"Finishing crucial games is very important and that's where we are lacking" : Shoaib Malik

[MenInG]

Shoaib Malik speaking on TV

"It was an exceptional game and of course you would want to win the game and unlike the previous game, we had this game [in our hands] and its just that we could not hit the last couple of boundaries"

"Babar Azam is a class player and we have seen; When you are playing on good pitches and good attacks you got to play cricketing shots and thats what he did"

"He was successful whilst playing cricketing shots, as did Hussain Talat also"

"Its just that the game shouldnt have gone in the 20th over when you have so many wickets in hand, but I guess that happens in cricket"

"The ball was new when they were batting and when you hit so many boundaries the ball becomes old"

"Whoever is the set batsman, its his responsibility to finish the game"

"But in this format you take a lot of chances and the [Babar/Talat] partnership was excellent and its a great sign for our team but finishing crucial games is very important and thats where we are lacking"

"We have seen that in the last game as well and we will sit down and talk about it and see what can be done particularly in the last overs"

"Of course if someone [like Imad] is bowling 3 overs in the powerplay and is containing the batsmen, and then whoever is taking him on, he has a great opportunity of taking their wickets"

"He [Imad] is an exceptional talent and has been performing for the team and we need couple of more guys to perform the way he's been performing"

"We have Shaheen Shah Afridi, also bowled brilliantly today"

"Its just that you need 3-4 bowlers to do well for your team and then you end up chasing on a good wicket, a maximum of 160 and we can win that"

 

[Hawkeye]

Yes.

Start with your own self. The worst finisher in the world and cannot put bat on ball against anything above 133kph.

Such is our standard.

 

[CricketBuff]

Time for Shoaib Malik to retire. Cannot bowl or bat. Bring back Sarfaraz please.

 

[rhony]

That's exactly what I've been saying. Pak lost both games due to poor finishing and Malik is at the heart of it. He doesn't belong in T20s.

 

[pakistani pride]

Well when you are just a wicket down and 50 short of the target the RRR should never be above 9.

With our fragile batting they left too much to do at the end.

Talat is not a no 3 bat. He was wasted so many balls and couldnt hit even after scoring a 50...

 

[Markhor]

Also knowing when to finish one's career helps.

 

[rhnmirza]

Even during his 40s he couldnt time the ball, against what his strike rate suggested : 190+
Talat has a particular zone and thats all. By current T20I standards he is a 9th batsman who doesnt show variety in his shots like what a 3rd batsman would. Either raise his standards or bat him lower

 

[waqar goraya]

Realizing that your time is up and you should be retiring from international cricket is also crucial.

 

[waqar goraya]

It is also crucial to understand that when a bowler gets 25 off his first 3 overs , does not mean necessarily mean that he can't be relied for his 4th over!

 

[mastersaan10]

Shadab not finishing his spell was crucial. Van der dussen was the only one hitting him and after his wicket shadab should have been brought on

 

[gazza619]

Cant figure out why Tail ender Hasan ali went ahead of Shadab Khan & Rizwan to bat

 

[saqibali]

Cant figure out why Tail ender Hasan ali went ahead of Shadab Khan & Rizwan to bat

Because he is a better bat then rizwan

 

[New Yorker]

We had no problem finishing games until you became captain. 11 series wins on the trot.

 

[pakistan cricket fan]

Realizing that your time is up and you should be retiring from international cricket is also crucial.

Agree.

 

[Snak3eye5]

We need to get Zafar, Masood, Shaan and Saud in the lineup ASAP. We need to sack Inzamam, Sarfaraz, Malik and Azhar.

 

[latecut]

In India people question the performance of someone of the stature of Dhoni, but in Pakistan someone like Shoaib manages to remain a part of this team, that too in all the three formats, that too without making any memorable match winning contributions.

In India vs Pakistan matches, when I find his name is Pakistan XI, then Indian fans (at least I) heave a big sigh of relief.

 

[Josh]

SA finished Pakistan's 11 series winning streak. Pakistan and SA should start a T20 ashes between them now. SA is also likely to visit Pakistan earlier than other teams. A T20 ashes

 

[latecut]

If the two teams play some more such matches then South Africa will pass on their chokers tag to their opponents.

 

[Dr_Bassim]

Blaming Malik is a useless idea.

A team that cannot, after being 124-1 in 12.3 overs, finish off the remaining 60 odd runs, deserves to lose completely.

Its an entire team, that is supposed to finish the 60 odd runs off 40 odd balls.

If anything blame Malik, Asif Ali, Babar (yes even him for failing to finish), Talat, Imad and all other wanna be pretentious batsmen who CANNOT SCORE 60 off 40 balls with 9 wickets in hand.

And what do we do?

We say if Sarfraz was here, Pakistan would have won.

I have seen quite a many fantasies in my time, but this fantasy will last only because Sarfraz luckily ran his mouth and escaped from stamping the loss under his name.