So, you must have watched the India vs Pakistan cricket match today, where India defeated Pakistan by 6 runs. India batted first and scored 119 runs in 19 overs. Rishabh Pant was the top scorer for India, making 42 runs off 31 balls. In response, Pakistan could only manage 113 runs for the loss of 7 wickets. Mohammad Rizwan was the top scorer for Pakistan, making 31 runs off 44 balls.

As a die-hard Pakistan’s cricket fan, I am very sad about Pakistan’s loss today. Pakistan lost a match that they should have won. They needed 120 runs from 120 balls—just a run a ball—but their approach was so poor. No batsman showed any confidence in how to chase the target. Every new player kept playing dot balls, creating pressure for the incoming batsman.

There was no plan in sight. Shadab, whom you played as a batsman today, should have been sent in when Fakhar Zaman got out. Instead, you sent in the UNFIT, yes, I’m using the word UNFIT, Imad Wasim, Who couldn’t hit any shots and wasn’t running between the wickets properly.

Anyway, in today’s blog, we will discuss the points why Pakistan lost today’s match against India.

Image Source: indianexpress

 

Not utilizing the power play properly

In my view, the first point is that Pakistan did not utilize the power play properly. Some of you might disagree with me, arguing that when a team is chasing a target of 120, a score of 35 in 6 overs is not that bad.

But when you know that your depth is not in good form, your middle order and lower middle order are not performing well, you should never have the approach of taking the match to the end.

Playing as defensively as possible during the power play was the wrong approach. If you watched India’s batting, their approach was to utilize the power play as much as possible, even if we lost wickets.

They did this because they knew that on a pitch like this, the ball wouldn’t come onto the bat well, making it difficult to hit boundaries at the end. And that’s exactly what happened. India lost their last 7 wickets for just 30 runs.

So Pakistan’s approach was wrong from the beginning—to play defensively during the power play and just avoid losing wickets. Muhammad Rizwan and Usman Khan both did not even try to utilize the power play effectively.

Playing too many dot balls

The second point is in which our players have no match and that is playing too many dot balls and not rotating the strike. It has been a history of the Pakistan cricket team that we don’t perform well in chases, and the reason behind this is that our players put pressure on themselves by playing too many dot balls and not rotating the strike. Later on, in the pursuit of playing aggressively, they get out.

Today, Pakistan’s batsmen also made this mistake. Rizwan played too many dot balls and the required run rate went above 6. After that, Usman, Imad, and Ifthikar also played quite a few dot balls, making it very difficult for the incoming batsmen to chase the target.

If you observe when the SENA teams (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia) play, their focus is always on rotating the strike. They don’t want to increase the pressure on upcoming batsmen by playing too many dot balls. But who will make our batsmen understand? They have only one style of play: either hit a boundary or a six or play a dot ball. They don’t know how to take singles or doubles by nudging the ball into the gaps between the fielders.

Rizwan’s Batting And His Dismissal

In my opinion, the real reason Pakistan lost today’s match is solely and only Mohammad Rizwan. When you’ve been batting for 14 overs and your score is only 31 runs off 44 balls, this innings cannot be appreciated.

Playing so many dot balls, not rotating the strike, then putting pressure on himself, after that, thinking of attacking is a good thing, but against whom? Jasprit Bumrah? And as for the shot selection, what can be said about that? You were trying to cross a length ball. Is he a spinner?

Rizwan’s innings were very poor, and his shot selection was even worse. I understand you’re chasing 120 runs, and you need to score at a run-a-ball, but you’re still playing dot after dot. Fine, if you are not getting four or sixes, at least keep rotating the strike by taking singles and doubles so that the score keeps moving. Pakistan had already lost 90% of the match when Rizwan got out.

Middle Order Collapse

Now let’s talk about the middle order. In my opinion, after Uganda and Papua New Guinea, Pakistan has the worst middle order. Who bats in our middle order? Iftikhar Ahmed, AKA Chacha. It has been so many years since he has been with the team, but whenever the team needs quick runs, he jumps down the track on a harmless full toss and gets back to the pavilion.

Then there’s the overconfident all-rounder, Imad Wasim, who was specifically brought back into the team by the PCB chairman’s special request, and today we saw his performance. What can I say now? He wasn’t able to judge the ball on the pitch, nor was he able to decide where to hit the ball.

If you’re not fit, don’t play. Say that you’re unfit and can’t play, ask for a replacement. But why? I’m in the squad because of the PCB chairman’s special request. I’ll play, whether I win matches or lose them.

Then we have Shadab Khan. None of us know who he is. Is he a batsman? An all-rounder? A bowling all-rounder? A batting all-rounder? We only know that he is Babar Azam’s friend and that’s why he’s being played in the team.

When you don’t select players on merit and include five openers in the playing 11, then your middle order collapses like it did today. You’ve seen that Iftikhar Ahmed hasn’t been performing well for quite some time, but you still took him to the World Cup.

You dropped Imad due to poor performance and fitness but brought him back into the team. Shadab Khan hasn’t been performing well for the past two years, but you keep playing him. Why? Don’t you have any middle-order or lower-middle-order batsmen in your backup?

Where is Salman Ali Agha? Amir Jamal? who was your key player on the Australia tour Where is Irfan Khan Niazi? Until you select players on merit, until you play them in their rightful positions, the situation Pakistan is facing in this World Cup will continue to worsen in upcoming tournaments as well.

Final Words

After losing against the USA, and India, Pakistan is almost out of the Super 8. If Pakistan wants to reach the Super 8, they will have to win their next two matches with good NRR. Additionally, we also need to pray that the USA has to lose their next two matches against India and Ireland.

Along with this, India has to win all their matches because Canada has won a match as well. If Canada defeats India, then the team with the better net run rate among Pakistan, the USA, and Canada will progress to the next round. But with the kind of cricket Pakistan has played in this World Cup, Pakistan does not deserve to go to the Super 8.

Well, those are discussions for later about who will make it to the Super 8 and who won’t. Now, Pakistan needs to improve its cricket. The selection criteria should prioritize domestic performance over the PSL. Select players based on their domestic performances, especially those who excel in red-ball cricket.

Because you’ve already seen the outcome of including T20 and white-ball specialists in the team. In my opinion, a great test player can also be a great player in ODIs and T20s, but our system works the other way around. Someone who performs well in T20s is immediately brought into the test and ODI team, and if they don’t perform in tests and ODIs, they’re dropped.

But you might argue that in the T20 format, a team should only have T20 specialists. So, my question to you is, how many players in the World Cup squads of top teams like Australia, England, India, or New Zealand are only T20 or white-ball specialists? These teams perform well on the world stage because their players play in all formats. They know how to build an innings and how to play according to the situation. How can a player achieve all this? when he will play all three formats.

If PCB doesn’t do all this, then what is happening with Pakistan cricket right now will worsen in the future.