Talking Tactics

At Pallekele,Ross Taylor and Jacob Oram launched an onslaught that far eclipsed that 8217;96 mauling in every way possible except,perhaps,the fact that it wasn8217;t a knockout game this time around. Their seventh-wicket partnership of 85 took them just 3.4 overs.

The bowlers who suffered the biggest share of the grief are,like their current bowling coach Waqar,usually masters of late-overs bowling. But here,instead of yorkers and unhittable slower off cutters,Shoaib Akhtar and Abdul Razzaq dished out the worst possible lengths.

Akhtar8217;s ninth and final over cost him 28 of the eight deliveries he hurled down the wicket,two were wides,three were full tosses and two were hit-me back-of-a-length balls. Razzaq dished out more of the same when he bowled the next over from that end,and leaked 30 three full deliveries wide outside off that gave Taylor just enough room to free his arms,two even wider,pitching outside the tram-lines,and two full tosses.