Enigmatic Pakistan stay true to form
It is an unsaid rule of sorts these days: you never know which Pakistan is going to turn up. When they met India for the first time at the Asia Cup, they were simply electric, having the fancied opposition batting line-up dancing to their tunes. When the two sides met again in the Super Four stage, Pakistan went flat as India battered them.
Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam, right, and Fakhar Zaman celebrates the dismissal of Netherlands’ Vikram Singh during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup match(AP)
They had entered the Asia Cup as the No. 1 ranked side in the world in ODI cricket, which they have since conceded to India. And, they have not looked the same side since.
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They are rated as one of the favourites for the World Cup but their showing in their tournament opener against Netherlands in Hyderabad on Friday left a lot to be desired. The handsome victory margin of 81 runs notwithstanding, the Pakistan think-tank wouldn’t have woken up a happy lot on Saturday reflecting on their team’s showing against the lowest-ranked side in the tournament.
The Netherlands captain Scott Edwards was on the mark with his claim that they let Pakistan off the hook. After bowling out Pakistan for 286 and making a solid start of 120/2 after 20.1 overs, they had built the perfect platform to launch an upset win.
“It’s probably one that got away. I thought we were in a pretty good position to win. We know they had quality bowlers throughout and they took through the middle there which held us back,” said Edwards, the captain of the only Associate team at this World Cup.
“It’s a little bit disappointing. I thought our boys bowled and fielded really well. To Pakistan’s credit, they obviously made a few runs at the end there. We felt like that was about a par score. At 2 for 120, we thought we were well and truly in the game,” added Edwards.
Pakistan’s Shadab Khan and Haris Rauf dealt three quick blows to cut through the Netherlands middle-order and extinguish the fight.
But, at the end of their opening game, Pakistan would’ve felt more relief than joy. The Dutch had the Pakistan batting line-up under pressure throughout the innings and hard runs by Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel bailed them out after being reduced to 38/3 in 10 overs.
Pakistan would take heart from their batting depth to recover from a tough situation but Captain Babar Azam would admit there are areas, in both batting and bowling, they need to improve upon to dominate the seasoned opponents they will be facing.
The heavy defeat against India in the Asia Cup was followed by a loss to Sri Lanka, which saw them bow out of the tournament. If batting was the issue against Netherlands, their bowling took a hiding in their World Cup warm-up games against New Zealand and Australia. The Kiwis chased down a target of 346 in 44 overs while Australia amassed 351/7 where they took 97 runs off star pacer Haris Rauf.
MISIFIRNG FAKHAR
Their batting is heavily reliant on their top-order. But their opener Fakhar Zaman has been in subdued form recently and it has had a direct impact on the team’s results. After hitting three back-to-back hundreds, in his last 11 innings his highest score is 33 with a total of 202 and average 18.36. Against Netherlands, he had another tame dismissal, offering a return catch to Logan van Beek.
Asked about the misfiring top-order after Friday’s game, Mohammad Rizwan said: “Yes, it’s a good question… But you also have to understand, the last two years, the reason for us becoming No. 1 was our top three. Just before the Asia Cup, Fakhar Zaman was named the ICC Player of the Month. Before that, Imam had hundreds upon hundreds. We think this is an opportunity for the middle order to showcase its form. And now the middle order is also performing.”
“The good sign for Pakistan is now we’re not only dependent on the top three, with contributions from the rest of the top seven coming too. I think proper teams don’t depend on one or two players. It’s much better when the whole team performs, so we’re happy with how it’s working out,” said Rizwan.
BOWLING
In bowling, an injury to Naseem Shah has affected the gameplan. Pakistan’s effectiveness with the new ball was built on the partnership between Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem. Hasan Ali is not at the same level. While commentating during the game, pace legend Waqar Younis pointed to how Hasan’s pace has dropped and is unable to find that sharp incoming ball to the right handers which gave him early success. Friday’s game was his first ODI since June 2022, versus West Indies.
However, the bigger issue is the spin attack of leggie Shadab Khan and left-armer Mohammad Nawaz. Both are defensive operators and not attacking options. With the World Cup in the sub-continent, spin is going to play a big role in the middle overs and the two will have to lift their game to be effective.
Rizwan admitted his side’s fielding needs to improve. They have missed some easy catches during this period. Against Netherlands, Haris Rauf suffered when Iftikhar Ahmed spilled a straightforward slip catch. “One box we haven’t ticked (is) fielding,” he said. “It’s gotten better, today we were very good, but I feel we need to go that level. If you have to become champions, we have to do champion things. We have to still improve further.”
Pakistan have been an enigma. They can struggle and stutter but then, out of nowhere, find the spark that can light them up to look a completely different unit. A Babar Azam special could, certainly, have that effect this time.
