POTW Winner [PB] - PakPassion

SOSami

This week's winner almost seemed to predict the Afridi blitz was on it's way yesterday. Jinx threads have become all the rage on PP over the last few months, but sometimes all it takes is an old-fashioned thread full of genuine positivity.

PB, a career in weather forecasting awaits you.

Quote:

Every time we play in the UAE . . . . . . .

There has always been atleast 1 amazing performance by a Pakistani player.
Ever since 2007 there was atleast 1 performance that proved why we love Pakistan cricket.

In 2007 Vs. Sri Lanka - Shahid Afridi scored 32 runs of Sri Lankas Malinga Bandara. He went on to score 73 runs and helped us win the 1st match and lead the series.

In 2008 Vs. West Indies - There were couple of good performances by our players, the first one being Kamran Akmals 24 off 9 balls. We were facing the West Indies and in the 1st ODI they made 294 runs. We started off pretty well and then needed 33 off 18 balls for victory and then 29 off 13 balls. Kamran Akmal helped us win that match with his sixes and scored 24 off 9 balls. He scored 17 runs off Jerome Taylor in the final over.

The second performance and third performance came in the final ODI. Younis Khan scored a century which helped Pakistan get to the score of 273. Windies started off pretty well, Chris Gayle made 122 in this game, and they were cruising till the 33rd over. Rao Iftikhar Anjum sparked a collapse that proved crucial in our victory. Windies were at 168-2 and Iftikhar Anjum bagged 4 wickets in 5 overs which left them at 191-5. Our other bowlers then capitalized and bowled them out for 242.

In 2009 Vs. Australia - We faced Australia and New Zealand in the UAE. First was Australia in early 2009. In the first ODI Shahid Afridi bagged 6 wickets which is the most hes taken in a match, and his figures at the end of the game were 6/38 which is the best for a Pakistani player vs Australia (Previous best being Waqar Younis' 6/59).

We lost the series but in the final match Kamran Akmal scored 116 to help us win the dead rubber by 7 wickets, we were chasing 250.

In 2009 Vs. New Zealand - We faced the Kiwis at the end of 2009. In the 1st ODI we lost couple of wickets quickly, we were 75-4 and Shahid Afridi who had not been in good batting form came to the crease. He then proceeded to score 70 off 50 balls with 3 sixes and 4 fours when no one was expecting him to score. Also Kamran Akmal in the same match scored 67 off 43 balls with 5 fours and 4 sixes. They both along with Razzaqs quick 20 runs helped us score 287 runs when we were once at 75-4. We won that match by 138 runs.

Also in the same series in the final ODI, with the series tied at 1-1. We restricted New Zealand to 211 All out. We needed 212, and we started off pretty good and then collapsed dramatically. With all hope lost Mohammad Amir almost sealed a thriller along side Saeed Ajmal by scoring the most runs by a Number 10 batsmen, we were at 86/8. He scored 73 runs and remained not out. We lost the match when Ajmal gave his wicket away after scoring 33 runs. We lost by 7 runs.

Last year vs England - We faced them in 2 T20s in preparation for the 2010 T20 World Cup, and we lost the first T20 but in the 2nd T20 England made 148 in their 20 overs. We collapsed to 78-5 in the 13th over. Abdul Razzaq came in at number 7 and scored 46 off 18 balls with 5 sixes and no fours. When he came to the crease Pakistan needed 71 off 42 balls, and he won the game for us.

Also Last year Vs. South Africa - The same man Abdul Razzaq. He scored 109 runs off 72 balls to win us the 2nd ODI and tie the series 1-1. South Africa had made 286 while electing to bat first and when it was our turn to bat we collapsed to 70-4. Fawad Alam and Shahid Afridi both scored in the high 40s but then came Abdul Razzaq at number 7. Shahid Afridi had just been dismissed for 49, and we were at 136-5 with 20 overs still left in the game. Abdul Razzaq then came in blocked and played the way he usually does. We all thought the game was done and dusted. But then he showed us why bowlers should still be scared of him. He scored 109 off 72 balls and we won the match by 1 wicket. He hit 10 sixes and 7 fours. Razzaq said that the management told him if he did not score in this match he would have been dropped, and boy did they prove them wrong.