Class XII, ENGLISH, Essay, "A Cricket Match"

A Cricket Match

Cricket is one of the most popular and exciting out door sports. Some of us get the opportunity to play first class cricket, but there are millions who enjoy seeing it being played. It gives us moments of leisure and pleasure and fills us with a competitive spirit. I witnessed the demonstration of the greatest excitement and determination at National Stadium, Karachi.
It was a fine day. A large number of people including men, women and children from all walks of life gathered there to enjoy the match between Pakistan and New Zealand. To be a good sports team, one has to be aggressive and this was shown in the final between the tw3o teams. New Zealand won the toss and invited Pakistan to bat first. This was a big blunder that their captain had made. Shahid Afridi and Saeed Anwar were sent as openers. It was a right decision by the captain, because Shahid Afridi slammed the ball over the field. It was due to his hard hitting that Pakistan achieved a good start. Saeed Anwar was very careful and most of the time simply obstructed. The bowling was quite strong, due to which Saeed Anwar was not able to score a single run for the first fifteen minutes. But as time passed, he grasped the strategy of the bowlers and began to fully support Afridi. He completed his half-century by playing keen and beautiful shots. When he was at a score of 88, the first slip caught him smartly. In this way, the first wicket of Pakistan fell at a total of 130. After him, Shahid Afridi could not steadily face the bowlers and proceeded towards the pavilion in a short time.
Ejaz Ahmed began his batting when the Pakistani team was playing at 135. Along with Inzamamum ul Haq, he pulled up the score to 170. The next four men were dismissed very quickly – two bowled one caught and one out leg before wickets. However Moin Khan made a stand and was able to increase the score to 218. At this moment, 10 overs remained un bowled and three wickets in hand. Wasim Akram played a beautiful inning and Pakistani team snatched a total of 269 for 8.
This terrifying score marked down the morals of the New Zealand Team. They made a poor start, as their first wicket fell when the score was only ten. However, their middle order batsmen made a great effort and cheered the Kiwi Team. Inzamam ul Haq was the person who caught the second middle order batsman at 70. The following batsmen also played quite well and raised up the score to 220 for 5. This situation was exciting and pointed out to the defeat if Pakistan. However, when Wasim Akram came to bowl, the hopes of Pakistanis revived. He bowled extraordinary well and just after 5 overs, the New Zealand team had reached to 260 for 7. The rival needed barely 10 runs to win in 1 over. The down order batsmen shook up well. Score kept on increasing gradually and they reached to 266. It was the last ball; New Zealand requiring 4 runs to win and Waqar Younis was on the other side of the wicket. As soon as he bowled, the wickets were slammed and Pakistan was granted another exciting victory over New Zealand. The crowd went in mad uproar, congratulating their national champions for the great success.