Pakistan batting crush Amir heroics in a shameful loss | Review Pakistan vs Australia | 12/06/2019

[fight_club]

"Their is no bigger curse than to be a Pakistan Cricket Fan"

When scoreboard read 264/7 in 44 overs even the best of sceptic would have nurtured thought of a sensation win. Pakistan had resumed the "Normal service" by crashing to 160/6 from a strong position. When Proper batsmen were done Throwing their Wickets to nothing balls It was time for Pakistan tail to drill home some batting lesson to the Top order.

Boy, Those 100 runs coming in 14 overs had suddenly woken up hopes of all the dead. How can you allow A Team to defend a sub Par total on flat batting surface with small boundaries and Bowlers like Coulter, Richardson, Maxwell, Finch. Really how can any self respecting batting team will allow such bowlers to defend a 308?

Let me take you through the Sequence of "Seconds before Disaster"

1. Grass and the Pitch: I would not blame Sarfaraz here both captains were not really able to make much about the surface. But Clark in his pitch report clearly said that its a belter and Team winning the toss must bat first.

How will you do that when you look at the obscene amount of Grass left on the Pitch and considering smaller boundaries both team decided to omit their Leg spinners.

The Pitch was a Batting Paradise. It had plenty of Moisture as it was under cover for two days and hence bowl was coming a bit slow of the surface. That's why In first 20 overs or so bowling short of the length something all the modren bowlers are raised on was going for runs.


2. Aussies Threaten to score 400: It was comical if not Shambolic to see Amir beating the bat umpteen number of times while rest of the Pakistani Bowlers Struggling to Bowl on one side of the wicket. I guess once you Show that amount of Grass to an Asian Team the Power switch goes for an "Auto Off" mode.

This Pakistan Team was looking every bit like a rabbit caught under the headlight. They Won the toss and thanked god that They were not batting
however the ball was not swinging miles and wickets were not coming in truckloads.

Aussies gave Amir the respect he deserved while other bowlers kept on leaking runs. The Fear of Grass has got Pakistan into a tizzy runs kept coming, Fielding was abysmal the dropped catch. Pakistan was looking suddenly listless and clueless and Aussies Steam rolled them and were
hurtling Towards a possible 400

3. Amir Strikes . The only other Bowler who actually created chances and looked impressive was Wahab and he should have had Warner. Desperate Sarfaraz bought back Amir in 22nd over for his second
spell and Amir struck in the very first ball by removing dangerous Finch

Watching Amir Playing with a helpless warner dancing to his tune was the highlight of this 3 over spell. If warner had any shame he would have nicked one said "you deserve it mate" to amir and walked backed to hut


4. Pakistan Storm back in the match

I guess Few Strikes and Pakistan started to gather their wits. The Pitch had nothing for Slow bowlers and they were carted over the small boundaries just for fun. It Was Shaheen who started the Aussies Collapse
by clean bowling Maxwell to one which came back a little and we than went on to get Warner as well.

The Moisture under the surface must have dried up as Pitch gathered pace and bowl short of the length stuff started working. Pakistan got its tail up now its for nothing they beat England. Aussies Collapsed like a heap losing last 7 wickets 86 runs. Amir Cleaned up the last three and finished with the historic Figure in this world cup.

I have said it before and will say it again Amir is by far the most intelligent bowler of the tournament. He knows the right pace required on the surface and it was just a treat to watch his spell.

Isn't it a shame that Such a Majestic figure has to end on losing side.

5. Brief fightback and Babar: 300 was hardly enough on the surface and Aussies bowling attack boast of Coulter, Richardson, Maxwell for 30 over quota. Once any team see off Cummins and Starc Initial burst they can easily cash in on weaker bowlers.

In spite of it, I was as nervous as every other Fan or even the Dressing room because Pakistan chasing anything is always fraught with danger.

I guess we all knew that Fakhar will have a wild swing to a wide one and will hole out to third men and he didn't disappoint the Third men who was not required to even move such was the precision.

So the customary Sacrifice made, In come Pakistan Best batsmen and Hope Babar. Pakistan Needs a Batting hero someone who will raise his hand and tell the captain to chase as no target is unchasable these days
Someone who can lift the belief of this entire godforsaken batting lineup

Babar for his breif stay in the company of a resolute and solid Imam looked every inch of the blockbuster star you would go miles to watch
Cummins and Starc might have very well held the candle in awe because those Cover drive must have been admired by the Gods as well.

He looked so much in control that Finch was forced to remove his best Duo and bring in Richardson and Coulter. Pakistan was looking ominous nerves would have certainly eased in the dressing room. 308 was sub par and it was made to look like that.

So, When a pacer has tried to pitch it up and never managed to beat the bat what will he go back to? Much before Coulter bowled that bouncer I had it flashing in my mind and I was praying Babar Don't pull.. let it go

I have no idea how Babar will face Amir but he will rue it for rest of his life. He is still a very very good batsmen but not a champion.


6. soft Cones Imam was bit unlucky but that was the start of Pakistan Infamous "Cycle Stand" style collapse. Hafeez dismissal was epitome of mediocrity of this batting line up. Getting out to a juicy full toss to a batsmen who is just rolling over his arm. Its Pakistan chasing we got it

I have been advocating that Hafeez must not bat at no.4 or in the first 30 overs preciously because of this reason. He is the 2nd best batsmen and only finisher we have but like Mediocrity tradition demand the batsmen to get out after reaching 50.

Sarfaraz who was depending on the tail to clear the boundary as he can't and rather than leading the batting with tail he was letting tail lead the batting. "If he has to bat in this lineup he must come at 4 he must not be batting in the last 10 overs" I have written it earlier as well

Malik has to go, Even though Pakistan will be tempted to play him against India but he seriously can't play pace and its getting embarrassing to the point of ridiculous.

I still believe that This batting Line up if anyone of them had courage of conviction would have chased 300 odd with comfort against this Aussie Attack which barring Starc and Cummins had nothing

What do you really do as a Pakistan cricket fan, you know all the weakness the pathetic selection a Captain whose place in the team itself hangs by thread the list is exhaustive and endless.

The captain said that turning point of the match was those 3 quick wickets but I disagree with him Today it was Babar Wicket as till he was in crease he owned the Aussies and he should have stayed in the crease for longer.

In the longer format all the weakness get exposed gradually and chasing has been Pakistan Mental block for ages. I would hope Babar will Redeem himself and Win Pakistan a match while chasing.

While Pakistan cricket has always been surrounded by gloom and doom for a very long time. Occasionally these bunch based on few individual spark propel themselves to a flight much higher than their hemisphere

We can only hope that a Leader will finally emerge from the shadows and take upon itself to free Pakistan cricket from this prison of chase the fear of grass

Fight_club

 

[Ronaldo7]

Nice piece of writing.
We should have won it honestly.
It's disappointing that 50/50 situations don't go our way.

 

[Harsh Thakor]

Was the Australia-Pakistan match one of the all-time great World Cup games?

In the end Pakistan were defeated by a convincing margin of 44 runs by Australia but the scores did not reflect the true intensity of the tussle which resembled a hard fought boxing match with fortunes continually twisting.

Pakistan seemed coarse when Babar Azam,Inam Ul Haq and Mohammad Hafeez were batting .They counter -attacked the Aussie atack with a most organized and clinical display of batting and looked as though looked like taking Pakistan home like a Ship in the Ocean moving in complete harmony.Sadly due to mistiuming of shors both Inam and Hafeez perished a major dent was made in the Pakistan battingand the game had a 180 degrees twist with a precipitated middle order collapse.At six down it literally looked game,set and match for Australia before 2 spectacular resurgency by Pakistan launched by first Hasan Ali and then Wahab Riaz .In partnership with Sarfraz Ahmed they resurrected Pakistan from the grave with a bout of spectacular hitting.Although Hassan Ali's tenure was much shorter his blitzkrieg of 32 of a mere 14 balls re-lit the spark in the batting which Wahab Riaz turned into a prairie fire.From the depths of despair Pakistan came withing touching distance of famous win before Wahab's dismisal when Paksiatn were a mere 48 runs adrift.Unlike Hasan Wahab too time to launch his counterattack.Wahab Riaz's inings may rank amongst the best ever in a world cup or O.D.I. at no 9 position.

This game had 4 features.The 1st was the collapse of Australia to 308 when they seemed destined to reach a total of around 340-350.The 2nd was the most clinical approach by the Pakistan top order in the 1st half of the chase.The 3rd was the sensational middle order collapse after 25 overs.The fourth was the spectacular resurgence of Pakistan from the depths of despair to come so close.

The standard of cricket was not at its best but few matches have ever had so many twist and turns.The Pakistan chase reminded you of a spark being lit at every point when afire was on the brink of being extinguished.Maybe not one of Pakistan's most gallant defeats or Australia's best wins but the ebb and flow possibly makes it an all-time great world cup or O.D.I.game.Pakistan were defeated honourably and to me lack of temperament was the deciding factor. As a cricket fan I rooted for Pakistan who proved that they had more than the talent required to overcome Australia.It reminded me of the Pakistan teams of 1975 and 79 that came so close to beating strong teams but lost out because of approach.

 

[hadi123]

We really should have won that. The WI loss was simply a bad day, we just didn't turn up, but it's frustrating to lose a game where you looked to be ahead for large portions of the game.

 

[Harsh Thakor]

We really should have won that. The WI loss was simply a bad day, we just didn't turn up, but it's frustrating to lose a game where you looked to be ahead for large portions of the game.

I could not share your feelings more Sir.I really rooted for Pakistan who launched a most methodical approach in the first part of the chase and then from the depths of despair rose like a titanic to come within touch sight of a famous win.

 

[hafeezrocks]

Poor Amir

 

[Billa86]

Batting middle order a massive concern.

 

[re82h]

I was there to watch this match.
Australia was there for taking. We had a very good chance to beat Australia.

Fielding was a big let down. Dropped catches and Misfields cost us the game in the end. I say this as the batting was just typical Pakistan.

Hafeez looked good while he was at the crease and then gifted it away.
Babar Azam threw away his wicket. He looked like he was having a net whilst batting that's how comfortable he looked.
Malik contributed nothing in the field (Few misfields) or with the bat.
Asif had a terrible game all around.
Imam worked hard for his innings.
Sarfraz batted well with Hassan and Wahab but then with Shaheen he should have changed his strategy. Took a single and put Shaheen on strike. It was almost like he was waiting for Shaheen to get out so he could go off undefeated. Everyone in the crowd was yelling at him when he put Shaheen on strike with a single but strange the captain couldn't see the obvious error.

Another opportunity lost.

 

[Mr.Q]

I really rooted for Pakistan who launched a most methodical approach in the first part of the chase and then from the depths of despair rose like a titanic to come within touch sight of a famous win.

Who would want their team to be like Titanic bro

There were twists and turns in that match because of the poor standard of cricket. Pakistan dropped many catches. Australia had the chance to score 350+ and seal it but they couldn’t even bat 50 overs! Pakistan in reply lost Fakhar and Babar to poor shots. Australia couldn’t capitalise on that. Pakistan looked like they were going to chase it down easily at one point but then lost 2-3 wickets in quick succession. Pak tailenders then launched an onslaught and surprisingly Australian bowlers had no answers to it. They were very lucky to get Wahab out. I don’t understand why you consider it as a great match! Exciting doesn’t mean great.

 

[fight_club]

In the end Pakistan were defeated by a convincing margin of 44 runs by Australia but the scores did not reflect the true intensity of the tussle which resembled a hard fought boxing match with fortunes continually twisting.

Pakistan seemed coarse when Babar Azam,Inam Ul Haq and Mohammad Hafeez were batting .They counter -attacked the Aussie atack with a most organized and clinical display of batting and looked as though looked like taking Pakistan home like a Ship in the Ocean moving in complete harmony.Sadly due to mistiuming of shors both Inam and Hafeez perished a major dent was made in the Pakistan battingand the game had a 180 degrees twist with a precipitated middle order collapse.At six down it literally looked game,set and match for Australia before 2 spectacular resurgency by Pakistan launched by first Hasan Ali and then Wahab Riaz .In partnership with Sarfraz Ahmed they resurrected Pakistan from the grave with a bout of spectacular hitting.Although Hassan Ali's tenure was much shorter his blitzkrieg of 32 of a mere 14 balls re-lit the spark in the batting which Wahab Riaz turned into a prairie fire.From the depths of despair Pakistan came withing touching distance of famous win before Wahab's dismisal when Paksiatn were a mere 48 runs adrift.Unlike Hasan Wahab too time to launch his counterattack.Wahab Riaz's inings may rank amongst the best ever in a world cup or O.D.I. at no 9 position.

This game had 4 features.The 1st was the collapse of Australia to 308 when they seemed destined to reach a total of around 340-350.The 2nd was the most clinical approach by the Pakistan top order in the 1st half of the chase.The 3rd was the sensational middle order collapse after 25 overs.The fourth was the spectacular resurgence of Pakistan from the depths of despair to come so close.

The standard of cricket was not at its best but few matches have ever had so many twist and turns.The Pakistan chase reminded you of a spark being lit at every point when afire was on the brink of being extinguished.Maybe not one of Pakistan's most gallant defeats or Australia's best wins but the ebb and flow possibly makes it an all-time great world cup or O.D.I.game.Pakistan were defeated honourably and to me lack of temperament was the deciding factor. As a cricket fan I rooted for Pakistan who proved that they had more than the talent required to overcome Australia.It reminded me of the Pakistan teams of 1975 and 79 that came so close to beating strong teams but lost out because of approach.

Wonderfully put

 

[FreePalestine]

Well put. Obviously this game was also significant for the players that did not play in it. Shadab and Haris should have played. I said before the game, Haris should play ahead of Asif.

And clearly, omitting Shadab was close enough to incomprehensible for lots of different reasons. They said he may have been left out because there were too many left-handers... for god’s sake... what kind of rigid thinking is this? Misread the pitch as well.

 

[FreePalestine]

Reasons Shadab should have played:

1. Babar, not Asif would have been at 1st slip (potentially match winning contribution)
2. Better fielder than Shaheen
3. Better batsman than Shaheen (potentially match winning contribution)
4. Shaheen’s recent performances against these sides in the series’ before wc. Shadab’s form with the ball. Can call this a par if you assume Shadab would have got around Shaheen’s figures 2-70 in the game. I think he would have done better than that, but even if that is the case, 1, 2 and 3 would have made up for it. I don’t think he would have done worse than 2-70.
5. He is your gun leg-spinner! Use him. What are you doing to his confidence by dropping him like this? Would you drop Mushy or Saqlain. With our limited resources, he is the closest thing we have to this.
6. Pakistan’s bowling form has been poor in very recent past. It is unusual because talent is there. Finally Amir has started getting some wickets, and now you decide to handicap us with an attack lacking any quality spin?
7. Now he will go into the India game - a much tougher game for Shadab looking at quality of Indian batting line up - lacking confidence and practice.

 

[wrongun]

Putting more than 9% of deliveries towards the actual stumps in the first 15 overs in seaming, overcast, conditions when you have 2 new balls might have been a good idea.

Bizarre it wasn't tried really. I mean, it is literally where the wickets are.

 

[fight_club]

Putting more than 9% of deliveries towards the actual stumps in the first 15 overs in seaming, overcast, conditions when you have 2 new balls might have been a good idea.

Bizarre it wasn't tried really. I mean, it is literally where the wickets are.

Very True, However are you concerned about toothless Aussie attack
how long will likes of coulter and richardson mediocrity will be tolerated?

 

[wrongun]

Very True, However are you concerned about toothless Aussie attack
how long will likes of coulter and richardson mediocrity will be tolerated?

No, not really concerned.

Behrendorf & Lyon might get a run or Starc & Pattinson are quality.

We're headed for the semi's despite the bizarre commentary on Warner's poor run of form (is Imam being accused also?) so all good there.