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Ballseye
11/21/2005
Saiful Kaiser
At one point it looked like Pakistan would do a repeat of their first innings of the first Test, starting well and then a laborious middle session and then falling apart. The openers and a lackadaisical Younis Khan went fairly quickly until Mohammad Yousuf and Inzaman fought back to level things a bit. Then the second 'chor' (thief, cheat, half-wit) in the England team, Bell, claimed Yousuf's return catch (the first one is the wicket-keeper G Jones). He knew he had floored it and the cameras confirmed that he had and yet the 'chor' in him couldn't allow such a chance to pass (he wished he had caught it cleanly and therefore he decided that he actually had).
It was a most stupid act because that brought Shahid Afridi to crease. Two things were working in his mind. One he wanted to send a strong message (or a message in strong language) to those who had left him out of the first Test. Second he wanted to make the 'chor' look really bad in front of all those watching. He clubbed Bell's first delivery for a 4. Inzamam signalled caution and Afridi shook his head in assent. The next two deliveries of the 'chor' met the same fate. Bell was not taken off without reason but that could not be any reason for Afridi to reign in his natural instinct to hit the ball of leather as hard as possible as only he knows best and then gleefully watch the result. At the end of the day's play, Inzamam was on 80 (from 159 balls with 8 fours), he was on 38 when his partner had strode in. And Shahid Afridi was unconquered on 67 (in 62 balls with 4 sixes and 5 fours).
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