"If you look at the pitch, we feel this is a decent total" : Azhar Ali

[MenInG]

Azhar Ali speaking to the media:

"We knew the first 2 hours will be tough and when there is so much grass on the pitch then you have to focus, which is what we tried to do"

"You have to be positive as when the ball is in your zone, you have to score runs on this type of pitch, as you will get a good ball (to dismiss you) at some stage"

"We were very positive and our run rate was good; Because, when the ball is there to hit, this pitch is good enough to score runs on but in between that, you have to focus and leave the ball on length which was key aspect in my batting as well"

"Kyle is quite tall and he was swinging the ball both ways - it was fun but it was tough playing him as well"

"We were very happy with the partnership (with Rizwan) at the pace we scored on during this period"

"If you hit good areas, you can trouble the batsmen, also if someone gets in, they can score runs as well on this wicket"

"The game is evenly poised and we have to bowl well tomorrow and get New Zealand out quickly because if you get on a roll, you can get quick wickets on this pitch"

"If you look at the pitch, we feel this is a decent total; Especially batting first its been tough and now that we have runs on the board, we can build on this position now

"The reputation for this ground is that teams always bowl first after winning the toss; Idea was to lose as few wickets as possible in the first session"

"When you have slips and gully in place, you have more options to score in the front of the wicket"

"On this pitch, ball was travelling when you played it but in the previous game the pitch was slow, and with the field settings in place then, maintaining a good run-rate was tougher"

"I have not scored a 100 in New Zealand so it was my wish to score a 100; There is one more innings to go but I had a good opportunity but I am glad that we could score runs and have good partnerships which are key in a Test and we were able to develop 3 of them"

"One always tries to score big after being set, but unfortunately I couldn't score a 100 but that's all in the past now"

"We have runs on the board now and hopefully we can win the game"

"We have an opportunity and as we have seen that throughout the day, ball has been moving and seaming - we will try and bowl in the right areas and get NZ out as soon as possible in the 1st innings"

"Every player has nerves when they debut and given the conditions today, Zafar Gohar applied himself brilliantly and he played his shots whenever the ball came in his zone, he has shown today that he has a lot of potential and confidence to play at this level; I hope and pray that he will play more such innings for Pakistan and also take lots of wickets for his country"

 

[Rana]

its a magnificent total considering most of us were writing them off to be folded under 120

 

[Rana]

If Pakistan bowled first and let NZ score 297 on this track...everyone would be calling to axe Naseem Shah and Zafar Gohar from the team!

 

[GoUgandaCranes]

No, this is not a good score if we want to win this game. We should have ended the day at 330/6 with at least one recognized batsman at the crease.

There was only one bowler who looked like running through the team and we don't have anyone who is similar in height, speed, and skill to him.

We have two trundlers in Abbas and Fahim, one spray gun in Naseem, and an inconsistent Shaheen who bowls one good spell per test. There's no way that Southee or Boult are any lesser to these bowlers and if you remove Boult taking two wickets of the tailenders in his last two overs, even he struggled the entire day.

It won't be a surprise to wake up tomorrow and see the Black Caps at 340/3 with a person batting on a mammoth ton and one of the two wickets taken by Zafar.

 

[Rana]

Can you imagine on some fantasy NZ cricket fans forum where they are calling for Matt Henry to go back to the domestics for the next 3 seasons before returning )

 

[Rana]

Then you would have the usual Queens of Cringe posting long Essays about how the quality of Pakistan fans has also fallen with the Quality of its once great fast bowling reserves. And how delusional we are as we have failed to bowl out NZ cheaply on a green mamba. Aur Aage Aage dekho hota hai kya....

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Can you imagine on some fantasy NZ cricket fans forum where they are calling for Matt Henry to go back to the domestics for the next 3 seasons before returning )

Forget Matt Henry, Trent Boult would be called a TTF and media pressure would cause him to be dropped for the WTC final

 

[ShoaibM]

its a magnificent total considering most of us were writing them off to be folded under 120

I even heard someone wondering if we would cross 36!

 

[Rana]

I even heard someone wondering if we would cross 36!

Lol read the match thread

Plenty of covers are blown in those brief moments of losing a toss on an away tour and the first session or so.

 

[guldozer]

Our mindset was positive. Even azhar Ali had a strike rate over 50%. We shall see how good a score it is when new Zealand Finnish their first inning.

 

[Saj]

297 exceeded my expectations, but this is no bowler's paradise.

The Pakistani bowlers will have to work hard as Jamieson did to get something out of this track.

 

[Buffet]

It's enough runs for bowlers to do something here.

 

[Junaids]

297 exceeded my expectations, but this is no bowler's paradise.

The Pakistani bowlers will have to work hard as Jamieson did to get something out of this track.

It’s quite a hard pitch to bowl on.

The two successful bowlers are 6’8 and 6’4 in height.

And 5’10 Trent Boult got slaughtered.

 

[Kroll]

It’s quite a hard pitch to bowl on.

The two successful bowlers are 6’8 and 6’4 in height.

And 5’10 Trent Boult got slaughtered.

What happened to Shaheen, he's around 6'6 isn't he? Why can't he be more testing? He's got the pace and height.

 

[chacha kashmiri]

Aslam saved us last time at Christchurch and it was azhar this time around

 

[Colorblind Genius]

Unlike the predictions - this pitch has nothing in it left unless it cracks on the fifth day and provides some support to spinners.

 

[PerfectionPersonified]

i think he meant ""If you look at the BOWLERS, we feel this is a decent total" : Azhar Ali

 

[hur rizvi]

I still think the total was decent. You can't just bowl that garbage and hope to remain in the game

The pitch was offering quite a bit in first session and a half and any decent bowling attack wouldn't have let the match drift this far from 72-3

 

[Mesozoic]

297 will always be a decent first innings total regardless of the wicket. Not a huge one but still decent.Can't blame batters when bowling and fielding are beyond pathetic.

 

[globalcitizen]

If a team can score 300 on first day pitch, that itself is an indication it’s not a tough pitch as it is made out to be

 

[Savak]

No doubt about it, the longer a series goes on, the side with more quality and fortitude will prevail over a side completely bereft of planning, quality and vision.

 

[kingusama92]

A better bowling attack + fielding unit would have done more with this total. Even this particular team could have done more by cutting out the no balls and taking its catches.

These are silly mistakes.

We can make fun of Azhar, but he's right this was a decent total based on the ground's history.

 

[Osman]

We have to hope for a similar fightback as Sri Lanka have made against SA. Hope we can limit the lead to about 150 and bat long 2nd innings.

 

[Amjid Javed]

kiwis were 72/3 should have been 72/4 so the bowlers/fielders are to blame as we should have really gone for kill when kiwis were in trouble.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Certainly felt like Pakistan's batsmen had to work a lot harder for their runs than NZ did. I think Azhar was right, it was a decent total but Pakistan bowlers are not up to the same standard as NZ, and dropped catches didn't help either.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Pakistan made some mega blunders today. The total was fairly decent.

Williamson was completely tied down by the pacers. He was struggling score runs. Then Rizwan gave the ball to Shan Masood, and that too right before tea when the fast bowlers could have easily eked out a few more overs. Williamson hit him for a few boundaries, some easy singles and the pressure was off him.

On top of that, Pakistan were downright sloppy and the bowlers completely went off the rails in the last session. So many no-balls, including one on which Nicholls was dismissed. Then dropping Williamson, for the second time in the series. Pakistan could have had 500 on the board and it wouldn't have been enough with this kind of ill disciplined bowling and sloppy fielding.

 

[Forward Defensive Push]

If we caught all our catches and bowled no balls, 297 would still be a very daunting task for this New Zealand side. Just a shame that we let off all the hard work of our batsmen in a matter of one session with our shoddy fielding and inconsistent bowling.

 

[Forward Defensive Push]

Naseem is still very raw. He was selected for all the right reasons and has to be part of the team going forward. But I don't understand what the coaches are doing. The bowlers are not able to maintain intensity in their 2nd and 3rd spells. The fielders are unable to anticipate catches. We can't really compete in these unforgiving conditions unless the team is giving it all when bowling and fielding. Have to take very damn opportunity.

 

[MMHS]

Azhar should have realised that PAK recovered from 86/4 at lunch after being put in here .....basically Kiwwis avoided defeat after 1st session with 4 wickets. 90%+ cases teams inserting opponents won’t lose a Test if they take 4 wickets before first lunch.

 

[Savak]

Lol Azhar Ali and his usual mediocre standards

 

[Shoaib88]

Well this didn't age well...

 

[waleed88]

Pakistan made some mega blunders today. The total was fairly decent.

Williamson was completely tied down by the pacers. He was struggling score runs. Then Rizwan gave the ball to Shan Masood, and that too right before tea when the fast bowlers could have easily eked out a few more overs. Williamson hit him for a few boundaries, some easy singles and the pressure was off him.

On top of that, Pakistan were downright sloppy and the bowlers completely went off the rails in the last session. So many no-balls, including one on which Nicholls was dismissed. Then dropping Williamson, for the second time in the series. Pakistan could have had 500 on the board and it wouldn't have been enough with this kind of ill disciplined bowling and sloppy fielding.

I feel the team is a sum of it's parts. The team is as good as the weakest link in the side. Every team drops chances nowadays. You can't even use that as an excuse anymore. Even if we got Williamson out, their lower order would've done its part and accumulated runs. You can't say if this and that has happened. The bowling is shoddy, weak ill disciplined, and if the bowlers can't apply the pressure, shoulders go down and mistakes happen. Even India drops catches, but the overall quality of the team is usually good enough to dominate the opposition. Here we have dominated. Also you can only know what is a good total until both teams have batted. Here, it is clear we were atleast 150 runs short.

 

[I think therfore I am]

Let's hope he scores a double century

 

[moghul]

Lol, this guy possesses great cricketing brain, perfect to replace Misbah as future coach.

 

[sshakir411]

LOL. This did not turn out well for Azhar. He was so satisfied with a 90 and thought he played a fighters knock.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

I feel the team is a sum of it's parts. The team is as good as the weakest link in the side. Every team drops chances nowadays. You can't even use that as an excuse anymore. Even if we got Williamson out, their lower order would've done its part and accumulated runs. You can't say if this and that has happened. The bowling is shoddy, weak ill disciplined, and if the bowlers can't apply the pressure, shoulders go down and mistakes happen. Even India drops catches, but the overall quality of the team is usually good enough to dominate the opposition. Here we have dominated. Also you can only know what is a good total until both teams have batted. Here, it is clear we were atleast 150 runs short.

Are you kidding me? Do you know how many catches they dropped? They literally could have gotten New Zealand out twice were it not for the chances they put down. I literally lost count at the end.

Nobody is saying the bowling is not mediocre and ill-disciplined as the 64 extras (among which so many were no-balls) suggest. But this was one of the all-time horror performances by Pakistan in the field.

 

[GoUgandaCranes]

No, this is not a good score if we want to win this game. We should have ended the day at 330/6 with at least one recognized batsman at the crease.

There was only one bowler who looked like running through the team and we don't have anyone who is similar in height, speed, and skill to him.

We have two trundlers in Abbas and Fahim, one spray gun in Naseem, and an inconsistent Shaheen who bowls one good spell per test. There's no way that Southee or Boult are any lesser to these bowlers and if you remove Boult taking two wickets of the tailenders in his last two overs, even he struggled the entire day.

It won't be a surprise to wake up tomorrow and see the Black Caps at 340/3 with a person batting on a mammoth ton and one of the two wickets taken by Zafar.

This aged well.

I am all for having a fighting spirit and it's bad to lay into anyone who is down but the cricketing intellect of our players is shocking.

 

[Shoaib88]

If Pakistan bowled first and let NZ score 297 on this track...everyone would be calling to axe Naseem Shah and Zafar Gohar from the team!

Bro your comments never age well

 

[waleed88]

Are you kidding me? Do you know how many catches they dropped? They literally could have gotten New Zealand out twice were it not for the chances they put down. I literally lost count at the end.

Nobody is saying the bowling is not mediocre and ill-disciplined as the 64 extras (among which so many were no-balls) suggest. But this was one of the all-time horror performances by Pakistan in the field.

I frankly haven't seen the match after I saw the score. Like I said again, the team is a sum of its parts. Once the shoulders bog down, you go into a negative spiral. There is no quality to bring them out from a slump. The game was already gone with a lead of a hundred. Once they snuck a partnership the game got away from us, and then they never lost the grip. In both test matches, its been painfully obvious that the game has been done by the 3rd day. And if you haven't bowled out the opposition once, then the bowling is at fault regardless of the dropped catches. Williamson sees the trash we bowl and he starts licking his lips.

 

[Maliq_Mudasir]

Lol, this guy possesses great cricketing brain, perfect to replace Misbah as future coach.

They dropped 9 catches and 2 wickets on no balls.

Things would have completely different.

 

[Majid Khan]

As I often used to say to myself whenever Hafeez would bat comfortably to a 100 back in the day during his illustrious test career — expect the opposition to score 500+ on this wicket, as only in those batting conditions does Hafeez excel.

It’s the same story overall with Pakistan team - if they score 300 in a day then expect opposition to only bat once in the test, and declare in the process.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

I frankly haven't seen the match after I saw the score. Like I said again, the team is a sum of its parts. Once the shoulders bog down, you go into a negative spiral. There is no quality to bring them out from a slump. The game was already gone with a lead of a hundred. Once they snuck a partnership the game got away from us, and then they never lost the grip. In both test matches, its been painfully obvious that the game has been done by the 3rd day. And if you haven't bowled out the opposition once, then the bowling is at fault regardless of the dropped catches. Williamson sees the trash we bowl and he starts licking his lips.

Your analysis is all wrong which is not surprising considering you are not watching the match. First chance came at 73-3 when Pakistan were well on top. NZ were finding it difficult to score and were visibly struggling. There were multiple chances not long after. One dismissal came off a no-ball.

Once the chances were not taken it was obvious that the pressure was bound to come off at some point and that too came off not as a result of any of the bowlers but because of Rizwan's decision of giving the ball to a part-timer (Shan Masood) right before lunch on Day 2. Willliamson hit two boundaries and boom the pressure was off.

Bowlers were not at their best. They certainly can't blame anyone but themselves for the two wickets off no-balls or the 64 extras but dropping 8 or 9 catches is just unbelievable. It is beyond shocking. And the 659 NZ put up does not accurately reflect the bowling performance.

 

[waleed88]

Your analysis is all wrong which is not surprising considering you are not watching the match. First chance came at 73-3 when Pakistan were well on top. NZ were finding it difficult to score and were visibly struggling. There were multiple chances not long after. One dismissal came off a no-ball.

Once the chances were not taken it was obvious that the pressure was bound to come off at some point and that too came off not as a result of any of the bowlers but because of Rizwan's decision of giving the ball to a part-timer (Shan Masood) right before lunch on Day 2. Willliamson hit two boundaries and boom the pressure was off.

Bowlers were not at their best. They certainly can't blame anyone but themselves for the two wickets off no-balls or the 64 extras but dropping 8 or 9 catches is just unbelievable. It is beyond shocking. And the 659 NZ put up does not accurately reflect the bowling performance.

I am not here to get into a shouting match with you. All I'm saying is that the situation has been bad for a while. You can check England, Australia and now NZ. This comical display has been a long time coming. Its no surprise Ponting called it the worse bowling attack to visit. These kind of displays are usually a sign of the lack of confidence of the team, and bowlers not being able to take charge as a bowling unit. When you haven't been bowling out the opposition for a while that results in mistakes like these. I saw the dropped chances, except the one in the beginning, all of them came later on when both Williamson and Nichols had taken the lead past plenty. There was no way we were coming back from that even if the chances were taken. The game was very much done for.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

I am not here to get into a shouting match with you. All I'm saying is that the situation has been bad for a while. You can check England, Australia and now NZ. This comical display has been a long time coming. Its no surprise Ponting called it the worse bowling attack to visit. These kind of displays are usually a sign of the lack of confidence of the team, and bowlers not being able to take charge as a bowling unit. When you haven't been bowling out the opposition for a while that results in mistakes like these. I saw the dropped chances, except the one in the beginning, all of them came later on when both Williamson and Nichols had taken the lead past plenty. There was no way we were coming back from that even if the chances were taken. The game was very much done for.

First off, nobody is denying that Pakistan has a poor bowling attack. Its not even a stretch to say that Pakistan has the worst bowling attack of the Top 8 test teams, barring Sri Lanka. That doesn't mean they didn't bowl well up till the second session yesterday.

Had NZ been 73-4 right then and there who knows where the game could have gone? Pakistan was bowling very well and with a lot of discipline up till that point. It was in the last session that things completely went off the rail. And I don't think the bowlers are to be blamed that much because 9 dropped catches is simply criminal and shocking. It just doesn't happen. And you cannot quantify what kind of effect something like that has on a bowler's psyche.

And no offence, but I don't think you are in any position to make these kind of judgments when you haven't seen the match.

 

[Colorblind Genius]

As I often used to say to myself whenever Hafeez would bat comfortably to a 100 back in the day during his illustrious test career — expect the opposition to score 500+ on this wicket, as only in those batting conditions does Hafeez excel.

It’s the same story overall with Pakistan team - if they score 300 in a day then expect opposition to only bat once in the test, and declare in the process.

This !!
Historically, this pitch doesn't have such a high score totals that often, but in general, if Pak can score 300 on a pitch, then expect the opposition to potentially score 600.

 

[Savak]

When a bowling side is struggling to dislodge a partnership. It is the team management which makes the biggest difference in the breaks, lunch, tea interval. Our team just kept getting worse and worse with each and every session which clearly tells that the coaching staff is useless and can't give any meaningful strategies to counter the opposition

 

[waleed88]

First off, nobody is denying that Pakistan has a poor bowling attack. Its not even a stretch to say that Pakistan has the worst bowling attack of the Top 8 test teams, barring Sri Lanka. That doesn't mean they didn't bowl well up till the second session yesterday.

Had NZ been 73-4 right then and there who knows where the game could have gone? Pakistan was bowling very well and with a lot of discipline up till that point. It was in the last session that things completely went off the rail. And I don't think the bowlers are to be blamed that much because 9 dropped catches is simply criminal and shocking. It just doesn't happen. And you cannot quantify what kind of effect something like that has on a bowler's psyche.

And no offence, but I don't think you are in any position to make these kind of judgments when you haven't seen the match.

You sound like an upset teenager who's not willing to admit our bowling unit is trash. See the numbers in the last year, these bowling results are not back accident. Most 100s conceded in world test championship: Pakistan (12).

Highest team totals against teams in World test championship : (1) 659/6 Pakistan vs NZ
(4) 589/3 Australia vs Pakistan 2019
(5) 583/8 England vs Pakistan 2020
(6) 580/10 Australia vs Pakistan 2019

If you want to continue throwing your toys out of the pram because you can't admit that this performance is not a one-off go ahead. I won't be replying to these childish posts.

 

[waleed88]

When a bowling side is struggling to dislodge a partnership. It is the team management which makes the biggest difference in the breaks, lunch, tea interval. Our team just kept getting worse and worse with each and every session which clearly tells that the coaching staff is useless and can't give any meaningful strategies to counter the opposition

Try as you might blaming the management for this. Our bowling unit has been trash for a while even under Mickey. The 3-0 whitewash against South Africa in early 2019 against the weakest south African side in their history is a disgrace. And this management wasn't their at that time. It was sarfaraz and co. with Mickey as coach

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

You sound like an upset teenager who's not willing to admit our bowling unit is trash. See the numbers in the last year, these bowling results are not back accident. Most 100s conceded in world test championship: Pakistan (12).

Highest team totals against teams in World test championship : (1) 659/6 Pakistan vs NZ
(4) 589/3 Australia vs Pakistan 2019
(5) 583/8 England vs Pakistan 2020
(6) 580/10 Australia vs Pakistan 2019

If you want to continue throwing your toys out of the pram because you can't admit that this performance is not a one-off go ahead. I won't be replying to these childish posts.

LOL. I think you have trouble reading because the first thing that I literally said is that we have possibly the worst bowling attack in the world after Sri Lanka. I suggest you read a little more carefully next time before lashing out. All I said was that the bowlers bowled well in the first two sessions, something you obviously wouldn't know since you didn't watch the match

And I don't know what gave you the impression that I was engaging in a shouting match with you. You are the only one here who sounds agitated, probably because I mentioned a simple fact that you hadn't watched the match, something I got to know by your own admission.

 

[Shoaib88]

Aaaaand, we lost by an innings and 176 runs lol

 

[Hasan123]

I swear our players think getting to the bare minimum is competitive. In ODIs our players and management think if we get to 270/280 it is competitive and we have done well. It’s well known in ODIs you need well over 300 on most pitches . And in tests, a majority of the time you need around 400. 300 in tests is competitive for a team with good bowling attacks which we don’t have.

 

[MMHS]

I swear our players think getting to the bare minimum is competitive. In ODIs our players and management think if we get to 270/280 it is competitive and we have done well. It’s well known in ODIs you need well over 300 on most pitches . And in tests, a majority of the time you need around 400. 300 in tests is competitive for a team with good bowling attacks which we don’t have.

Why blame the cricketers only? Do you really this your passionate fans understand cricket? If these trolls instead of entertaining us in PP, had focused on understanding what is written ... could have realised what it means taking four wickets in first session after you have inserted opponents in....

Azhar wasn’t wrong - PAK recovered from 86-4, to almost 300 at a very good rate and they did set up the game. Forget India or Australia, had Poms or SAF got 300 on board on day 1 at Hagley, they would have made Kiwis fight hard, really, really hard to be competitive. There was enough, enough purchases on the track till third morning.

 

[Hasan123]

Why blame the cricketers only? Do you really this your passionate fans understand cricket? If these trolls instead of entertaining us in PP, had focused on understanding what is written ... could have realised what it means taking four wickets in first session after you have inserted opponents in....

Azhar wasn’t wrong - PAK recovered from 86-4, to almost 300 at a very good rate and they did set up the game. Forget India or Australia, had Poms or SAF got 300 on board on day 1 at Hagley, they would have made Kiwis fight hard, really, really hard to be competitive. There was enough, enough purchases on the track till third morning.

A better team would have competed with 300 but it wasn't enough and our players always think the bare minimum is competitive.

 

[Kroll]

Aaaaand, we lost by an innings and 176 runs lol

Azhar's such a lovable rogue isn't he? Dim-witted but loveable.

 

[shamaan]

I swear our players think getting to the bare minimum is competitive. In ODIs our players and management think if we get to 270/280 it is competitive and we have done well. It’s well known in ODIs you need well over 300 on most pitches . And in tests, a majority of the time you need around 400. 300 in tests is competitive for a team with good bowling attacks which we don’t have.

if we held on to the catches and kept thier feet behind the line it would hsve been a better performance

 

[shamaan]

297 will always be a decent first innings total regardless of the wicket. Not a huge one but still decent.Can't blame batters when bowling and fielding are beyond pathetic.

exactly the bowlers job is to create opportunities if the fielders dont take the chances thats not the bowlers fault