England Eye Repeat as India Sweat on Zaheer

England will look for more of the same against India in the second Test at Trent Bridge starting on Friday.
They thrashed the tourists by 196 runs on Monday, with James Anderson taking five for 65 in front of a full house at Lord's in the 2,000th Test of all-time.
England, who will replace India at the top of the ICC's Test table if they win this four-match series 2-0 or better, had things pretty much their own way at Lord's, with Kevin Pietersen making a double century, Matt Prior a reviving second innings hundred and Stuart Broad returning to his best bowling form.
And even when dropped catches or contentious lbw decisions, for which there are no reviews this series because of Indian objections to ball-tracking technology, went against England, it made little difference.
"We know we're playing really, really good cricket at the moment," said Anderson. "Everyone's chipping in and if we need someone to step up, generally someone is.
"We're trying to improve each day, as individuals and as a team. If we can do that, we know we can do great things."
Anderson, often a beneficiary of the swing friendly conditions on offer at Trent Bridge, has dismissed Sachin Tendulkar six times in seven Tests, including lbw for 12 in the second innings at Lord's to leave the India great stranded on 99 international hundreds.
"When you get him out you know it's a key dismissal, so we know we've got to be on top of our game to do that," Anderson said.
England had a huge break at Lord's when Zaheer Khan broke down early with a hamstring injury and then didn't bowl at all in the second innings.
An India spokesman said on Wednesday that Zaheer's fitness was "improving considerably".
But if the left-arm quick, who four years ago at Trent Bridge took nine wickets in what turned out to be a series-clinching win, is ruled out, India will have to decide between erratic fast bowler Shanthakurman Sreesanth and the steadier Munaf Patel.
"Ishant Sharma has been doing really well he was the man of the series in the West Indies and Praveen Kumar has taken five wickets at Lord's," said India batsman Abhinav Mukund.
Sreesanth is waiting in the wings as well, so it's not that we have a depleted attack.
England have a doubt over fast bowler Chris Tremlett, unable to train on Wednesday because of a tight hamstring.
If Tremlett is sidelined, fellow Ashes-winner Tim Bresnan will be recalled.
Rahul Dravid was the only member of India's celebrated top order to make a century at Lord's but the likes of Tendulkar and Venkatsai Laxman will be keen to post a significant score.
So too will 21-year-old left-hander Mukund, opening while Virender Sehwag recovers from a shoulder injury.
Sehwag has an unrivalled ability to attack the new ball whereas Mukund, who made 49 and 12 at Lord's, is a far more orthodox opener.
"I don't want to replace Sehwag or play like he does, because it's not possible," Mukund said. "I just want to go out and play how I know. If it comes off it will help the team."
And he insisted India were well-capable of demonstrating the resilience that had taken them to the summit of Test cricket during the rest of this series.

Teams from

England: Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior (wk), Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, Chris Tremlett, James Anderson, Tim Bresnan.

India: MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Abhinav Mukund, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Suresh Raina, Venkatsai Laxman, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Zaheer Khan, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Amit Mishra, Yuvraj Singh, Munaf Patel, Wriddihiman Saha

Match facts
July 29-Aug 02, 2011
Start time 11:00 local (10:00 GMT), 03:30pm IST

Shahid Afridi registered his fifth five-wicket

Captain Shahid Afridi registered his fifth five-wicket

Captain Shahid Afridi registered his fifth five-wicket haul as Pakistan beat Canada by 46 runs in their World Cup clash at the Premadasa stadium in Colombo on Thursday.

Chasing 185, Canada had got off to a poor start losing their first three wickets with 44 runs on the board in 17.1 overs.

Umar Gul gave Pakistan the first breakthrough when he trapped Ruvindu Gunasekera plumb in front of the wicket and in the next over, Nitish Kumar edged a Abdul Razzaq delivery onto his stumps.

Afridi then trapped his Canadian counterpart Ashish Bagai plumb in front of the wicket for the third breakthrough. Afridi went for the review immediately after umpire Daryl Harper adjudged Bagai not out and got the decision in Pakistan's favour.

With a 60-run partnership for the fourth wicket, Surkari and Jimmy Hansra had steadied Canada before the Pakistani spinners struck in quick succession.

Saeed Ajmal trapped Surkari plumb in front of the wicket and got it in his favour after going for a review.

Afridi then took four wickets in three overs to rock Canada. Afridi first clean bowled the big-hitting Rizwan Cheema with a googly.

In his next over, Afridi clean bowled Hansra and Harvir Baidwan to become the first bowler to take three consecutive four-wicket hauls in World Cup cricket.

In his next over, Afridi had Tyson Gordon caught by Wahab Riaz to register his fifth five-wicket haul.

Earlier, Canada produced a spirited bowling display to restrict former champions Pakistan to 184.

Pakistan found the disciplined Canada attack to hot to handle as, after opting to bat, they lost wickets at regular intervals to be finally bundled out inside the 200-run mark in 43 overs.

If not for the 73-run fifth wicket stand between Misbah-ul-Haq (37) and Umar Akmal (48), Pakistan could have folded up for a lesser total as they lost their last six wickets for just 44 runs.

India-born medium-pacer Harvir Baidwan was the pick of the Canada bowlers with figures of three for 35 runs while Jimmy Hansra (2/23), Rizwan Cheema (2/33) and Balaji Rao (2/50) snared two wickets apiece to spell Pakistan's doom.

Even though there were no demons in the pitch, Pakistan were off to a shaky start as the 1992 champions lost their first four batsmen for just 67 runs after electing to bat.

Opener Mohammad Hafeez started positively as he picked up Henry Osinde for special treatment in his first and innings second over, spanking the right-arm pacer for back-to-back boundaries.

But Osinde took his revenge in the first delivery of his next over, trapping Hafeez lbw but not before the batsman went for the review which went against him.

Baidwan struck the second blow for Canada in the ninth over, dismissing Ahmed Shehzad caught by Gordon at mid-on.

Baidwan then trapped Younis Khan lbw in the 13th over with a full length delivery that was tilting in towards middle and leg, prompting the batsman to go for another unsuccessful review.

And then two overs later, Kamran Akmal too departed caught at the backward point region by Nitish Kumar off Cheema to ensure a dream start for Canada.

But then came in ever-reliable Misbah and together with young Umar Akmal, he steadied the rocking Pakistani ship with the 73-run stand.

After the shocking start, the duo took their time to settle in as they mostly dealt with ones and twos with occasional boundaries in between during their 117-ball partnership.

But after all the hard work when it was time for Misbah and Umar Akmal to accelerate, leg-spinner Rao inflicted twin blows, dismissing both the set batsmen with the Pakistan scoreboard reading 165/6.

Rao first trapped Umar plumb in front of the wicket just two short of his half-century and then four overs later he accounted for Misbah, caught by captain Asish Bagai behind the stumps.

Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi (20) and all-rounder Abdul Razzaq failed to live upto their reputation with the former becoming Cheema's third victim.

The lower-order did very little to help Pakistan's cause as they lost their last four batsmen within a span of three runs.

Pakistan Cricketer Younis Khan Profile

Full NameMohammad Younis Khan.
BirthdayNovember 29, 1975.
BirthplaceMardan, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan.

Star Sign
Sagittarius.
Height
5ft 11in.

Nickname
YK.
ResidenceMardan, NWFP, Pakistan.
FamilyUnmarried; Six older brothers, three older sisters.
EducationIslamia Arts & College, Karachi (Grade 12).
TeamsPakistan, Peshawar, Habib Bank and Nottinghamshire.
PositionRight-hand middle-order batsman; right-arm leg-spin bowler.

Fielding Position
Second slip most of the time.
Test DebutVs Sri Lanka at Rawalpindi, February/March 2000.
Highest Score267 vs India at Bangalore, March 2005.
Best Bowling1-24 vs India at Mohali, March 2005.

ODI Debut
Vs Sri Lanka at Karachi, February 2000.

Highest ODI Score
144 vs Hong Kong at Colombo, July 2004.

Best ODI Bowling
1-24 vs Zimbabwe at Harare, December 2002.

Younis Khan Profile:

A middle-order batsman, Younis Khan is fearless, as befits his Pathan ancestry. He plays with a flourish and is especially strong in the arc from backward point to extra cover. He is prone to getting down on one knee and driving extravagantly. But this flamboyance is coupled with grit. His main weaknesses are playing away from the body and leaving straight balls. Younis was one of the few batsmen who retained his place in the team after Pakistan's disastrous World Cup campaign in 2003, but lost it soon after due to a string of poor scores in the home series against Bangladesh and South Africa. He came back for the one-day series against India, but failed to cement a place in the Test side. He is among the better fielders in Pakistan and he took a world-record four catches in one innings as substitute during Pakistan's demolition of Bangladesh in the 2001-02 Asian Test Championship. He displayed further versatility by keeping and winning the Man of the Match award against Zimbabwe in the Paktel Cup. But it was his return to the side in October 2004, at the pivotal one-down, against Sri Lanka in Karachi that laid the groundwork for his emergence as a force in Pakistan cricket. He was the top run-getter in the disastrous 3-0 whitewash in Australia immediately after and on the tour of India, for which Younis was elevated to vice-captain, he blossomed. After a horror start to the series he came back strongly, capping things off with a matchwinning 267 in the final Test. Since then, barring minor troughs such as the 2005-06 series against England at home, his career has been one elongated peak, scoring hundreds against India and England for fun and becoming Pakistan's most successful one-down in recent memory. More importantly, the tour to India also showcased his potential as a future captain of Pakistan and his energetic and astute leadership has impressed many people. As captain in Inzamam's absence he led the side to a disastrous loss against the West Indies in 2005 but also to a memorable win against India in Karachi in January 2006. Halfway through 2006, and for the first time in many a year, Pakistan have a plan of succession for the leadership. And also a very good one-down.

Profile By: Cricinfo