As soon as the spot fixing scandal broke out Pakistan had lost its Opener and below-par performance of Imran farhat ensured that Pakistan has lost both of its Opener. It opened door Of opportunity for Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hafeez ensured that the chance didn’t go waste By scoring a steady fifty on his return game.
Given the number of failures his performance was not given weight-age series gone by Hafeez secured his place in the test team and in the same test series Taufeeq umar was called back after lapse of 4 years of exile from international cricket.
He along with Hafeez were up against South Africa’s speedster Dale steyn and Morne Morkel, but both didn’t make substantial scores but at their brief stay on the wicket both looked solid Pakistan drew the series. Next series was against New Zealand in New Zealand after openers failed in UAE series all hoped that test openers will be axed and new pair will open as it happens the most in Pakistan
But that was not to be as both Hafeez & Taufeeq were retained, this time they proved there worth providing solid opening stands and Pakistan won the test by 10 wickets though the target was not a challenging one. In Zimbabwe both openers showed guts and provided 100-stand by then they both started to score runs and understanding between the two developed nicely they batted with authority and sensibility providing Pakistan mostly with solid opening stands.
In Srilanka series both provided another century stand which was their fourth and equaled the record of Pakistan former openers Saeed anwar & Amir sohail .Now they have regular place in the team and both are providing sensible starts to Pakistan their ability was doubted because they were scoring runs against a depleted Srilanka attack, Name-less Zimbabwe attack and Toothless Bangladesh bowling.
England tour started , Pakistan was focused , and were hoping to deliver the goods against the likes of Anderson and Broad and world’s best spinner Graeme swaan (arguable) , but Both Batted splendidly and Provided another century stand and gone past the record of Saeed anwar and Amir sohail.Pakistan won the first test by 10-wickets , This was also 2nd 10-wicket victory by Pakistan when Hafeez and Taufeeq were openers.
Taufeeq umar during this period have also scored a double century and was one of the leading run scorer in 2010 for Pakistan, in the same period Hafeez has scored 880 runs averaging 42 along with his uncanny off spin bowling which has brought him 18 scalps. They are not only good openers but also they are exceptional fielders and mostly held on the catches which is an added plus.
Combined they have opened in 25 innings together and have scored 930 runs with their highest stand of 164 runs at an average of 40.43 , Run-rate is often criticized now-a-days but they both have done fairly well in that department also scoring at the rate of 3.10 which is more than acceptable for the test matches. More so they’ve scored more runs then the dependable two Misbah and Younis together (913).
Opening department in Pakistan team was unsettled issue for nearly a decade but the problem seems to have been resolved courtesy Emergence of Hafeez and Taufeeq. There grittiness on the field has bestowed Pakistan to set the tone for the rest of the innings. And its because of their solidity that Pakistan is crossing the 300-run landmark on consistent basis. Hope that Taufeeq umar along with Mohammad Hafeez continue their good work.
GeoSuper