckling today.

[ruchir]

Comparing SG and GG:

SG
After the initial edges that went pretty close to stumps, he batted quite well IMO. Only eyesore was that he refused a few runs, took unnecessary starts and in the end was run out, as is wont to. <joke> Did parachutes slow him down?</joke> His SR was his usual.

Since the RRR was less than 5, it doesn't matter much but still, SG had 40 dot balls in 55 balls faced. That is an alarming 72.72%. He did not get to try his tennis ball practice much as he faced only 5 balls from Akhtar and scored 6 runs, so his practice was not a complete failure either. He surely had a problem with Gul, whom he did not prepare for. He faced 33 balls from Gul and 28 were dots.

Overall, a typical SG inning, that resulted in a runout. Nothing special (from tennis ball perspective).


GG
He too got the initial edges, but afterwards played fluently. He had a good SR of 86.27. He had 31 dot balls from 51 balls faces, that 60.78%. Not too high, but could be improved. He too had a problem with Gul, 7 dots in 9 balls faced. He was better against Akhtar, 19 runs from 12 balls faced. <joke>Maybe not practicing with tennis balls helped?</joke>

Overall, a not too shabby inning from GG. He proved better than SG, head-to-head.


Finally, if selectors are serious in their rotation policy, GG has given them enough to chew on, to give SG some rest and let GG open. This way RS can get some games too. If selectors are serious in trying out VS, let him open in place of SRT. If he clicks, good for us. If he fails, that should settle matters for him for quite some at least.

[LosingNow]

Comparing SG and GG:

SG
After the initial edges that went pretty close to stumps, he batted quite well IMO. Only eyesore was that he refused a few runs, took unnecessary starts and in the end was run out, as is wont to. <joke> Did parachutes slow him down?</joke> His SR was his usual.

Since the RRR was less than 5, it doesn't matter much but still, SG had 40 dot balls in 55 balls faced. That is an alarming 72.72%. He did not get to try his tennis ball practice much as he faced only 5 balls from Akhtar and scored 6 runs, so his practice was not a complete failure either. He surely had a problem with Gul, whom he did not prepare for. He faced 33 balls from Gul and 28 were dots.

Overall, a typical SG inning, that resulted in a runout. Nothing special (from tennis ball perspective).


GG
He too got the initial edges, but afterwards played fluently. He had a good SR of 86.27. He had 31 dot balls from 51 balls faces, that 60.78%. Not too high, but could be improved. He too had a problem with Gul, 7 dots in 9 balls faced. He was better against Akhtar, 19 runs from 12 balls faced. <joke>Maybe not practicing with tennis balls helped?</joke>

Overall, a not too shabby inning from GG. He proved better than SG, head-to-head.


Finally, if selectors are serious in their rotation policy, GG has given them enough to chew on, to give SG some rest and let GG open. This way RS can get some games too. If selectors are serious in trying out VS, let him open in place of SRT. If he clicks, good for us. If he fails, that should settle matters for him for quite some at least.

Of the 19 runs scored by GG against Akhtar, 2 were edged 4s of "dropped"/"missed" catches by a sleeping Younis/Akmal combo.
Personally, I think Younis Khan played the match -both batting and fielding - in the sleep-walking mode.

[pieterSAN]

Comparing SG and GG:

SG
After the initial edges that went pretty close to stumps, he batted quite well IMO. Only eyesore was that he refused a few runs, took unnecessary starts and in the end was run out, as is wont to. <joke> Did parachutes slow him down?</joke> His SR was his usual.

Since the RRR was less than 5, it doesn't matter much but still, SG had 40 dot balls in 55 balls faced. That is an alarming 72.72%. He did not get to try his tennis ball practice much as he faced only 5 balls from Akhtar and scored 6 runs, so his practice was not a complete failure either. He surely had a problem with Gul, whom he did not prepare for. He faced 33 balls from Gul and 28 were dots.

Overall, a typical SG inning, that resulted in a runout. Nothing special (from tennis ball perspective).


GG
He too got the initial edges, but afterwards played fluently. He had a good SR of 86.27. He had 31 dot balls from 51 balls faces, that 60.78%. Not too high, but could be improved. He too had a problem with Gul, 7 dots in 9 balls faced. He was better against Akhtar, 19 runs from 12 balls faced. <joke>Maybe not practicing with tennis balls helped?</joke>

Overall, a not too shabby inning from GG. He proved better than SG, head-to-head.


Finally, if selectors are serious in their rotation policy, GG has given them enough to chew on, to give SG some rest and let GG open. This way RS can get some games too. If selectors are serious in trying out VS, let him open in place of SRT. If he clicks, good for us. If he fails, that should settle matters for him for quite some at least.

Of the 19 runs scored by GG against Akhtar, 2 were edged 4s of "dropped"/"missed" catches by a sleeping Younis/Akmal combo.
Personally, I think Younis Khan played the match -both batting and fielding - in the sleep-walking mode.

So true. I am glad that GG is being backed by Dhoni. Both SG and GG played some good shots but I am sure many were infuriated by the SG's running between the wickets.

[pieterSAN]

Comparing SG and GG:

SG
After the initial edges that went pretty close to stumps, he batted quite well IMO. Only eyesore was that he refused a few runs, took unnecessary starts and in the end was run out, as is wont to. <joke> Did parachutes slow him down?</joke> His SR was his usual.

Since the RRR was less than 5, it doesn't matter much but still, SG had 40 dot balls in 55 balls faced. That is an alarming 72.72%. He did not get to try his tennis ball practice much as he faced only 5 balls from Akhtar and scored 6 runs, so his practice was not a complete failure either. He surely had a problem with Gul, whom he did not prepare for. He faced 33 balls from Gul and 28 were dots.

Overall, a typical SG inning, that resulted in a runout. Nothing special (from tennis ball perspective).


GG
He too got the initial edges, but afterwards played fluently. He had a good SR of 86.27. He had 31 dot balls from 51 balls faces, that 60.78%. Not too high, but could be improved. He too had a problem with Gul, 7 dots in 9 balls faced. He was better against Akhtar, 19 runs from 12 balls faced. <joke>Maybe not practicing with tennis balls helped?</joke>

Overall, a not too shabby inning from GG. He proved better than SG, head-to-head.


Finally, if selectors are serious in their rotation policy, GG has given them enough to chew on, to give SG some rest and let GG open. This way RS can get some games too. If selectors are serious in trying out VS, let him open in place of SRT. If he clicks, good for us. If he fails, that should settle matters for him for quite some at least.

Of the 19 runs scored by GG against Akhtar, 2 were edged 4s of "dropped"/"missed" catches by a sleeping Younis/Akmal combo.
Personally, I think Younis Khan played the match -both batting and fielding - in the sleep-walking mode.

So true. I am glad that GG is being backed by Dhoni. Both SG and GG played some good shots but I am sure many were infuriated by the SG's running between the wickets.

[ruchir]

Of the 19 runs scored by GG against Akhtar, 2 were edged 4s of "dropped"/"missed" catches by a sleeping Younis/Akmal combo.
Personally, I think Younis Khan played the match -both batting and fielding - in the sleep-walking mode.

I know, I know, and I said so too. Even then, take away those 8 runs and he still had 11 runs in 12 balls off Akhtar; not too bad.

Maybe Younis was 'busy' the previous night, and lack of sleep caused sleep-walking mode.

[OldPal]

I had sleep for some time when India started batting .. Thus am looking mainly at scorecard ..
Based on whatever I read ... chasing 239 i am not calling for anybodys head this time.
i will have SG,GG both in team for next ODI .. RS would suffer because of this, but I think Dhoni can call a spade a spade..
His not taking VS in playing 11 and getting GG means he does not goes just by personal choices.

[LosingNow]

Ruchir/Pankaj:
Looks like MSD is his own man and has an air of honesty about him. Let's see how long this lasts..hope for a long time.

Dropping VS to play GG..gutsy.. and also telling that "competition against Aussies was tougher and now we are two teams on equal footing".. very refreshing. I felt let down by Pak y'day.. they started like the Aussies and I was thinking 300+.. and then the YK/MY (non)show started ..which imo put our classic SG/RD crawls to shame.. no singles, no 4s, poor running between wickets etc. I kept longing for Aussie style counter-attack that never came.
BTW, MK and HS bowled very very well too..they were the unsung heroes of this victory.

[ruchir]

Ruchir/Pankaj:
Looks like MSD is his own man and has an air of honesty about him. Let's see how long this lasts..hope for a long time.

Dropping VS to play GG..gutsy.. and also telling that "competition against Aussies was tougher and now we are two teams on equal footing".. very refreshing. I felt let down by Pak y'day.. they started like the Aussies and I was thinking 300+.. and then the YK/MY (non)show started ..which imo put our classic SG/RD crawls to shame.. no singles, no 4s, poor running between wickets etc. I kept longing for Aussie style counter-attack that never came.
BTW, MK and HS bowled very very well too..they were the unsung heroes of this victory.

Agreed, in fact I was hoping Afridi to counter-punch but SRT took care of him. By the way, what is the need of opening yourself to critics by saying "which imo put our classic SG/RD crawls to shame"? Do you never learn or you don't want to learn?

[LosingNow]

Ruchir/Pankaj:
Looks like MSD is his own man and has an air of honesty about him. Let's see how long this lasts..hope for a long time.

Dropping VS to play GG..gutsy.. and also telling that "competition against Aussies was tougher and now we are two teams on equal footing".. very refreshing. I felt let down by Pak y'day.. they started like the Aussies and I was thinking 300+.. and then the YK/MY (non)show started ..which imo put our classic SG/RD crawls to shame.. no singles, no 4s, poor running between wickets etc. I kept longing for Aussie style counter-attack that never came.
BTW, MK and HS bowled very very well too..they were the unsung heroes of this victory.

Agreed, in fact I was hoping Afridi to counter-punch but SRT took care of him. By the way, what is the need of opening yourself to critics by saying "which imo put our classic SG/RD crawls to shame"? Do you never learn or you don't want to learn?

Yaadein

[manee]

My blog review of the First ODI: http://anglo-indianpov.blogspot.com/2007/11/india-vs-pakistan-first-odi.html

[pipsqueak]

Ruchir/Pankaj:
Looks like MSD is his own man and has an air of honesty about him. Let's see how long this lasts..hope for a long time.

Dropping VS to play GG..gutsy.. and also telling that "competition against Aussies was tougher and now we are two teams on equal footing".. very refreshing. I felt let down by Pak y'day.. they started like the Aussies and I was thinking 300+.. and then the YK/MY (non)show started ..which imo put our classic SG/RD crawls to shame.. no singles, no 4s, poor running between wickets etc. I kept longing for Aussie style counter-attack that never came.
BTW, MK and HS bowled very very well too..they were the unsung heroes of this victory.

dropping VS? VS was not even in the team while GG was in the team in the previous series.

[LosingNow]

Ruchir/Pankaj:
Looks like MSD is his own man and has an air of honesty about him. Let's see how long this lasts..hope for a long time.

Dropping VS to play GG..gutsy.. and also telling that "competition against Aussies was tougher and now we are two teams on equal footing".. very refreshing. I felt let down by Pak y'day.. they started like the Aussies and I was thinking 300+.. and then the YK/MY (non)show started ..which imo put our classic SG/RD crawls to shame.. no singles, no 4s, poor running between wickets etc. I kept longing for Aussie style counter-attack that never came.
BTW, MK and HS bowled very very well too..they were the unsung heroes of this victory.

dropping VS? VS was not even in the team while GG was in the team in the previous series.

Ok, Ms. Nitpicker.. the prevailing wisdom was that VS was a shoo-in, specially given his near-maharathi stature,  he had an inside track to get a spot in the team ahead of GG .... and the point I was  making was that MSD will make tough, sometimes unpopular, sometimes non-conventional decisions (ex. playing YP in 2020 WC final, bringing MK into the team).

[pipsqueak]

Ruchir/Pankaj:
Looks like MSD is his own man and has an air of honesty about him. Let's see how long this lasts..hope for a long time.

Dropping VS to play GG..gutsy.. and also telling that "competition against Aussies was tougher and now we are two teams on equal footing".. very refreshing. I felt let down by Pak y'day.. they started like the Aussies and I was thinking 300+.. and then the YK/MY (non)show started ..which imo put our classic SG/RD crawls to shame.. no singles, no 4s, poor running between wickets etc. I kept longing for Aussie style counter-attack that never came.
BTW, MK and HS bowled very very well too..they were the unsung heroes of this victory.

dropping VS? VS was not even in the team while GG was in the team in the previous series.

Ok, Ms. Nitpicker.. the prevailing wisdom was that VS was a shoo-in, specially given his near-maharathi stature,  he had an inside track to get a spot in the team ahead of GG .... and the point I was  making was that MSD will make tough, sometimes unpopular, sometimes non-conventional decisions (ex. playing YP in 2020 WC final, bringing MK into the team).

i didn't think VS would have been in the XI and would have been quite surprised.

also, conventional wisdom states that fluke must be exploited to the hilt while it lasts! (j/k) 

[WicketView]

Ruchir/Pankaj:
Looks like MSD is his own man and has an air of honesty about him. Let's see how long this lasts..hope for a long time.

Dropping VS to play GG..gutsy.. and also telling that "competition against Aussies was tougher and now we are two teams on equal footing".. very refreshing. I felt let down by Pak y'day.. they started like the Aussies and I was thinking 300+.. and then the YK/MY (non)show started ..which imo put our classic SG/RD crawls to shame.. no singles, no 4s, poor running between wickets etc. I kept longing for Aussie style counter-attack that never came.
BTW, MK and HS bowled very very well too..they were the unsung heroes of this victory.

Obviously, they will remain unsung because people think cricket is like golf. How one bats strongly depends on the bowling and fielding placements, but we seem to only blame or praise the batsman holding them entirely responsible for the runs.

[LosingNow]

Watching the Indian innings on tape again ...

What are people's thoughts on SRT dismissal..
1. Akhtar bowls a short one.. SRT pulls it straight to short square leg ... ball bounces in front
2. Akhtar is frustrated.. says a few choice words to rile up SRT.. SRT ignores him (at least pretends to)..and replays/practices the shot with his bat
3. Akhtar bowls a slower one.. SRT misses a flick to the legside.. is declared LBW

Did Akhtar get the better of SRT, mentally? If yes, does SRT have it in him to physically go after Akhtar?

BTW, Akhtar looks big and was huffing and puffing after each ball .. and IMO doesn't have the stamina to bowl 4 overs in the trot. He even did not chase a shot to 3rd man while fielding there!! 

[keep-it-cool]

I felt let down by Pak y'day.. they started like the Aussies and I was thinking 300+.. and then the YK/MY (non)show started ..which imo put our classic SG/RD crawls to shame.. no singles, no 4s, poor running between wickets etc. I kept longing for Aussie style counter-attack that never came.

They are sending out a clear message ... whatever you do, we can do better ... we can even platform better than you!

[keep-it-cool]

Watching the Indian innings on tape again ...

What are people's thoughts on SRT dismissal..
1. Akhtar bowls a short one.. SRT pulls it straight to short square leg ... ball bounces in front
2. Akhtar is frustrated.. says a few choice words to rile up SRT.. SRT ignores him (at least pretends to)..and replays/practices the shot with his bat
3. Akhtar bowls a slower one.. SRT misses a flick to the legside.. is declared LBW

Did Akhtar get the better of SRT, mentally? If yes, does SRT have it in him to physically go after Akhtar?

BTW, Akhtar looks big and was huffing and puffing after each ball .. and IMO doesn't have the stamina to bowl 4 overs in the trot. He even did not chase a shot to 3rd man while fielding there!! 

That was clever bowling from Akhtar ... nothing else that I would read into it. I dont expect Akhtar to make a meaningful difference in the ODIs ... he will always end up with some wickets, but I dont expect him to run through the batting. Umar Gul is far more dangerous in my view.

[LosingNow]

How come there is no discussion on Ganguly's silly run out on this thread? I guess "no new news" there, huh.

[Libran]

That was a silly run-out... happy ?

[indcric]

Watching the Indian innings on tape again ...

What are people's thoughts on SRT dismissal..
1. Akhtar bowls a short one.. SRT pulls it straight to short square leg ... ball bounces in front
2. Akhtar is frustrated.. says a few choice words to rile up SRT.. SRT ignores him (at least pretends to)..and replays/practices the shot with his bat
3. Akhtar bowls a slower one.. SRT misses a flick to the legside.. is declared LBW

Did Akhtar get the better of SRT, mentally? If yes, does SRT have it in him to physically go after Akhtar?

BTW, Akhtar looks big and was huffing and puffing after each ball .. and IMO doesn't have the stamina to bowl 4 overs in the trot. He even did not chase a shot to 3rd man while fielding there!! 

That was clever bowling from Akhtar ... nothing else that I would read into it. I dont expect Akhtar to make a meaningful difference in the ODIs ... he will always end up with some wickets, but I dont expect him to run through the batting. Umar Gul is far more dangerous in my view.

only on green tracks. Umar Gul is in no comparison with a fit shoaib akthar.

[keep-it-cool]

How come there is no discussion on Ganguly's silly run out on this thread? I guess "no new news" there, huh.

haha ... i thought the same ... what's new?

ditto for the fielding .. dropped catch et al

[keep-it-cool]

Watching the Indian innings on tape again ...

What are people's thoughts on SRT dismissal..
1. Akhtar bowls a short one.. SRT pulls it straight to short square leg ... ball bounces in front
2. Akhtar is frustrated.. says a few choice words to rile up SRT.. SRT ignores him (at least pretends to)..and replays/practices the shot with his bat
3. Akhtar bowls a slower one.. SRT misses a flick to the legside.. is declared LBW

Did Akhtar get the better of SRT, mentally? If yes, does SRT have it in him to physically go after Akhtar?

BTW, Akhtar looks big and was huffing and puffing after each ball .. and IMO doesn't have the stamina to bowl 4 overs in the trot. He even did not chase a shot to 3rd man while fielding there!! 

That was clever bowling from Akhtar ... nothing else that I would read into it. I dont expect Akhtar to make a meaningful difference in the ODIs ... he will always end up with some wickets, but I dont expect him to run through the batting. Umar Gul is far more dangerous in my view.

only on green tracks. Umar Gul is in no comparison with a fit shoaib akthar.

"FIT" ... when was it that you last saw a fit shoaib akhtar?

Anyway, the one who has come over is far from fit ... his attempts to chase down a couple of boundaries were hilarious.

[indcric]

Last Aus -Pak series in Aus. He ran through a strong australian batting lineup in one single spell. He has many such spells, but they are rare (in the sense, the ratio of such spells / no of matches is still fine, but the number of days between two such spells is more). He played very less number of matches given the number of years since his debut.

[LosingNow]

Indcric: I agree a FIT Akhtar is a treat to watch.. but as KIC said he is clearly not  fully fit and doubt if he will last this series.

(and just as I typed this.. 3 guys pick him up after his fall on the hoardings while chasing/escorting a YS late cut to the fence )

I think the Pakis are carrying a few "not fit/right for ODIs" players in Younis Khan and Mo Yo too.

[keep-it-cool]

Last Aus -Pak series in Aus. He ran through a strong australian batting lineup in one single spell. He has many such spells, but they are rare (in the sense, the ratio of such spells / no of matches is still fine, but the number of days between two such spells is more). He played very less number of matches given the number of years since his debut.

I cant quite remember this one .. when was this? I do remember an exceptional spell of bowling by Akhtar against Australia at Sharjah (in a test match) .. Steve Waugh spoke about this spell in his autobiography as well ... about how, sometimes, you know what is going to come at you .. but still find yourself helpless to do anything about it.

[indcric]

Last Aus -Pak series in Aus. He ran through a strong australian batting lineup in one single spell. He has many such spells, but they are rare (in the sense, the ratio of such spells / no of matches is still fine, but the number of days between two such spells is more). He played very less number of matches given the number of years since his debut.

I cant quite remember this one .. when was this? I do remember an exceptional spell of bowling by Akhtar against Australia at Sharjah (in a test match) .. Steve Waugh spoke about this spell in his autobiography as well ... about how, sometimes, you know what is going to come at you .. but still find yourself helpless to do anything about it.

 
Oh sorry, it was in Newzealand in 2003 series.

http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/64068.html.

2nd innings with old ball  (which is quite different from what Umar Gul & to an extent Mohammad Asif do with new ball in first innings on green tracks).

Last Aus in Aus series also he had 2 5-fers in 2 matches, but they were not in single spell.

http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/64113.html

http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/64114.html

[keep-it-cool]

Oh, I do remember that awesome spell againt the Kiwis.

He had them in all sorts of trouble in Pakistan also, if I am not mistaken.

Surprisingly, he's never had a great time against the Indians after that first series where he got RD and SRT off consecutive deliveries.

[pipsqueak]

How come there is no discussion on Ganguly's silly run out on this thread? I guess "no new news" there, huh.

why don't you start a thread for that? DG does seem slow currently..

[broadbat]

                       Mahe Re!

Tea tasting is a very delicate and intricate skill that one should posses naturally and only then can one hope to further refine it with experience. Tasters are much in demand in these parts and like them, Dhoni seems to be on his way honing his game and captaincy skills which one hopes will one day rise to levels that connoisseurs of the game of cricket will appreciate as any tea drinker does of Assam’s finest brew.
His most crucial decision perhaps, was taken even before the game began, when it was decided that Sehwag would not figure in the XI. To many it would appear that he lost out to Gambhir though I would like to think that the extra bowler cost him a slot.
While it is true that current Indo-Pak matches do not conjure up the same level of excitement as in the past it is still a contest that either side hates to lose.
On a sluggish wicket the Pakistan openers got off to a reasonable start but a dicey decision against Akmal turned the tide and from then on it was India pretty much all the way. The brilliance of Yuvraj in the field to send back Butt and the inability of Younis and Yousef  to take it to the double spin attack in the middle overs pretty much ensured that Pakistan would never get to a total from where they could dictate terms. Mercifully for Pakistan a Yousef heave of Kartik hung in the air for so long that he could have run along and caught it but Ganguly made a meal of it. This ground had small boundaries but for Younis, Shoaib and Misbah it all seemed too much.
Dhoni’s move to get on Tendulkar just when the Afridi - Yousef pair seemed to be gelling well, proved to be inspirational and in the final analysis a crucial moment in the game. Though personally I thought he bowled one over too many.
Younis ended with a stubborn unbeaten knock but not enough one felt to prevent his side from being beaten.
When the Indian chase began, what everyone was looking forward to is if Akthar could hurl enough of his thunderbolts to cause a top order collapse, because there seemed no way that they could defend 239 without bowling India out. Tendulkar missed out with the bat getting an Akthar ‘slider’, yes there are many who believe that his deliveries can be legal only with a baseball in his hand.
Ganguly and Gambhir with a few streaky shots early in his innings settled down as a pair to put India on the path to victory. Some lusty blows from Ganguly gave one the impression that he could be getting that elusive big one, but it was not to be. With 2 run outs now in his last five innings he made sure that Inzy was not missed.
Dhoni promoted himself up the order and played a matured innings to ensure that this was one chase that would not go awry. Yuvraj scored briskly with some trademark sweeps that people are beginning to believe that only he can play, to keep Pakistan on the defensive right through.
The match closed appropriately enough with Uthappa doing his by now familiar ‘walk’ to Akthar and in the end it was all too nice and easy.
For the people of Guwahati after the recent surrender of sixty odd ULFA rebels this latest capitulation by Pakistan must have been equally pleasing.

[WicketView]

Watching the Indian innings on tape again ...

What are people's thoughts on SRT dismissal..
1. Akhtar bowls a short one.. SRT pulls it straight to short square leg ... ball bounces in front
2. Akhtar is frustrated.. says a few choice words to rile up SRT.. SRT ignores him (at least pretends to)..and replays/practices the shot with his bat
3. Akhtar bowls a slower one.. SRT misses a flick to the legside.. is declared LBW

Did Akhtar get the better of SRT, mentally? If yes, does SRT have it in him to physically go after Akhtar?

BTW, Akhtar looks big and was huffing and puffing after each ball .. and IMO doesn't have the stamina to bowl 4 overs in the trot. He even did not chase a shot to 3rd man while fielding there!! 

I have no idea if it was mental or not, but SRT was terribly uncomfortable against him. edge, fend, pull which he did not get hold of, but at least rotated the bat enough to keep down, if only by a few feet, and the 'out' which I think should have been adjudged 'not out'. The fact is SA won this round.  I think this is a sign of what may have been ... SA trying to prove a point, inspite of his lack of fitness is still a handful, as opposed to when he did not care.

On a related note, I thought the Pakistani pacers used the pitch better than our pacers did, for spinners the reverse holds.

[broadbat]

Does anyone have a correct read of the speed of Akthar's 'slower one' that got SRT? I thought I saw 143 kmph for that delivery on the screen. I may be wrong.