This match will likely see a result. The most probable result is, of course, that Australia will win handsomely. All they need are two or three more wickets, and we're into our tail. However, on the flip side, if we can get at least one 100 run partnership, we have a good chance of making a match out of it. Either way, if Yousuf plays for a draw with 90 overs remaining, it will be a gigantic mistake.
The fact that Pakistan still has some outside chance of winning, or at least salvaging respect, is entirely due to some absolutely superb bowling on the part of Mohammad Aamer, Mohammad Asif, Saeed Ajmal and, surprisingly, Abdur Rauf beginning about 1.5 hours prior to tea-break. Australia led by nearly 400 runs, and yet their batsmen were the ones who seemed under stress, not the bowlers. Ricky Ponting knew that he had to declare before mid-day to give his bowlers a shot at winning, so he would have given his batsmen the license to accelerate the pace of scoring and mount an insurmountable target for a frail Pakistan batting line-up (maybe even 500+). However, his batsmen couldn't achieve that due to some exciting bowling and captaincy - I must give full credit to Mohammad Yousuf, he showed great captaincy by having the bowlers bowl tight and set the field to give nothing away. At one point, we had 5 straight maidens (minus 1 Wide), and we forced Watson to hop around and play like an idiot in his 90s. I've been reading on Cricinfo how "masterful" his innings was; they seemed to have forgotten that he was frustrated to the point where it was comical for the Pakistani players. There were 1 genuine knicks, 1 close leg-stump bowled chance, quite a few false shots, a lot of edged and mis-timed strokes and 1 definite catching chance in the 66 minutes it took him to get from 90 to 100 - and yet, all I read is how well he played. Honestly, if he wins man-of-the-match despite Aamer's 5-wicket haul at the age of 17, it will be murder.
Overall, I think from midway through yesterday, we were starting to get a few things right. Like I've said before, out batsmen are long overdue for a miracle, and I get a slight feeling that today might be it. Yousuf must play a Captain's knock, he seemed to have found his timing and finesse yesterday, some of his stroke-play was just heavenly (nobody plays a more eye-pleasing cover-drive than this man). Umar Akmal, too, has a chance to make us appreciate his talents even more. With him in there, the run-rate won't dip too much, that's for sure. Let's hope for the best, we're in for some exciting cricket - if we're still in with a chance at Lunch-time, I think the Aussies are in for a rude awakening.
Irrespective of what happens today, I know for sure that the rest of the series is going to be a much more balanced one. With Kaneria fit, Gul's return (Abdur Rauf has not impressed me at all) and (hopefully) the return of Younis Khan, we should be in for some exciting cricket. Maybe Fawad Alam should be given a shot as well, he is an all-rounder, and can provide much needed batting depth without sacrificing bowling too much.
lets hope
