Friday, January 19, 2007

Shoaib shines as wickets tumble

Second Test, Port Elizabeth, day one (stumps):
South Africa 124 v Pakistan 135-6
Live Scores:
Shoaib Akhtar marked his Test comeback with four wickets but fellow paceman Makhaya Ntini helped South Africa fight back on day one of the second Test.

Shoaib, back after a drugs ban was lifted, and Danish Kaneria (3-36) helped skittle the Proteas for 124.

Mark Boucher (35), Graeme Smith (28) and Jacques Kallis (24) all failed to capitalise on a blameless surface.

But Ntini (4-18) removed Mohammad Yousuf (32) and Younis Khan (45) as Pakistan finished 11 ahead on 135-6.

It was a frenetic passage of play on a pitch that contained few real terrors.

Shoaib took only three overs to strike in his first Test appearance for 11 months, AB de Villiers under-edging behind in an attempt to pull a ball from outside off-stump.

Hashim Amla quickly followed when he gloved a catch down the leg-side and leg-spinner Kaneria, introduced after only an hour, was soon in on the act.

Skipper Smith greeted his introduction by hitting him over mid-off for four, but his attempt to drive the next ball resulted in a nick which deflected off Kamran Akmal's gloves and looped up for Younis to take at slip.

Ashwell Prince flashed outside off-stump at the recalled Mohammad Sami, having been dropped four balls earlier by wicket-keeper Akmal.
Herschelle Gibbs, available pending an appeal against a two-match ban for making racist comments during the first Test, joined the procession as the hosts went to lunch on 64-5.

He was lbw sweeping at Kaneria for two after being dropped by Akmal the previous delivery and Pakistan struck a big blow soon after the resumption.

Kallis was undone by a beauty from Shoaib which was angled in and straightened to find the edge and Shaun Pollock lazily flicked a leg-stump half-volley from the "Rawalpindi Express" to square-leg to make it 89-7.

Boucher attacked with three fours and a swept six off Kaneria but he perished trying a repeat, while Mohammd Asif (2-34) polished off the tail.

Ntini recovered some ground for South Africa when Imran Farhat and Yasir Hameed were caught at third slip and Mohammad Hafeez miscued a pull to leave Pakistan on 19-3.

Yousuf - Test cricket's leading run-scorer in 2006 - looked in the mood for another big innings as he launched several sumptuous drives.

It took a debatable lbw decision, when Pollock swung the ball back into the right-hander, to end that prospect and a stand of 60 with Younis.

The aggressive Akmal (33) was fortunate to survive a caught-behind appeal from Andre Nel on 28.

But after a stand of 56 Younis edged a snorter from Ntini to gully and Akmal hooked Nel to deep square-leg to provide a final twist to a day of mayhem.

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