Pakistan v Australia Tests: Analysis of Haris Sohail's maiden international ton

Waseem Ahmed 17:14 08/10/2018
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    • A maiden Test hundred to savour for Haris Sohail.

    Pakistan’s batsmen continued to make merry on a flat track at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on day two of the opening Test against Australia.

    Carrying on from their overnight score of 255-3, Sarfraz Ahmed’s men added 227 runs more on Monday as Australia’s bowlers were put through the wringer in the wilting heat of Dubai.

    Haris Sohail was the standout batsman for Pakistan on day two with the left-hander registering his maiden Test ton before being dismissed. Here, we take a closer look at the 29-year-old’s first international hundred for his country.

    STATISTICS

    RUNS SCORED: 110

    BALLS FACED: 240

    FOURS: 8

    SIXES: 2

    STRIKE-RATE: 45.83

    30-SECOND REPORT

    Sohail arrived at the crease late on day one after openers Mohammad Hafeez and Imam-ul-Haq had put a solid foundation for Pakistan with a 205-run stand. Carrying on the good work done by the openers, the left-hander saw Mohammad Abbas depart early on day two before forging a mammoth 150-run stand for the fifth wicket along with Asad Shafiq. The southpaw was circumspect in the early part of his innings and took 149 deliveries to get to his half-century. He stepped up a gear following that milestone and brought up a maiden Test hundred off 223 balls. He ultimately fell for 110 after feathering an edge to Tim Paine while attempting to cut a Nathan Lyon delivery.

    GOT RIGHT

    Perseverance and concentration. Sohail was a picture of concentration at the crease throughout his stay and was determined not to throw his wicket away on a pitch which favoured batsmen a great deal. He took his time to get settled in the innings and survived a couple of shaky moments including a lbw review by Lyon which was deemed not out by the third umpire. However, once set, he thrived against the Aussie attack, especially the spinners Lyon and Jon Holland. He accelerated in the second half of his innings to take the attack to Australia.

    GOT WRONG

    While he was generally unflappable at the crease, there were a few lapses in concentration in his 240-ball stay. Early on day two, he edged a Peter Siddle delivery that luckily flew in the gap between slips and gully. Later, he advanced down the pitch to Lyon before deciding to not offer a shot. Sohail was struck on the pads with ball-tracking showing that the ball would crash onto his stumps. However, Australia’s review was turned down by the umpire as the ‘three-metre’ rule came to the aid of the Pakistan batsman.

    VERDICT – 8/10

    Sohail has always been a gifted batsman and big things were expected from him when made his limited-overs debut for Pakistan in 2013. However, a serious knee-injury and loss of form robbed him of a consistent run out in international cricket with his Test debut coming as late as 2017. A career which promised much was looking like fading into oblivion but just like Hafeez’s ton on Sunday, Sohail’s maiden Test hundred could not have come at a better time for the top-order batsman.

    It is a maiden international ton which has taken a long time coming but it is one which should do Sohail’s confidence a world of good and help him stake a permanent claim to a berth in Pakistan’s Test setup. A conventional batsman with orthodox technique, Sohail’s game has always been more suited to red-ball cricket and him finding form could solve a lot of Pakistan’s batting puzzles in the Test arena.

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