Umar, Danish spearhead Pakistan 'A' to victory

The pace and spin combination of Umar Gul and Danish Kaneria guided Pakistan 'A' to a nine-wicket victory over Sri Lanka 'A' in first of the two four-day 'Tests' at the Iqbal Stadium Friday.

Budding pacer Umar claimed four wickets for 36 runs and Test wrist spinner Danish scooped up three wickets for 101 as the visitors were bowled out for 223 after having resumed this morning at 72 for two.

Pakistan 'A', who had secured a healthy 208-run first inning lead, were left to score 16 run for victory which they achieved in 23 balls losing Asim Kamal. It was a match Asim would like to forget as he followed up his first innings duck with a nine-ball two in the second.

But Danish would certainly like to remember this match as he had match figures of eight for 143 runs. This performance virtually guarantees him a place in the Pakistan team for the three-Test series against Australia starting Oct 3 at Colombo.

But the star of the day was Umar Gul who exhibited talent and potential in turning into a good aggressive bowler. The youngster bowled his heart out with controlled accuracy to prove to his skipper that he deserved more overs than he got in the end.

Umar, who had grabbed both the Sri Lankan wickets when curtains fell Thursday, created the inroad immediately in the fourth monring when he pinned Naveed Nawaz in front of the wickets with the visitors having added only 24 runs to their overnight score.

Danish fully cashed in on the opening when he kept the tourists guessing with his crafty bowling. And though the spinner went for over 100 runs, most of the shots were unconvincing and appeared to have been played to take the pressure off rather merit being the criterion.

Only Jahan Mubarak, who started at 19, offered any significant resistance by hitting a polished and unconquered 93. He faced 180 deliveries and slammed 12 hits to the fence.

Moin Khan also completed an impressive comeback when he accounted for six batsmen behind the wickets. The gutsy wicketkeeper looked athletic and agile but the most impressive part was his fitness.