Faster Wellington track awaits Pakistan: Waqar

WELLINGTON: Pakistan cricket team coach Waqar Younis is expecting a fast and bouncy track at Basin Reserve, Wellington for the second and final test against Black Caps, starting from Saturday January 15. Waqar has praised the batting performance of his tail-enders in the first innings where they added 111 runs for the last four wickets which eventually gave Pakistan 92 runs decisive lead over Kiwis in the first innings. Waqar told media, "He is working with batting of lower order batsmen from last one year as tail-enders can make important contribution of at least 60-70 runs which played pivotal role in the outcome of the Hamilton Test." Waqar also praised performance of Abdul Rehman, who won Man of the Match Award in Hamilton and said, "Rehman is a mature bowler. He also played pivotal role in drawing the second test against South Africa at United Arab Emirates where he pegged Proteas back by picking up quick wickets." Waqar also said that he is anticipating a strong fight back from the Black Caps in the second and penultimate test at Wellington adding, "The team is ready for any challenge and we will try to win the test series after a span of almost five years". Pakistan enjoy 1-0 lead in the two-match test series after winning the Hamilton Test by 10 wickets in just about three days. Younis feels IPL snub better for Pakistan cricket Pakistan cricket coach Waqar Younis is more than happy for his players to be missing from the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 tournament. Aside from the first IPL tournament in 2008, Pakistanis have been shut out of the league, though the exact reasoning remains unclear. A terror attack in Mumbai in November 2008, which was linked to terror groups in Pakistan, was believed to be the catalyst for the absence of Pakistan players but other factors, such as unwillingness of Indian franchises to field Pakistan players, and the murky situation surrounding allegations of spot-fixing by several Pakistan players, are also in play.

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