By Shantam Taneja
On an entertaining 4th day in Abu Dhabi, Pakistan wrapped up the series with a stunning display of spin bowling by dismissing England for just 72. England seemed to be on course to level the series with Panesar running through the tail of the Pakistani batting line up and claiming his 9th five wicket haul, on his return to test cricket. This left England needing 145 run to level the series but their middle order crumbled to an outstanding display from Pakistan’s spin bowlers and eventually succumbed to 72 all out, their lowest total against Pakistan.
Pakistan went in with Junaid Khan instead of the injured Aizaz Cheema and England decided to adopt Pakistan’s policy of 2 seamers and 2 spinners by bringing in Panesar for the injured Tremlett. The hosts won the toss and elected to bat knowing that they could post a huge total due to the flat wicket that had been prepared. However by lunch Pakistan were 73/2 with both the spin bowlers finding turn with the new ball. Swann’s arm ball dismissed Umar, which he left alone thinking that it would turn away from him just like the previous ball. It didn’t and ball dismantled Umar’s off stump.
Pakistan plodded along with their batsmen more concerned with the occupation of the crease rather than scoring quickly. By the end of the day Pakistan were 256/7 with Broad and Swann having picked up 3 wickets each. The pick of Broad’s wickets was the ball that pitched on a good length and nipped back in to sneak in between bat and pad and rattle Younus’ off stump. On the second day, the England bowlers took 16 balls to wrap up the innings with Misbah being dismissed for 84 by Broad who received reward for bowling a good line and length and probing around the off stump throughout the innings. Misbah playing a captains innings under the most immense pressure on a turning pitch. He played the big shot early to push the fielders back which gave him more margin of error. He slapped Panesar for 2 consecutive sixes of the final over of the day, a feat he had achieved previously on the same day
With Pakistan being bowled out for just 257, the English bowlers knew they had done their job on a flat track. It was now up to the batsmen to let them do theirs. England started well against the seamers and they first saw the sight of a spinner in the 6th over. Hafeez had Strauss caught at forward short leg by Shafiq in the 14th over. After this dismissal though, Trott and Cook built a partnership based on patience and playing straight against the spinners. They weren’t unfazed by periods where they blocked out maidens and waited for bad deliveries to score runs off. Together they carved out a 159 run partnership but they did have their fair share of luck. Trott could have been back in the pavilion when he received an off break which turned sharply yet the appeal was turned down by the umpire. Pakistan didn’t review the decision but the replays show the ball crashing into middle stump.
Pakistan did waste their reviews in quick succession as they were frustrated by Trott’s patience. On both occasions the ball had made impact with the pad outside the line of the off stump but Misbah was forced to review due to Adnan Akmal enthusiasm and certainty.
When the partnership finally ended, Ajmal weaved his magic by taking 3 quick wickets at the end of the day to leave the match evenly poised. At the start of Day 3, Broad counter attacked the bowlers by getting to 58 of 62 balls. He eventually ran out of partners as Bell was trapped lbw by Gul and the spinners ran through the tail to leave England with a lead of 70. The pick of the wickets had to be the delivery bowled by Abdul Rehman which drifted in and turned away from Trott sharply, beating the outside edge and clipping the top of off stump.
In reply to England’s 327, Pakistan conjured up 125/4 by the end of the days play. At one point they were 54/4 but a patient knock from Azhar Ali and Shafiq, in front of thousands of people who had flocked into the Sheikh Zayed Stadium after Friday prayers, helped Pakistan escape a tricky situation.
The next day Monty Panesar left where he had started. He began to extract bounce from the surface. He was quicker through the air compared to the first innings and was bowling from wide of the crease as well. All of this made him difficult to play and he ran through the tail leaving England a moderate 145 to win the match. The pick of his wickets being the one that drifted in and turned away from Younus khan and hit the off stump. It was reminiscent of the delivery that had dismissed Trott which was bowled by Panesar’s left arm counter part, Abdul Rehman. Pakistan finished on 214 with contributions from Azhar Ali and Shafiq.
England had problems with unorthodox spin in Dubai but their undoing was left arm orthodox spin this time. Hafeez started the collapse by accepting a return catch from Cook and Ajmal soon joined the party. Bell’s woes against Ajmal’s doosra continued as he played the ball so late, that it hit the ground and spun back to hit the stumps and dislodged the bails. Personally, I can relate with Bell as I was once bowled in a similar fashion. However Pakistan didn’t rest on their laurels and Rehman who had seen Panesar take 6 wickets, joined in the fun by picking 6 wickets himself and bowling England out for 72.
An extraordinary game in which England were in the driving seat when they needed just 145 to win but one of their worst batting displays in recent memory took the series from them. Rehman received the man of the match award for his match winning haul in the second innings. Funnily enough the second string spinners on both teams finished with 6 wickets each in the second innings and also we are yet to see a century being scored in the series so far. This is probably due to the excellent bowling attacks on both teams which is emphasised by the strength of the teams second string spinners.
England head back to Dubai knowing that nothing less than a win in that match can save them the humiliation.
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