Cook led England thrash Pakistan in opener

Not many people had given Engalnd a chance at the start of the ODI series following a woeful batting show in the Tests. But, Alistair Cook hit a career best 137 to lead from the front in a commanding 130-run win over Pakistan in the first match at Abu Dhabi. He along with Ravi Bopara helped England set a substantial 261-run target for the ‘green shirts’. Then, Steven Finn ripped the heart out of Pakistan batting by dismantling the top-order inside the mandatory powerplay. His crippling four wicket burst damaged the chase beyond repair as Pakistani could never recover from the early blows and were all-out for 130.

Having been besieged by the army of Pakistan spinners during the 0-3 whitewash in Tests, England batsmen had to wait little before they were up against their tormentors, Hafeez taking up his ‘new ball’ specialist role alongside Umar Gul. Alistair Cook after winning the toss decided to make first use of a strip that looked batting friendly, but then England imploded on similar pitches in whites.

However, a rejigged batting order started steadily with Kevin Pietersen partnering Cook at the top. The openers put on 57 but couldn’t keep the spin brigade at bay for long. Shahid Afridi, playing his first match against England on the tour, got a leg-break in the 13th over to fizz through Pietersen’s tentative push, ending his rather sluggish innings of 14 from 36 balls. Next ball, Jonathan Trott was done in by a wrong-un that spun to disturb the furniture. The two quick wickets put England on the back foot as their trail by spin had only started.

With the England innings in need of a partnership, Cook took it upon himself to see his side through the testing phase. And, to help the cause, Ravi Bopara shared part of that responsibility with a plucky fifty. Both of them mixed caution with aggression to steer England clear of the difficulties and laid a platform for the batsmen to come by adding 131 for the third wicket. Cook went on to register his third century in ODIs, a ferocious square cut off Saeed Ajmal taking up into three figures.

At 188 for 2, England could have easily pushed on to reach a score in the vicinity of 300 but mystery man, Ajmal still hadn’t finished his quota of overs. He sparked off a mini-collapse that saw England lose five wickets in a hurry, all falling to the canny variations of Ajmal. In his last four overs, he had outlandish figures of 5 for 15, considering the batsmen were pretty much in control when he got his first victim, Ravi Bopara against the run of play.

What followed Bopara’s dismissal was almost an encore from the Tests as English batsmen struggled to put bat to ball while facing Ajmal. Eoin Morgan played a lame reverse sweep to be trapped in front, Kieswetter adopted an aggressive approach but perished in the process, Stuart Broad was smartly caught by the bowler and the centurion Cook was bowled trying to sweep. Nevertheless, the England skipper had done his job superbly by anchoring the innings. Samit Patel and Graeme Swann hit few boundaries towards the end to ensure that the target for Pakistan was well above par.

Although, the chase was a stiff one for Pakistan but their on-paper line up packed with batsmen had a fair chance of overhauling this one. But, Steven Finn chose to make a statement having warmed the benches all through the Tests. He demolished the top-order during a sharp spell of bowling with the new ball. His four wicket burst left Pakistan in tatters and eventually, left the lower order too big a mountain to climb.

Prolific opener, Mohammad Hafeez fell LBW at the start of the third over as Finn worked up some serious pace. Asad Shafiq knew nothing about a ball that came in rapidly to be dismissed in the same manner without troubling the scorers. An inside edge off Younis Khan’s bat was gloved by Kieswetter behind the stumps and when Imran Farhat became Finn’s fourth victim, the match had decisively swung in England’s favour.

Having lost four wickets inside the first nine overs, Pakistan desperately needed skipper Misbah-ul-Haq to come up with something special but Samit Patel spun one past his bat and umpire upheld the leg-before appeal. After Shoaib Malik’s wild heave was held at mid-on, Shahid Afridi and an injured Umar Akmal briefly anchored the sinking ship.

For Pakistan, the chase never really took off and the last hopes that were pinned on Shahid Afridi lasted for only few more overs. Despite Afridi trying to play calmly, the situation demanded him to show his true colours and although, he connected a couple of big shots, a mishit was inevitable. Umar Akmal was stumped and the innings drew to a close when Ajmal was fittingly caught by Cook.