da bet7k： Hobart, Nov 20: It was a day for batting to flourish and the Bellerivepitch facilitated that enough for Pakistan to put themselves incommand of this Test
A Jalil21-Nov-1999Hobart, Nov 20: It was a day for batting to flourish and the Bellerivepitch facilitated that enough for Pakistan to put themselves incommand of this Test.They needed a couple of big innings and that they got withInzamam-ul-Haq leading the way with a flawless century. All too oftenPakistan’s batsmen have let themselves down when concentration andpatience were the virtues to be displayed. Today they built aninnings, playing entertaining cricket and yet not being overlyflamboyant which has been their downfall time and again.With the bowlers having done their bit on the previous day, this wasthe only opportunity that Pakistan had of cornering Australia bysetting a daunting target for them in the last innings of thematch. Trailing by a Test and just one more to play next week inPerth, Pakistan could not afford to slacken. For once their intentionwas clear and they stuck to the task with a purpose from the start ofthe day.Nightwatchman, Saqlain Mushtaq gave his support for over an hour thismorning while Saeed Anwar picked up runs. It was looking good forPakistan on 100 for 1 just before Shane Warne claimed the first of histhree victims today. The leg spinner then struck again before lunch toremove Anwar with a ball which turned prodigiously from the rough ofthe bowlers’ footmark, coming into the left-hander and knocking backthe leg stump. Warne had taken 2 for 29 this morning but there wasn’tmuch more to come his way.Ijaz Ahmad chose the right time to get the runs that he needed tojustify his presence in the Test side. He is a fine batsman but sooften he gives up his wicket, batting in a cavalier manner that whenhe does score heavily, it seems to be a bonus to his team. along withInzamam he set out to build the innings when, with the dismissal ofanwar it was beginning to flag.It was most attractive cricket in the hour after lunch when 66 runswere added with Ijaz and Inzamam having got the measure of theAustralian bowling and enjoying their time in the middle, batting inconditions a little alien to Hobart in mid-November, it was warm andnot a cloud in sight. they scored freely but took no risks during thatperiod. Australia got their long awaited breakthrough with Ijaz’swicket. It had been an excellent innings, ending just eighteen shortof a well deserved hundred.Unlike the first innings, neither he nor Inzamam allowed themselves tobe pinned down by Australia’s bowlers. they had then brought abouttheir own downfall with poorly executed shots. This time there wasconfidence and an apparent determination to succeed on their part.WithIjaz’s departure, Pakistan were 258 for 4. Inzamam kept going with thesame authority that he had established over the bowling and by closeof play he had guided his other partners, Azhar Mahmood, inparticular, in taking Pakistan to 7 for 351. It is an overall lead of327 which, Inzamam, with the help of the remaining wickets is verylikely to substantially increase tomorrow.The pressure that the enormous lead will put on Australia, in the faceof Pakistan’s current bowling form, will in all probability, be enoughto make them wilt