An interesting opening training game!

Shoaib and Younis thrive, Shoaib and Mushtaq don't. In an interesting opening warm up match, Shoaib Malik, playing for the Pakistan XI, slogged an unbeaten 177, and Younis Khan hit for triple digits as well. They both played magnificent innings, against bowling, which was lackluster at best, from Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul and Mushtaq Ahmed. It is a given that the pitch was docile, but the bowlers need some confidence boosting as well. Hopefully the second warmup pitch will be better than a docile batting pitch. Regardless, its good to see Shoaib Malik doing well.