Is Misbah-ul-Haq's philosophy responsible for Pakistan's failure in the final?

[RyanRyan10]

It was Misbah's idea to open with Rizwan with Babar. The two consistently put pressure on their middle order throughout the tournament with their conservative approach. The middle order bailed them out against India, SA and BD but the law of average caught up to them in the final.

Pakistan has traditionally been a bowling heavy side in the white ball formats. But they also produced some quality batsmen from time to time who was capable of destroying opponents. But when Misbah took over, Pakistan became a timid side and very often they failed to get to a par total. Misbah's strike rate was extremely poor for his era and he even backed batsmen who were tortoises like him. Someone like Umar Akmal, who had a good start to his career, was pushed down to no.6. Pakistan did win some matches but those were mainly due to bowling. After Saeed Ajmal was banned, Pakistan lost 75% of matches against the top 8 sides in ODIs till the 2015 WC. Misbah was replaced by Azhar Ali, who was similar to him, and Pakistan had slipped to no.9 in the ODI rankings.

The team was heading in the right direction under Mickey but he was sacked post-WC and Misbah replaced him. Pak once started losing more matches than winning against the top-tier sides.

 

[Cover Drive Six]

Lol. Dude retired long back and he still getting blamed.

 

[rhony]

There was a definite intent to hit in the PP overs and at the death. They just couldn't. Rizwan falls over out of balance everytime a ball is bowled outside off stump. Only Babar and to a certain extent Shan are capable of batting on any wicket. It's not the issue of intent or Misbah. It's the issue of capability.

 

[Rana]

Why is this being discussed now

Mans called this out the day Misbah opened a T20i with Imam ul Haq

 

[AamchiMumbaikar]

When PAK bats first, you do now know what is a good total so it's criminal to play out PP with 6/ 7 runs per over.

Even IND has the same problem now with out of form openers, i guess they will be a change from next series.

But PAK will continue this pair going fwd because most fans seem happy with a runner up title.

 

[Major]

Dumb thread. We didn't lose due to babar and rizwan

 

[m.awais]

It wasn’t the start…. If you are at 84-2 at the end of 11 overs than your lower order should be capable of scoring atleast 90 runs in the last 9 overs. I think Pakistan missed the trick by not sending shadab ahead of iftikhar..

Heck even after 16 overs they were at 119-4. They should have scored atleast 40 runs from there onwards.

 

[AamchiMumbaikar]

It wasn’t the start…. If you are at 84-2 at the end of 11 overs than your lower order should be capable of scoring atleast 90 runs in the last 9 overs. I think Pakistan missed the trick by not sending shadab ahead of iftikhar..

Heck even after 16 overs they were at 119-4. They should have scored atleast 40 runs from there onwards.

84 runs in 11 overs is not a great point.

Babar as usual played himself in and got out @ 110 SR. If PAK had scored an additional 20 runs in PP, that would have put pressure on ENG and very high chances of getting a team total > 150 which would have almost had ENG

 

[Ashmal]

There was a definite intent to hit in the PP overs and at the death. They just couldn't. Rizwan falls over out of balance everytime a ball is bowled outside off stump. Only Babar and to a certain extent Shan are capable of batting on any wicket. It's not the issue of intent or Misbah. It's the issue of capability.

Agreed....it was lack of skill to deal with bounce on this pitch.

And there was some lack of game awareness, too many players got out looking to hit sixes when all it needed was some sensible batting and they could've got 10 runs per over easily by playing in gaps and running.

They were looking to get 170 and got out trying to force the issue when 160 would've won the game.

 

[Ashmal]

84 runs in 11 overs is not a great point.

Babar as usual played himself in and got out @ 110 SR. If PAK had scored an additional 20 runs in PP, that would have put pressure on ENG and very high chances of getting a team total > 150 which would have almost had ENG

From 84/2 in 11 overs, most teams will manage to post 160.

But Pakistan lost the plot.

Babar and Shan should be most disappointed for giving it away as one of them had to bat through.

 

[sweep_shot]

From 84/2 in 11 overs, most teams will manage to post 160.

But Pakistan lost the plot.

Babar and Shan should be most disappointed for giving it away as one of them had to bat through.

Yup.

They scored 53 runs from the final 9 overs. Less than 6 runs per over!

That was decisive.

 

[Rana]

Dumb thread. We didn't lose due to babar and rizwan

We are set up to lose because of them. Who set us up to lose?

 

[RyanRyan10]

It wasn’t the start…. If you are at 84-2 at the end of 11 overs than your lower order should be capable of scoring atleast 90 runs in the last 9 overs. I think Pakistan missed the trick by not sending shadab ahead of iftikhar..

Heck even after 16 overs they were at 119-4. They should have scored atleast 40 runs from there onwards.

They did bat poorly in the final 4 overs.

But they reached 119-4 in 16 overs because of Shan and Shadab, not openers.

 

[Cover Drive Six]

Dumb thread. We didn't lose due to babar and rizwan

You are wrong.
Both Pakistan and India lost because of openers.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Yes. Plain and simple.

 

[faisalm]

Partly, but he has been gone a while now and the team hasn't moved along, so more of the blame lays at the feet of the current set up.
Whether or not moving Barbar down to 3 would have made any difference today is questionable due to the poor performance of the lower middle order. But better squad selection would have allowed more flexibility in team selection as the 3 back up batmen in the squad shouldn't have been anywhere near the national side.

 

[GreenKhan]

Pakistan were 15- runs short . Even England nearly made a meal of the chase .

After 84 for 2 after 11 overs we should have scored 150-160.

 

[asfandyar]

Misbah + Afridi together forged the batting mentality of our current generation. Our players can only tuk or boom, with no concept or training of finding the gaps, the most difficult aspect of batting.

 

[YousafTheBeast]

Dumb thread. We didn't lose due to babar and rizwan

True, they gave us a perfect start of 39 something in the PP, lol.

Now we’re going to hear excuses like pitch, conditions, boundary size etc but RizBar fans never use these excuses for Sharjeel.

If it wasn’t for Shan Masood scoring 16 off Livingstones 1 over then Pakistan would’ve been around 70 in 11 overs. How do you expect the weak middle order to come in and score 90+ off 54 balls…

 

[DandyFellow]

This pitch was different from the rest in a sense that it had extra and variable bounce which does not suit most of Pakistani batsmen.
Pakistan's best chance was to score single and doubles and 4s square of the wickets. And only try hitting sixes on the straights on over pitched deliveries. Shan Masood was doing it well and that is why succeeded. The pitch also suited Babar Azam's style of play but what I have seen lately of him is that he only tries to hit the bad balls for gaps but does not show enough creativity to dissect the gaps in the big ground along the carpet.
Shan, Shadab and Nawaz all got out trying to hit a six square side of the wicket. All 3 got out around 10 to 20m ahead of the boundary rope. If common sense had prevailed they should have all played alongside the ground. The maximum runs on the square were 4 runs. Six was never on the cards. I guess nobody had a discussion about it. Perhaps this 92 thing that we are to win this stopped logical discussions and game plan to happen before the final.

 

[The_KING]

Pakistan will be losing matches in 2046 and fans will still be blaming Misbah

 

[crazyfaizee]

Haha its funny listening misbah now on TV as analyst pinpointing lack of hitting in powerplay of Pakistan team..

 

[Cric1234]

Haha its funny listening misbah now on TV as analyst pinpointing lack of hitting in powerplay of Pakistan team..

Amazing insight from Misbah after all he thought Azhar Ali Asad Shafiq Ahmed Shehzad Imam Ul Haq were the power hitting openers Pakistan needed in ODIs and T20s to become a top team.

 

[greatest]

Early in the year England cricket was down and out. Their think tank sat together and analyzed what's wrong and fixed it. They didn't got too emotional and made same some brave unpopular decisions.

Pakistan too needs to start thinking and look ahead now. What happened today is now history!

 

[Cric1234]

Early in the year England cricket was down and out. Their think tank sat together and analyzed what's wrong and fixed it. They didn't got too emotional and made same some brave unpopular decisions.

Pakistan too needs to start thinking and look ahead now. What happened today is now history!

This should’ve happened a long time ago but nothing changes this is Pakistan cricket the same formulas will be applied luckily T20 is an up and down format which always gives teams a chance to get to the knockout stages.

This excuse of semi final final etc will be used to peddle the same things in the future overall in all formats Pakistan cricket needs a big change in mentality.

 

[Cricket-lion]

Leave misbah alone, he retired years ago. We lost today due to poor strategy. If we went for 1s,2s and 3s instead of trying to get the boundaries, we should have got 160. We lacked being street smart.

Anyways, let's celebrate how far we got and think about how we can improve now to the next level. I think we got a solid core team but need to improve in some areas like the middle order.

 

[Rana]

Leave misbah alone, he retired years ago. We lost today due to poor strategy. If we went for 1s,2s and 3s instead of trying to get the boundaries, we should have got 160. We lacked being street smart.

Anyways, let's celebrate how far we got and think about how we can improve now to the next level. I think we got a solid core team but need to improve in some areas like the middle order.

No.

He created RizBab

I will not leave him alone until this partnership is not done with! I will also not leave him alone if similar players to RizBab are occupying powerplay spots!

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Lol. Dude retired long back and he still getting blamed.

Because the damage done was so big that comeback to haunt them..

Since Rizwan cannot bat in the middle order in T20I he was made the opener and robbed the T20I spot of Fakhar...

 

[TheSultan]

How many times to be people have to be reminded how far back the Misbah mentality has taken us.

People are having a lightbulb moment that “oh maybe Haris can play in the powerplay”. Do you guys realise we starting using pinch hitters in to take advantage of the ODI powerplay in 1996 - 26 years ago. We carried on with this until the early 2010s until Misbah took over.

Our first few T20 World Cups we always had attacking batsmen up top. Misbah took us decades back. And now that coward mentality has gripped our cricket to such an extent that the thing that was perfectly normal 20 years ago is being regarded as a eureka moment!

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Pakistan will be losing matches in 2046 and fans will still be blaming Misbah

He has cultivated the friendship culture, who ever close to him plays all matches no matter how bad they are..

MISBAH can be blamed for many things

Making Rizbab,

NOT giving games to Haider Ali when he was in peak form.. There was a chance to fill in for Haris Sohail in Tests, didnt give Haider a chance, Haider was given the chance only in the last game of the tour and he scored a 50 in debut.

He brought Ifthikar and Asif back for only reason that they are aged cricketers.

Cultivated the friends culture.. Rizwan has brought in all his friends to form a unit (Khsudil, Ifthikar , Wasim, Naseem, Shaheen) from KPK from that lot only the bowlers deserve places, KI dont..

Babar had Usman Qadir and Asif ali under his quota and he didnt object the axing of Imad and saw it as a no threat to captaincy move from his side.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

This is why been saying for a long time that MISBAH should be nowhere in PCB in any form or role..

 

[Cric1234]

Some people thought the promotion of Rizwan to opening by Misbah was a masterstroke.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

84 runs in 11 overs is not a great point.

Babar as usual played himself in and got out @ 110 SR. If PAK had scored an additional 20 runs in PP, that would have put pressure on ENG and very high chances of getting a team total > 150 which would have almost had ENG

India were 74/2 after 11 overs against England and it was a flat pitch. Kohli's strike rate was 125 but according to Kohli fans it was a pretty good inning. Middle order was responsible for today's defeat for Pakistan. Scoring just 53 runs in 9 overd is minnow level stuff.

 

[jeeteshssaxena]

Babar Azams biggest defender is out here. Lol

32 of 28 is a bad innings.

Throughout the tournament this troll has tried to frame Pakistan's loss on middle order when they actually saved Pak while the openers were bust getting out on single digit scores.

 

[bala977]

Seriously, why do some PPers blame Misbah for everything - ***, he has been gone for a longgggg time

 

[SpiritOf1903]

An insidious malaise

 

[RyanRyan10]

Because the damage done was so big that comeback to haunt them..

Since Rizwan cannot bat in the middle order in T20I he was made the opener and robbed the T20I spot of Fakhar...

Exactly.

Those who are saying that he is blamed for everything need to understand this.

 

[daytrader]

It's the complete opposite! If they had been able to apply Misbah's 'philosophy' we could've set a target above 150. Instead the team tried to play 'fearless' cricket, went for unnecessary shots and ended up setting a below par target.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Shahid Afridi speaking on a TV interview said:

"It happened after 2011 or 2012, I personally felt [the change] as I was part of that team. Look, I am going to be honest, I rate Misbah-ul-Haq very highly as a Test cricketer and captain, he has given some of the most brilliant performances, but I think in one-day cricket, he could've changed his approach for the better because cricket got faster by then. If he had changed the players' mindset, it could've been better,"

"But everyone has their own approach, I'm aggressive, and Misbah is defensive. I think during that time, we should've started it [the change] from domestic cricket so that whenever a player comes to the national team from grassroots, he would've had a different mindset."

"Your intent should be positive means there should not be too many dot balls. Cricket changed a lot in the last 10 years, now you cannot think that I'll cover later [after playing dot balls] because you can't, you'll continue that momentum.

"When you play too many dot balls, pressure builds. And when a new batter comes to play, he's forced to play dot balls as well. Your intent should be positive, which means if you get a ball to play a shot, you'll play a shot even if it is the first ball of your innings."​