Zulqarnain hopes to emulate Edgbaston feat
Haider, who was picked in place of the under-performing Kamran Akmal scored a face-saving 88 in the second innings at Edgbaston that allowed Pakistan to avoid an innings defeat. However, his golden duck in the first innings as well as dropped catches - the reason why Akmal lost his place in the side - remained a worry for the team as they battle hard to build back from crushing back-to-back defeats.
“It was a do-or-die situation for me, going into the second innings,” Haider told The Express Tribune. “But my promise to myself and my faith in God helped me build my confidence and allowed me to score that half-century. There was a lot of pressure, considering the situation that we were in but I was used to the English conditions and that helped me a lot.
“I didn’t think of this as my first and last chance and that, too, helped with my confidence.”
While none of the Pakistani batsmen showed ability to stay in the middle for long, Haider faced 200 deliveries in his patient knock that will give the Pakistan management a lot of hope given the long tail that the playing eleven has. Haider not only faced aggression with the type of deliveries he had to face but also bowlers’ frustration when Stuart Broad threw a ball straight at him after his follow-through.
“I showed good sportsmanship which is very important aspect of the game and I can tell you that even if Broad had hit the ball on my head, I wouldn’t have said anything. I was there to bat and help my team and my sole focus was to play a long innings to keep the chances of my team floating.”
Haider, who made his debut for Pakistan in a Twenty20 match against South Africa in 2007, has also represented Pakistan in under-15 tournaments and was preferred over Sarfraz Ahmed, Akmal’s understudy and replacement in Australia, for the long tour of England.
“I worked really hard to get into the national side and obviously the pressure of so many spectators around me was overwhelming but I saw my mistakes after the match and am working hard to overcome them and will give a long run to my country.”
In a similar manner to Zulqarnain’s debut, Pakistan, too, have had a mixed tour so far. While they managed to beat Australia in three of the four matches the two teams played - two Twenty20s and two Tests - their performance against hosts England has been dismal. Pakistan lost the first Test by 354 runs and the second by nine wickets after poor batting that saw them dismissed for 80 and 72 in the space of a few days.
They now take on Worcestershire in a two-day warm-up from tomorrow before the third Test begins on August 18 at the Oval.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 12th, 2010.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ