Lance Klusener bridles Pakistan

By G. Viswanath

SHARJAH, MARCH 24. There were kudos all around for Imran Nazir. He is the new Pakistani boy who has come to the big stage of international cricket. He is not exactly a newcomer. He made his first appearance in the Pepsi triangular last year at Vishakapatnam against Sri Lanka. He came and left the scene leaving nothing as an impression, but a single digit figure of six runs in two matches. But the Gujranwala born Nazir with a boyish face and bushy eyebrows might see his luck last longer the second time.

(According to late agency reports, South Africa defeated Pakistan by three wickets with 5.3 overs to spare. This is South Africa's second straight victory in the tournament. Lance Klusener was adjudged the Man of the Match for his five-wicket haul.)

What is certain about his cricket is that he is a talented, nay gifted, batsman. He showed his class in plenty in the third match of the Coca Cola Cup tri-series against the South Africans. While the youngest player in the tri-series sustained Pakistan's push for nearly two and half hours and earned praise, it was a South African nicknamed `Zulu' who bowled ten overs on the trot to pick up his sixth five wicket haul in eighty matches and upset Pakistan's apple cart.

Lance Klusener's smart piece of accurate bowling with a good content of pace dashed Pakistan's hopes of entering the second phase of the tournament with two points. What they managed was 196, a far cry from a substantial and pose as a challenging one for the South Africans.

The start to Friday's game looked odd for more reasons than one. The tradition of putting on board an India - Pakistan clash was done away with in last April. The organisers have their own argument, but it has failed to convince the expatriates who believe that cricket on Friday ought to be between the Asian giants. The South Africa was to play Pakistan was reflected in the poor turn out on the weekly holiday. Then, Pakistan had to leave out - Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar because of niggling groin trouble. The South Africans, too, had to pick Mornantau Hayward, for Shaun Pollock, because the allrounder's knee was not in good shape and holding well to bowl ten overs. Everyone looked relaxed except for Pakistan for which it was sort of `must win' match day.

The pitch on which the first match of the tri-series was played on Wednesday appeared to have improved. Obviously the groundstaff had taken care to make sure that there was some bounce and a predictable one at that. It is debatable whether Moin Khan's decision to bat was right or wrong, but going against the conventional would have given time to assess and more importantly the target his team would have to score to win the match. Perhaps he was confident that his batsmen would come good in their second outing. The absence of Saeed Anwar, who tops the batting averages here and scored the maximum number of centuries, was a big handicap for Pakistan. The task was formidable for the new pair in Shahid Afridi and Nazir against a new ball attack which did not have big names like Allan Donald and Pollock. This must have been another factor that must have prompted Moin Khan to bat first.

Pakistan's record against South Africa is not as good. They have lost 15 of the 22 which meant that they had to rise above their best. Afridi came here with a hundred internationals under his belt, but not with the reputation he had built after he hit the fastest century in Nairobi some years ago.

The South Africans, being a witness to that rampaging innings by Afridi, knew the ways and means to contain Afridi, who in his three previous matches against the South Africans had scored only 40 runs and had picked three wicket at over 52. Afridi's only aggressive shot was a cut he made of Hayward after which he spooned a catch to Neil McKenzie at extra cover.

The batsman who replaced Afridi was Younis Khan. Pakistan's plan became obvious the moment Nazir began to play shots and Younis decided to defend and rotate the strike. The feature of the second wicket stand of the brilliant stroke play of Nazir. He played the line and length exceptionally well and appeared to have time to play his shots. He began with a back foot drive off Steve Elworthy.

The worrying thing was a leg injury to Nazir that developed after 20 overs. This necessitated a runner. Nazir did not give the slightest impression that he was under pressure.

Instead he looked a confident at the very outset and even showed he has strength in his shoulders when he hit three huge sixes.

He never let go a chance unpunished. The only time he came close to be dismissed was when he was on 60, but Klusener's delivery was declared a no ball.

The partnership was beginning to dominate when Klusener, who has had a fair amount of success against Pakistan, bowled Nazir. The young right hander had a stroke of luck when Gary Kirsten caught him on the line at long on, but failed to control the catch. The moment he realised he was going to cross the line, Kirsten threw the ball back on to the field. Peter Manual who had committed a blunder declaring a six, consulted the third umpire and withdrew his decision.

The second wicket stand between Nazir and Younis Khan produced 115 runs, but it also consumed three balls short of 37 overs. Younis Khan perished soon to Klusener who literally tore through the Pakistan middle order. His five wicket haul was not the best effort, but he had made sure that Pakistan would not even post 200 runs on the board.

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