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India vs Pakistan - 3rd ODI at Lahore - 2006.Filed under
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It should be tough for International players to play two ODI games with just one days' break, but they have no say in the scheduling of the games... So here we are, 3rd ODI between India and Pakistan at Gaddaffi stadium on 13th of February.
 Just before the match, the news flashed that Shoaib Akhtar and Harbhajan Singh are out of the series, but a new channel here in India - "Star News" reported something that we should may believe in. The Match referee for the test series was Ranjan Madhugale, but for the ODI series, it is Chris Broad - he is known for his strict eyes on bowlers who have suspected bowling action and thats why both India and Pakistan decided to save their suspected bowlers from playing in front of him... Do you believe this statement of StarNews?? Anyways, lets get back to the match..India won the toss for the first time and decided to field.. it must be noted that last 10 wins for India in one day internationals has come while chasing only.. Pakistan Batting :- Another over confident start. Batsmen started to play their strokes way before judging the pace and swing of the ball - and to tell you the truth, the ball was swinging. It should be due to the weather they had in Lahore - overcast and damp breeze. Salman Butt was out exactly in the same fashion as he was in the 2nd ODI - edging the ball to the second slip.. After getting 3 early wickets, Indian fielders dropped four catches - first by Kaif at third slip, second at first slip by Dravid and third again at third slip by Gautam Gambhir - ALL ON THE BOWLING OF SREESANTH. The fourth one was a very tough one for Raina at covers, but still went down as a missed chance.. The ball still kept on swi  nging but that made no impression on
Pakistani batsmen who kept on playing their shots. At last, the
following batsmen prevailed..Shoaib Malik's 108 :- It was Younis Khan in test matches and now its Malik in this India vs Pakistan ODI series. He made 95 and 90 in the first two matches, and made 108 in this one. A intelligent innings to say the least. He attacked when required, but mostly concentrated on staying at the wickets, and was easily the best batsmen in the Pakistani Batting line up. The Score card will prove to you that he was the only one who stood between Pakistani batting slump!! Abdul Razzaq's 64 :- Pakistani batsmen kept on playing shots and then getting out, and then it was their last chance with Razzaq and he did very well. He paced his innings well, taking quick singles till 25 odd runs and in later on - hit two lusty sixes and 7 fours to take Pakistan to 288. Shoaib Malik and Razzaq made 89 runs in the last 10 over for Pakistan. See score card for the 3rd ODI below.. Indian Batting :-  Mohammad Asif has been the best bowler in this India vs Pakistan series in 2006 and he again made sure that India had a dangerous start - they slipped to 12 for 2 in just the 3rd over. Then Sachin Tendulkar and captain Rahul Dravid took the responsibility to rebuild the innings. The run rate slipped to 3 runs per over, but these two made sure that Mohammad Asif and Umar Gul - who was bowling well from the other end, did get any more wickets.. Just when bowlers were changed, Dravid miss judged a single to mid-on and was run out.. then - Yuvraj Singh's 79 - Although the top scorer in the Indian batting was Tendulkar, I am recalling Yuvraj before him as I feel he played a master innings here in Gadaffi stadium in Lahore. He timed the ball so sweetly and gave not a single chance to Pakistani fielders - who after getting Dravid, must have thought that they can put lots of pressure. He was like a magician with the bat, making the Pakistani fielders just watch and admire his grace.. Sachin Tendulkar's 95 - This series is seeing so many batsmen get out in their nineties. But Tendulkar made sure that  India were within striking range when he got out. He
seemed in lot of pain in the later part of his innings, as he had
bowled full 10 overs as well while fielding. He should be called a
little lucky as well, as Pakistani fielders dropped his couple of
times, before he started to middle the ball..Mahendra Singh Dhoni's 72 - As I write this, I am sure that you won't get the real taste of what Dhoni offered in Gaddaffi stadium today. After Tendulkar, kaif missed a straight ball from Umar Gul and was out leg before wicket, India were in trouble when this man from Jharkhand came and after defending 5 balls, went mad. He hit 13 fours in all - none of them were pretty. Dhoni is a very unconventional batsmen, who strokes looks very ugly, but he hits them as hard as any body in cricket right now. He has a brilliant eye, and trusts his instincts. He also ran very fast between the wickets, and the asking run rate of 7 per over came down to irritating 2 run per over in just 10 over that he played. In the end, it seemed like a easy win for India, which, by no means, was.. India vs Pakistan - 3rd ODI at Lahore - The score card.
Important notes from the match :- 1) Same two umpires - Simon Taufel and Asad Rauf officiated in this third ODI at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. They also officiated in the first two one dayers. How many time does this happen that same umpires are kept on for three straight matches.. in fact - Simon Taufel officiated in the last two Test matches as well.. seems like he loves Pakistan. A very good umpire though!!  2) There were not a single over of spin bowling in Pakistani batting. Even Sachin Tendulker, who after a long long gap bowled his full 10 over - seamers and also got the prized wicket of Injamam ul-Haq. In fact, the match saw only three overs of spin in all - from shahid Afridi. How often does that happen in an one day match in sub - continent??? 3) Pakistan President - Pervez Musharraf - a big cricket fan - came to the stand where Indian supporters were sitting and cheered them. He waited for a few minutes, tried to catch the India supporters who couldn't take their eyes off Sachin and Yuvraj, and then greeted them. This was a very great gesture from the Pakistani President. He must have known that around 3000 Indians have come to Pakistan for just that match and he welcomed them all.. VERY IMPRESSIVE!! Related ArticlesArticle
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