Tuesday, Dec 24, 2013

Abu Dhabi: Umar Gul’s return has given Pakistan the much-needed firepower in the topsy-turvy One Day International series against Sri Lanka. The hosts one victory away from winning the five-match series after taking a 2-1 lead.

The 115-run margin of victory in the last outing would have been a huge shot in the arm for the Pakistan going into the fourth match of the Cool & Cool ODI series at the Shaikh Zayed Stadium on Wednesday. The match starts at 3pm local time.

Gul made a huge difference in the outcome of the last match. Back in the side after a nine-month layoff due a knee injury that needed a surgery, the Pakistan pacer took three wickets for 19 runs in 5.4 overs.

“I’m thankful to the Pakistan Cricket Board for giving me a call. Mohammad Yasir of the National Cricket Academy worked a lot with me. To play after a long gap and to come up with a good performance was great by the grace of God. All my friends and family members stood by me in this time of need, like in 2004 when I had a similar injury. I also had to be mentally strong,” said Gul after a training session on Tuesday.

The 29-year-old, despite being among the wickets, seemed to have cut down on pace. However, Gul went on to reveal his focus was to bowl in the right areas.

“It was my first match. I didn’t want to give extra runs and put pressure on myself. I wanted to focus on the line and length. If you don’t focus more on pace, then you can land the ball in the right areas and that’s what I did. The more I play, the faster I will get back to my peak,” said Gul, who is confident of regaining his spot in the Test side as well.

Batting had been a major worry for Pakistan during their last series here against South Africa earlier this year. However, there is enough evidence that they have managed to stem that rot in this series against Sri Lanka, who have lacked depth in their bowling.

The star of the last match was Mohammad Hafeez, who scored 140 not out from 136 balls in what was his highest score in One Day Internationals. He was well supported at the other end by Ahmad Shehzad, who scored 81. The ever-reliable captain Misbah-ul-Haq also scored a quickfire 40 and Pakistan will be hoping for similar show from the in-form trio.

“It is important to win the series by winning the fourth match. If we fail to do so, then we will put pressure on ourselves going into the last match and we don’t want that to happen. Our batsmen are batting well and the bowlers are also performing, so we want to win the series tomorrow itself,” Gul said.

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, are struggling in bowling and batting departments. Apart from Thisara Perera, who was the most successful bowler with 2-58 from eight overs, all others went for runs. Barring Tillakaratne Dilshan (59) and skipper Angelo Mathews (44), it was an ordinary performance from the rest.

“I thought our fielding and batting let us down. As I keep saying: ‘Chasing 320, we needed a solid start.’ And unfortunately we could not get it. Just because we didn’t chase well doesn’t mean we will look to bat first. It all depends on how the Abu Dhabi wicket is,” said skipper Mathews. “Gul is a very good bowler and we have to be a bit cautious against him. Unfortunately, we lost a couple of wickets to him and he got us on the backfoot in the last match.”

By N.D. Prashant Staff Reporter

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