Can Pakistan afford to open the batting with Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan?

[Savak]

The strategy behind opening with Rizwan-Babar in T-20's

I wonder if the role given to these players is to see out the first 6 overs, play normal cricket and to take the score to 70-0 in 8-10 overs and then the team management backs the likes of Fakhar, Hafeez, Maqsood, Azam to efficiently hit out in the last 10 overs?

Not sure if this approach will work every time

 

[Abdurmirr]

Once again the partnership is a success.

Ball was swinging early on and things could have gone ugly if we had lost two wickets early but hey it's more important to have hacks at the top of the order who will hit you a six after playing 10 dot balls and then get out.

The only two real players of quality once again proving everyone wrong

 

[Abdullah Rabbani]

I wonder if the role given to these players is to see out the first 6 overs, play normal cricket and to take the score to 70-0 in 8-10 overs and then the team management backs the likes of Fakhar, Hafeez, Maqsood, Azam to efficiently hit out in the last 10 overs?

Not sure if this approach will work every time

It will work most time but not with tuller jori fakhar and sharjeel you are backing

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

If Pakistan is to have any chance at the T20 World Cup, its with these two opening the batting.

For months people here and everywhere else said this partnership wouldn't succeed. That both batsmen are not quick enough etc. etc. But now they have been proven wrong.

What these people fail to understand is that having two reliable openers who can get you to even 46-0 in the first 6 overs is a big plus. Because once the foundation is set the batsmen ahead will have it much easier which will enable them to play more freely. Compare this to the approach of opening with Fakhar or Sharjeel; yes they will get some quick runs upfront but their stay at the crease likely won't be very long. And then the batsmen ahead will have to rebuild, which will further drag down the run-rate and lessen the chances of getting a big score.

Not only does common sense tell you that opening with Rizwan and Babar is a better strategy for Pakistan that will succeed on far more occasions than the other one, but the numbers don't lie either.

Babar and Rizwan have added three century stands in just 12 innings together and are just one short of equaling the record for most century stands by any pair in T20Is. And as far as 150-plus partnerships go only one pair (Dhawan/Rohit) has stitched two 150-plus-run partnerships in T20Is before Babar and Rizwan. For an opening partnership that has been there for such a short period of time, they have been remarkably successful.

Pakistan has alot of problems in their side that still need to be sorted out before the World Cup. But if there's one thing that is working its these two at the top. And credit to Misbah and the management for persisting with this opening combination despite the early failures.

 

[Mamoon]

The best opening partnership in Pakistan history. Better than Saeed Anwar-Amir Sohail.

 

[zacattakk]

I can't believe there are people questioning these 2. This is the best T20 opening pair we have produced. They are consistent, can hit shots, and have played several match-winning innings. The focus needs to be on finalizing the lower order batting.

 

[shamaan]

They should be the openers they have preformed brilliantly.the way speed shot rizwan played for six was magnificent

 

[Slim]

Best opening pair i have seen for Pakistan since i have started watching cricket. This opening pair needs to be extended to ODIs as well. We need to follow the T20I blueprint in ODIs as well. This is the only recipe of success because players like Imam are simply not performing and our cricket style in ODIs is lethargic.

 

[trickyone]

Two proper batsman are opening, they both should be doing in ODIs as well

 

[MenInG]

Babar and Rizwan speaking to the PCB about their performances in the 1st T20I

Mohammad Rizwan:

"The reason behind our success is our mutual consultation. We keep talking from our ends. Babar Azam has a role to play in my innings. I got run out on many occasions early in my career but with Babar, running between wickets is superb," said Rizwan.

"When (Matt) Parkinson came to bowl, Babar advised me to play with a straight bat. We have got the momentum, we can win the series," he added.


Babar Azam:

''We decided that we will play the first few deliveries carefully"

''At the start of the innings, Rizwan was finding it hard to score so I took the charge so we don't come under pressure. Our aim was to score eight to ten runs in initial overs. David Willey was getting assistance from the pitch early on"

 

[imshally81]

Two proper batsman are opening, they both should be doing in ODIs as well

Rizwan
Babar
Maqsood
Saud
Fakhar

In ODIs?

 

[imshally81]

The best opening partnership in Pakistan history. Better than Saeed Anwar-Amir Sohail.

Sarcastic or Exaggerated?

 

[trickyone]

Rizwan
Babar
Maqsood
Saud
Fakhar

In ODIs?

I will rather add Haider Ali one down...

 

[Raja Ishtiaq]

Replace Azam Khan with dare I say it Shoaib Malik and you have an ok team for UAE conditions.

Yeah Malik sounds like a better option

Miles fitter and more athletic than younger jokers like Sharjeel and Azam

 

[globalcitizen]

My thoughts. Absolutely they should open in t20s for sure. They should bat when the power play is up for grabs and setup game for a competitive score. The more you try to preserve them you falter and considered a negative approach

 

[Firebat]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan opening partnership stats in T20Is:<br><br>Innings 9<br>Runs 479<br>Average 53.22<br>Run-rate 9.30<br>Hundred partnerships 2<br>Fifty partnerships 1<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ENGvPAK?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ENGvPAK</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1416787360952487941?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 18, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Asif321]

Rizwan and hafeez totally killed the momentum today

 

[fight_club]

The problem is rest of the batting stats. Pakistan has a problem that except these two no is scoring big.

Hence the moment any of these two gets out especially early in the innings. The middle order simply
fold's in and hence it's imperative that one of these two must bat deep till rest of the batting is sorted.

Also you will never get a 65 or 70 in 6 overs with these two. Pakistan need to get Rizwan at no.3 let
any hack open with babar with clear instruction to blaze away. All batsmen except These two must be
told to bat aggressively so that these two can play their natural game.

Pakistan can't win World cup without trying various combinations

 

[GudduBadmash]

Rizwan and hafeez totally killed the momentum today

Lol Rizwan killed the momentum? As soon as Rizwan got out the team fell like dominos. Atleast be morally honest when criticising someone.

 

[Rana]

Didnt watch the match yesterday as I was playing but just saw the replay of the batting innings.

Rizwan is a below par T20 opener one way or another. When he bats poorly in the power play, he makes it up with 5-6 boundary balls once set (after 25 balls).

If he has a decent powerplay where he goes at a strike rate of 180, he then finds a way to slow down later at some point. He is pointless and a waste of time! Need to move on with him as an opener, there is nothing to gain with him!

 

[Rana]

Misbah's rubbish tactics in everything make us look like a nation that is poor and destitute in cricket.

 

[Concerned]

Makes no difference if Babar and Rizwan is viewed as the best/worst openers for Pakistan T20.

There is no other options available who can perform as often.

 

[Abdurmirr]

Didnt watch the match yesterday as I was playing but just saw the replay of the batting innings.

Rizwan is a below par T20 opener one way or another. When he bats poorly in the power play, he makes it up with 5-6 boundary balls once set (after 25 balls).

If he has a decent powerplay where he goes at a strike rate of 180, he then finds a way to slow down later at some point. He is pointless and a waste of time! Need to move on with him as an opener, there is nothing to gain with him!

According to you, Haris Rauf with an average of 25 and an economy of 8.94, been our worst bowler both games and has given zero performances in international or PSL cricket = a player we should invest in and is unfairly criticised. However Rizwan with an average of 44, most consistent T20I batsmen for us over the last year, played match winning hands in England, New Zealand, South Africa and prevented us from a 3-0 dubbing against Zimbabwe = a waste of time who should be dropped for the most overrated batsmen in Pakistan history. Makes a lot of sense
[MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] now I understand why you always say "we deserve this humilation"

 

[shamaan]

Sharjeel should be given a go in the next series to see what he can do but I think Babar and Rizwan should open

 

[Shahzad1985]

The criticism of Rizwan on here is delusional. It really is.

 

[MesonK]

The criticism of Rizwan on here is delusional. It really is.

Comes from few people who support Sarfaraz Ahmed blindly because of his ethnicity. Rizwan averages 42.5 in SENA against likes of Anderson, Broad, Cummins, Starc, Southee and Boult ... Against same set of Bowlers Sarfaraz averages ~23 LOL. These guys have no shame.

 

[MRSN]

These two have really done well to keep Pakistan exciting as a team otherwise we would be having more embarrassing loses especially on tour of Africa and Zimbabwe.

 

[MRSN]

Stats of Baber Azam and Rizwan VS other Pakistani batsmen in the last year

Can someone post stats of Pakistani batsmen in the last 12 months or so compare that to Rizwan and Baber. It would be interesting to see because from what I remember most of the other batsmen have been massive disappointment and we were always rescued by Azam or Rizwan even against the likes of Zimbabwe.

 

[iniqbal223]

Can someone post stats of Pakistani batsmen in the last 12 months or so compare that to Rizwan and Baber. It would be interesting to see because from what I remember most of the other batsmen have been massive disappointment and we were always rescued by Azam or Rizwan even against the likes of Zimbabwe.

What you are expecting from others, if these 2 played 18 overs @ 7 RR in a T20 match against Zimbabwe that rested Sean Williams

 

[Abdurmirr]

What you are expecting from others, if these 2 played 18 overs @ 7 RR in a T20 match against Zimbabwe that rested Sean Williams

Now your just making scorecards up to fit your agenda

Every batsmen -including your beloved Sharjeel- got ample time that series to make a difference and cement their place in our team but guess what they all failed. If these guys are failing in Zimbabwe than imagine what they will be doing against better teams.

 

[Corridor of Uncertainty]

I am a big fan of putting your best players upfront. So putting Babar, Rizwan at the top of the order makes sense to me.

Problem is, there is no one, once they are gone, who can make Pakistan cross the line. Thin on resources at the moment.

 

[shamaan]

Now your just making scorecards up to fit your agenda

Every batsmen -including your beloved Sharjeel- got ample time that series to make a difference and cement their place in our team but guess what they all failed. If these guys are failing in Zimbabwe than imagine what they will be doing against better teams.

How much chances did Sharjeel get ?

 

[Titan24]

Can someone post stats of Pakistani batsmen in the last 12 months or so compare that to Rizwan and Baber. It would be interesting to see because from what I remember most of the other batsmen have been massive disappointment and we were always rescued by Azam or Rizwan even against the likes of Zimbabwe.

 

[Titan24]

Babar and Rizwan with most number of T20Is runs in the world in last one year.

 

[Babar_Azam_fan]

Looking at how bad the middle order is and to avoid having two accumulators at the top, this should be the line-up

(Not many options tho)

Sharjeel
Rizwan
Babar
Fakhar
Hafeez/ Malik (Experience + 6th bowler)
Maqsood
Imad/ Nawaz
Hassan
Shadab
Wahab/ Hasnain
Shaheen

 

[Rana]

The batting order is a complete shambles with these two at the top. It just isnt working out for the rest of the team but its working out fine just for these two

 

[AdamM97]

I’d stick with them two as openers. We need to fix the middle order.

 

[YousafTheBeast]

I’m sorry but this has to be the worst opening pair we’ve played in T20’s. Consistently scoring runs doesn’t make you a good batsman, it’s how you score them and at what rate you score them.

I’d rather watch us be 25-2 after 2 overs over 17-0 after 4 overs. If you can’t take advantage of the PP then how do you expect to score boundaries when the fielders are place at the boundaries.

I’m sick and tired of seeing overs being wasted where these two batsmen look to take singles only, and when they try to attack it doesn’t look good.

I’d rather have an inconsistent attacking batsmen over a consistent batsmen who plays slow as fudge.

 

[Hawkeye]

NO.

Big no.

Wasting Fakhar/Sharjeel's spot as a big hitting opener.

 

[Captain]

The batting order is a complete shambles with these two at the top. It just isnt working out for the rest of the team but its working out fine just for these two

I partially agree... Babar should give up T20's if he wants to preserve his batting technique, but take rizwan out of this batting line up and you would find pakistan will struggle to make 120 runs or bat out 20 overs as they are mentally all very week barring Rizwan who is gutsy and clever but unfortunately for him very limited... This team is utter shambles with the bat...

 

[Abdurmirr]

NO.

Big no.

Wasting Fakhar/Sharjeel's spot as a big hitting opener.

Big hitting openers who will have us 8/2 after 3 overs.

 

[Rana]

Big hitting openers who will have us 8/2 after 3 overs.

Why do you keep speculating??

 

[MRSN]

View attachment 110548

Babar and Rizwan with most number of T20Is runs in the world in last one year.

View attachment 110557

Thanks a lot.

So my point was right. The rest of the batting has just been super ordinary yet posters want to replace top scorers.

 

[Abdurmirr]

Why do you keep speculating??

I mean one batsmen needs about 20 balls to get going and the other one failed in a PSL where Maqsood and Asif Ali batted like ABD and Kohli so I think it’s a fair speculation

 

[fight_club]

Babar and Rizzy opening for pakistan will simply not work. We saw babar wasn't playing his natural game and was slogging.

This will happen as pressure of scoring runs in powerplay will.be immense.

Babar must come at no.3 control the middle overs he plays spinner best and this will also allow rizzy and everyone else play freely.

Pakistan must experiment with sharjeel as opener for few games to see the impact

 

[shamaan]

I partially agree... Babar should give up T20's if he wants to preserve his batting technique, but take rizwan out of this batting line up and you would find pakistan will struggle to make 120 runs or bat out 20 overs as they are mentally all very week barring Rizwan who is gutsy and clever but unfortunately for him very limited... This team is utter shambles with the bat...

Keep dreaming about babar giving up t20s.

 

[The_KING]

No!

They both aren’t natural openers and having them open weakens the middle order. I’m fine with Rizwan opening but he needs to open with Fakhar. Stat padder Babar needs to come at 3, instead of opening and facing more deliveries to enhance his stats.

 

[Extra_Cover]

Amazing. This tread and posts in here is mind boggling. People are mixing game of cricket with entertainment. When as a fan you support your team you want them to win and when as a movie goer you go to watch a movie you don't care if it turns out to be a hit or flop, you go to get entertained. As a fan we have a direct stake in pakistan cricket and as someone wanting entertainment they just want themselves to be entertained.

We can categorise the posters in these two different buckets here by looking through their posts.

 

[Kohli The King of Chase]

I think they’re gonna lose some important matches. They (especially Rizwan) were bullying some C & D teams for a year or two

 

[marlonbrowndo]

Yes. They just need to show more intent from the get go. No room for regular anchors in T20 cricket even if it’s in the UAE.

 

[angrypathan]

I’m not convinced about Rizwan in UAE conditions. Feel like he’s good only on pitches where the ball comes onto the bat quicker. Hope he proves me wrong

 

[srh]

I think they’re gonna lose some important matches. They (especially Rizwan) were bullying some C & D teams for a year or two

I am still surprised that Pakistan screwed up so badly by not picking their #1 T20 opener Sharjeel Khan for T20 WC. I have seen lot of screw ups from Pakistan but this takes the cake

 

[Rana]

There are a lot of things that Pakistan cannot afford, but as a deeply mediocre team with very little talent, we have to make do with what we have.

Babar and Rizwan combo is not ideal but it is the best we can have at the moment. They are the two best batsman in the team and it is better to give them maximum overs.

How are they the two best batsmen in the team?

Fakhar Zaman is our match winner
Hafeez is out of form otherwise he would score more important runs than these two would at a crucial juncture
Malik looks like he is right at home on these wickets.

 

[Rana]

I think they’re gonna lose some important matches. They (especially Rizwan) were bullying some C & D teams for a year or two

Hellaluja!


Finally people starting to see the light!

 

[hitthestump]

I think they’re gonna lose some important matches. They (especially Rizwan) were bullying some C & D teams for a year or two

Rizwan must be so bored of proving his haters wrong.

Watch it happen again.

 

[Iddy]

Totally agree 100%. For goodness sake it is T20. Sharjeel and Fakhar should open the batting together, no questions asked!

 

[Rana]

Rizwan must be so bored of proving his haters wrong.

Watch it happen again.

But he hasn’t proven anyone wrong

He is still a bad T20i opener in comparison to the openers all other teams are sending out.

 

[Mamoon]

How are they the two best batsmen in the team?

Fakhar Zaman is our match winner
Hafeez is out of form otherwise he would score more important runs than these two would at a crucial juncture
Malik looks like he is right at home on these wickets.

Fakhar is a match-winner and I like him at 3. He can play an explosive innings after Babar-Rizwan give Pakistan a solid start. However, he is not a better batsman than either Babar or Rizwan because when things are not going his way, he bats like a miserable hack.

For Fakhar to score runs, lots of things have to fall in place for him. He needs loose bowling and dropped catches because he gives chances to the opposition.

Hafeez’s purple patch is over but he is still a better middle-order option than the hyped up youngsters, though he is clearly not a better player than either Babar or Rizwan.

Malik is going to bat at 4-5, he is probably our best middle-order player, but he cannot place pace and you cannot open with him so I don’t see the point in comparing him to Babar and Rizwan.

As far as your notion that Rizwan is a “bad” T20I opener compared to the ones found in other teams, well the reality is that he is not competing then for a spot in the team. Moreover, if Pakistan was capable of producing openers like Rahul, Rohit, Warner, Finch, Roy, Bairstow, Buttler etc. it wouldn’t be considered such a mediocre team and would have been among the big favorites for the title.

You are deluding yourself if you think Sharjeel belongs in that league. He is nowhere near that league because he is a very poor batsman.

 

[Major]

If people can be deluded to think an obese player who is not even fit and doesnt even perform at international level is our best player and should had been opener, just shows you their thinking.

Whether anyone likes it or not, Babar and Rizwan will be opening, there are no plans to change that

 

[YousafTheBeast]

Fakhar is a match-winner and I like him at 3. He can play an explosive innings after Babar-Rizwan give Pakistan a solid start. However, he is not a better batsman than either Babar or Rizwan because when things are not going his way, he bats like a miserable hack.

For Fakhar to score runs, lots of things have to fall in place for him. He needs loose bowling and dropped catches because he gives chances to the opposition.

Hafeez’s purple patch is over but he is still a better middle-order option than the hyped up youngsters, though he is clearly not a better player than either Babar or Rizwan.

Malik is going to bat at 4-5, he is probably our best middle-order player, but he cannot place pace and you cannot open with him so I don’t see the point in comparing him to Babar and Rizwan.

As far as your notion that Rizwan is a “bad” T20I opener compared to the ones found in other teams, well the reality is that he is not competing then for a spot in the team. Moreover, if Pakistan was capable of producing openers like Rahul, Rohit, Warner, Finch, Roy, Bairstow, Buttler etc. it wouldn’t be considered such a mediocre team and would have been among the big favorites for the title.

You are deluding yourself if you think Sharjeel belongs in that league. He is nowhere near that league because he is a very poor batsman.

How is Sharjeel a poor batsman, lol. He’s scored hundreds in competitions where the current batsmen in our team failed to do so.

He’s arguably our best T20 batsman along with Fakhar. These two are made for this format. The sooner Babar and Rizwan are kicked out of the T20 team the better.

 

[Rana]

How is Sharjeel a poor batsman, lol. He’s scored hundreds in competitions where the current batsmen in our team failed to do so.

He’s arguably our best T20 batsman along with Fakhar. These two are made for this format. The sooner Babar and Rizwan are kicked out of the T20 team the better.

Im of the opinion now that our fans love to behave like those unthankful people who would prefer to enjoy this mediocrity which is influenced by Misbah's style of play instead of truly trying to adapt to modern batting standards.

Let them have this sorry opening combination and let them lie to themselves by saying we have no choice but to go with this sorry opening combination.

There is a reason why I always say Rizwan fans are not truly Pakistan fans. If this opening combination that has been inspired by Rizwan's inflated stats and performances against sorry bowling attacks costs us a major game in this world cup, then I wont be gloating around telling everyone 'I told you so' like Mamoon would if Rauf fails or someone like Shadab fails because he simply cares about his own reputation as a so called expert on this forum. If Rizwan's batting style costs us this world cup, I will simply be upset and hurt that this was a situation that could have been avoided if we had the correct visionaries in the PCB to realise we are not on the right track. Pakistan's defeat will be extremely painful in this case.

 

[Rana]

If people can be deluded to think an obese player who is not even fit and doesnt even perform at international level is our best player and should had been opener, just shows you their thinking.

Whether anyone likes it or not, Babar and Rizwan will be opening, there are no plans to change that

You try to appropriate Misbah ul Haq on this forum for everyone.

Please appropriate his decision to open a T20i match against Australia?

 

[Mamoon]

How is Sharjeel a poor batsman, lol. He’s scored hundreds in competitions where the current batsmen in our team failed to do so.

He’s arguably our best T20 batsman along with Fakhar. These two are made for this format. The sooner Babar and Rizwan are kicked out of the T20 team the better.

Sharjeel’s embarrassing record in international cricket proves that he is a poor batsmen. He is not good enough against the good sides in any format.

Babar and Rizwan will always be more likely to score then Sharjeel, and Fakhar is better as well.

I find it ridiculous that there are people who still back Sharjeel. Thankfully there is only a slim chance of him playing another match for Pakistan.

 

[Mamoon]

Im of the opinion now that our fans love to behave like those unthankful people who would prefer to enjoy this mediocrity which is influenced by Misbah's style of play instead of truly trying to adapt to modern batting standards.

Let them have this sorry opening combination and let them lie to themselves by saying we have no choice but to go with this sorry opening combination.

There is a reason why I always say Rizwan fans are not truly Pakistan fans. If this opening combination that has been inspired by Rizwan's inflated stats and performances against sorry bowling attacks costs us a major game in this world cup, then I wont be gloating around telling everyone 'I told you so' like Mamoon would if Rauf fails or someone like Shadab fails because he simply cares about his own reputation as a so called expert on this forum. If Rizwan's batting style costs us this world cup, I will simply be upset and hurt that this was a situation that could have been avoided if we had the correct visionaries in the PCB to realise we are not on the right track. Pakistan's defeat will be extremely painful in this case.

Our fans are delusional. If Rizwan doesn’t score a mountain of runs, our fans will claim that a rubbish player like Sharjeel would have set the world on fire.

This is why Pakistani fans are known all over the world for being the most delusional fan base in the game.

 

[sharmaji]

If today's low-scoring matches are going to be the norm in the tournament, then Pak will be glad to have Rizwan and Babar as openers. Looks like 40/0 after 6 overs will be a good score.

 

[Rana]

If today's low-scoring matches are going to be the norm in the tournament, then Pak will be glad to have Rizwan and Babar as openers. Looks like 40/0 after 6 overs will be a good score.

Don’t get this mistaken because SENA+ West Indies sides are poor against spin.

 

[sharmaji]

It's not just spin though, even the fast bowlers got wickets today. And worse, many of the batsmen just threw away their wickets. The ball is not coming on nicely to the bat, so the batters have to play smartly. Hence Rizwan and Babar might actually do well with their natural approach.

Don’t get this mistaken because SENA+ West Indies sides are poor against spin.

 

[shamaan]

If people can be deluded to think an obese player who is not even fit and doesnt even perform at international level is our best player and should had been opener, just shows you their thinking.

Whether anyone likes it or not, Babar and Rizwan will be opening, there are no plans to change that

And rightly so they should be opening

 

[ARK Rafay]

I think if they are settled no need to unpair them. Besides their SR is also near 140 for a year now. On par or even better tahn Buttler, Bairstow, Marsh, Roy, Finch last 1 year performances in this format.

 

[MenInG]

Something tells me (after seeing today's games) that we will be thanking Riz and Babar for staying on the crease for first 6 overs!

 

[Major]

Misbah worked on them and it proved to be a good combination. ended the streak

 

[hitthestump]

Rizwan must be so bored of proving his haters wrong.

Watch it happen again.

And it happened again.

Will we now finally can the Rizwan hate?

 

[GudduBadmash]

Sad day for Rana and that Mrs Sarfaraz Ahmed burner account

 

[Firebat]

And it happened again.

Will we now finally can the Rizwan hate?

He does it time after time, yet certain people just can't accept it. He just helped to dominate one of the best teams in the world both with the gloves and the bat on one of the biggest stages of them all to literally make history for Pakistan.

But Babar and Rizwan are holding us back right? Can we really afford to open the batting with these 2?

 

[ads101]

Best openers I've ever seen from Pakistan in any format. I don't understand why they are not opening in ODIs too. There really is no point changing something that isn't broke, especially for the likes of inconsistent, unfit Sharjeel (or Fakhar even who isn't too great in the format).

Openers main job is to lay out a platform at a decent SR so middle order can build on. These two do this better than any other pair right now. People are hoping on having the opener who scores a 50 at SR 160 1 time and then gets out cheaply the other 10 games. The latter type will lose you more matches than he'll win, as he'll force the middle order to play more conservatively due to early wickets. Being consistent as an opener, getting a score regularly and not getting bogged down (which some hitters do, swinging and hitting nothing, these two keep the scoreboard ticking with runs easily even if they aren't hitting boundaries) is the most important thing for an opener.

 

[shamaan]

This was a masterclass performance best I have seen.
Running between the wickets was top class.
Playing each bowl on it's merit was brilliant.
Not letting the opposition back in the game.

 

[MenInG]

Misbah speaking to the media:

"Mohammad Rizwan was advised to play as opener because he could prove to be more efficient in this position. I did know Rizwan can play in the top-order. He is a hardworking cricketer and credit for the success of Rizwan only goes to him. Nobody else should be appreciated other than cricketer himself because it's his hard work which pays off"