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"Pakistan have a chance to beat India in Tests now on a spinning track": Wasim Akram

Do you agree with Wasim Akram's stance?

  • Yes, he is spot on

    Votes: 8 47.1%

  • No, India is still far superior to Pakistan Test side

    Votes: 9 52.9%
  • Total voters
    17
The Bald Eagle

The Bald Eagle

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During the conversation with fellow commentator Michael Vaughan, Akram predicted that Pakistan would have the upper hand on spin-friendly pitches

“I would want to see a Test series between India and Pakistan,” remarked Michael Vaughan

“It will be massive. It will be good for the game, for two cricket-crazy nations.” Akram replied.

“Pakistan have a chance to beat India in Tests now on a spinning track. They have been hammered by New Zealand 3-0 at home.”

Akram’s confidence in Pakistan is backed by their recent 2-1 series victory against England in the home Test series.

Pakistan were in heaps of trouble after succumbing to an innings and 47 runs defeat in the opening Test of the series.

The under-fire hosts needed a miracle to fight for the series glory and they made four massive changes to their squad for the remaining two Tests, which marked the ouster of big names like Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah.

Consistent domestic performer Kamran Ghulam replaced Babar, while the dynamic spin duo of Sajid Khan and Noman Ali came in as Shaheen and Naseem’s replacement.

The spin duo dismantled England in the remaining two Tests and picked up 39 out of their 40 wickets, while another late entrant Zahid Mahmood bagged the solitary wicket.

The mid-series additions Sajid Khan and Noman Ali played a pivotal role in marking an astounding turnaround for Pakistan, who recovered from 0-1 down to beat England 2-1 and seal their first Test series victory at home since 2021.

Source: A Sports
 
I think Noman and Sajid are far superior to Ashwin & Jadeja, though India would have the better third spin option with Kuldeep and pace option with Bumrah

Batting is largely similar based on current form, though you could argue Pakistan have the slight edge due to Kamran Ghulam & Saud Shakeel’s ability against spin.

Biggest difference between the two sides is the wicket keeper batter.

Pakistan have Rizwan & India have Risabh Pant; ultimately, if the game is on a knife edge, it would come down to who among them is more likely to play a clutch knock.

So for me, unless Noman & Sajid + Kamran + Saud can all consistently combine to cover the misgivings of their lower order batting, India could have the edge due to Pant.
 
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JaDed said:
Wasim is only giving Pakistan a chance lol, nothing to be proud of considering we got bowled by Philips Santner Ajaz
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But at home and clean sweeped, it appears you are downplaying this big anamoly that nobody foresaw
 
Batting first .... may be. But, I think Wasim isn't giving Kiwi batsmen enough credit here - they were exceptional in this series. I don't see PAK countering Indian spinners remotely close to what Kiwis did this time - Saud & Rizwan may be, Aga & new kid Ghulam are decent spin players, but rest including Babar might not last a full session combined. And, Abdullah might not last enough of the new ball to face the spinners!!!

Still the gap is massive - in fact, on turning tracks, these Kiwis will make 3-0 or 2-1 against PAK as well.
 
MMHS said:
Batting first .... may be. But, I think Wasim isn't giving Kiwi batsmen enough credit here - they were exceptional in this series. I don't see PAK countering Indian spinners remotely close to what Kiwis did this time - Saud & Rizwan may be, Aga & new kid Ghulam are decent spin players, but rest including Babar might not last a full session combined. And, Abdullah might not last enough of the new ball to face the spinners!!!

Still the gap is massive - in fact, on turning tracks, these Kiwis will make 3-0 or 2-1 against PAK as well.
Click to expand...

Rizwan? lol
 
MMHS said:
Batting first .... may be. But, I think Wasim isn't giving Kiwi batsmen enough credit here - they were exceptional in this series. I don't see PAK countering Indian spinners remotely close to what Kiwis did this time - Saud & Rizwan may be, Aga & new kid Ghulam are decent spin players, but rest including Babar might not last a full session combined. And, Abdullah might not last enough of the new ball to face the spinners!!!

Still the gap is massive - in fact, on turning tracks, these Kiwis will make 3-0 or 2-1 against PAK as well.
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Yeah our batsman won't be able to play Ashwin and Jadeja so easily.
 
shaz619 said:
Rizwan? lol
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He plays spin better than anyone bar Saud. Saud is a lefti, and never had played Ashwin - he'll struggle against Ashwin & Sundar; but Rizwan will counter them better by batting outside off-line and sweeping and he'll hit boundaries for anything loose. Abdullah, Babar, Shan, Saim has absolutely no game against persistent spin from both ends - half the time they might get out to long hops being over cautious.
 
no way!

let england play another series on the same spinning track i am sure Pak wont win any single game again... that was a fluke win tbh.
 
On those dustbowls of india chacha noman and Sajid tinda will be unplayable. Especially chacha noman who has so much experience.

Indian spinners are only successful on those dustbowls. Pakistan would have beaten them in any given year on those dustbowls.
 
MMHS said:
Batting first .... may be. But, I think Wasim isn't giving Kiwi batsmen enough credit here - they were exceptional in this series. I don't see PAK countering Indian spinners remotely close to what Kiwis did this time - Saud & Rizwan may be, Aga & new kid Ghulam are decent spin players, but rest including Babar might not last a full session combined. And, Abdullah might not last enough of the new ball to face the spinners!!!

Still the gap is massive - in fact, on turning tracks, these Kiwis will make 3-0 or 2-1 against PAK as well.
Click to expand...
You forgot what Sri Lanka did to same NZ side just a month ago.

For me this series started with India being over confident. It reflected in Rohit's decision to bat first in very tough conditions. 46 all out set the tone for the series with Indians under pressure.

NZ winning the toss in second and third test on turners also contributed to the whitewash.

Overall I feel Indians underperformed.
 
Pak simply annihilated the Sri Lankans last year in Sri Lanka on spin tracks.

BD series we played on grassy surfaces which brought into the game terrible bowlers like Hasan Mahmud and Rana
 
MMHS said:
He plays spin better than anyone bar Saud. Saud is a lefti, and never had played Ashwin - he'll struggle against Ashwin & Sundar; but Rizwan will counter them better by batting outside off-line and sweeping and he'll hit boundaries for anything loose. Abdullah, Babar, Shan, Saim has absolutely no game against persistent spin from both ends - half the time they might get out to long hops being over cautious.
Click to expand...

It’s a myth he’s good against quality spin in Testing conditions, 40% of his dismissals in the last series were against spin, they really put the pressure on him and he failed to find any rhythm. I can see Ashwin/Jadeja continuously building pressure and if they don’t get him, Bumrah will eat him for breakfast, plus Rizwan is not mentally equipped to handle such a scenario when he is under the pump and without any fluency behind him, the matter is worse for him.
 
JaDed said:
Wasim is only giving Pakistan a chance lol, nothing to be proud of considering we got bowled by Philips Santner Ajaz
Click to expand...

Ajaz and Santner are good spinners. Ajaz has a 10-fer.

Wasim is right. Pakistan can now definitely beat India on a dustbowl pitch. Sajid and Noman should be challenging.
 
Ahmed216 said:
You forgot what Sri Lanka did to same NZ side just a month ago.

For me this series started with India being over confident. It reflected in Rohit's decision to bat first in very tough conditions. 46 all out set the tone for the series with Indians under pressure.

NZ winning the toss in second and third test on turners also contributed to the whitewash.

Overall I feel Indians underperformed.
Click to expand...
It doesn't work like whose who - Kiwis drew last BD tour 1-1, was one drop away from 0-2. Kiwis lost to SRL > SRL lost to PAK > IND Lost to Kiwis > PAK lost to BD > BD lost to IND .... you see, it doesn't work that way.

SRL did nothing out of ordinary against Kiwis - they won both tosses at Gale and won the Tests. Had Kiwis batted first in both occasions, it would have been 2-0 Kiwis, or at worst 1-1 (which I doubt).
 
Wasim getting carried away. Apart from this series, Indian batsmen are fully proven on rank turner's.

Pakistan batting is levels below. The like is saim, Abdullah, Shan etc..

Pakistan will get found on rank turner's when they play sides with better batsmen.

Both sets of spinners would do well, but sorry out batting was average even in England series win.
 
sweep_shot said:
Ajaz and Santner are good spinners. Ajaz has a 10-fer.

Wasim is right. Pakistan can now definitely beat India on a dustbowl pitch. Sajid and Noman should be challenging.
Click to expand...
He is not saying definitely, he is saying there is a chance now, different words.

Also Pak had one good series and India had one horrible series, give India time to make changes as well before coming to that conclusion

And Ajaz’s 10fer India won that match but yes he is definitely the best visiting bowler in Wankhede.
 
Always possible.

I mean it’s India Pakistan, where a lot can happen. Plus India is in a weak spot right now, in terms of both current players form and the composition of the team as people near retirement.

So sure.

But I guess the main point is that fans can argue and troll each other :)
 
The Bald Eagle said:
But at home and clean sweeped, it appears you are downplaying this big anamoly that nobody foresaw
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Not downplaying our issue I’m downplaying PCT.
We were beaten by a better team but hard to believe with just one series of both countries PCT suddenly “can definitely” beat India, chance yes, so Wasim is right, but you are overplaying his words.
 
Amjid Javed said:
Wasim getting carried away. Apart from this series, Indian batsmen are fully proven on rank turner's.

Pakistan batting is levels below. The like is saim, Abdullah, Shan etc..

Pakistan will get found on rank turner's when they play sides with better batsmen.

Both sets of spinners would do well, but sorry out batting was average even in England series win.
Click to expand...
Besides, no one is considering that PAK spinners dominated Poms - that too Buzzball Poms. It's a bit different proposition to bowl against Gang Ho style sloggers on turner and a rampant Jaiswal, Pant, Sarfraz on spinning tracks.
 
MMHS said:
Besides, no one is considering that PAK spinners dominated Poms - that too Buzzball Poms. It's a bit different proposition to bowl against Gang Ho style sloggers on turner and a rampant Jaiswal, Pant, Sarfraz on spinning tracks.
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On top of that Pakistan are reliant on just 2 spinners, zahid is trash and our seamers are injured or out of favour. India have a better all round attack for the conditions.

People just getting a little carried away here.
 
Usual nonsense rubbish and lagwiyat by Wasim.

Does he has any idea that a team needs atleast 4 bowlers in Test to succeed, Pakistan are unable to field 4 genuine bowlers in Test cricket
 
MMHS said:
It doesn't work like whose who - Kiwis drew last BD tour 1-1, was one drop away from 0-2. Kiwis lost to SRL > SRL lost to PAK > IND Lost to Kiwis > PAK lost to BD > BD lost to IND .... you see, it doesn't work that way.

SRL did nothing out of ordinary against Kiwis - they won both tosses at Gale and won the Tests. Had Kiwis batted first in both occasions, it would have been 2-0 Kiwis, or at worst 1-1 (which I doubt).
Click to expand...
Kiwis scored 88 in reply to Sri Lanka's 603 declared in first innings.

They also lost the first test after taking lead
 
Ahmed216 said:
Kiwis scored 88 in reply to Sri Lanka's 603 declared in first innings.

They also lost the first test after taking lead
Click to expand...
Toss is way too overrated. This Indian team won everything in last 12 years putting the toss results completely to the side.
 
MMHS said:
Besides, no one is considering that PAK spinners dominated Poms - that too Buzzball Poms. It's a bit different proposition to bowl against Gang Ho style sloggers on turner and a rampant Jaiswal, Pant, Sarfraz on spinning tracks.
Click to expand...
Bro one thing is certain it was a big call by aqib to have spinning pitch against bazball poms would have smashed pace what do you make of that pak series win i think its kind of pak templete to win vs sena teams now like how misbah used to do back in uae and do you think pak can beat this kiwi team on spinning pitch looking for your anyalise on this.
 
Ahmed216 said:
Toss is way too overrated. This Indian team won everything in last 12 years putting the toss results completely to the side.
Click to expand...
Somewhere above I read "NZ winning the toss in second and third test on turners also contributed to the whitewash"...... but yes, India almost took toss out of equation, because they are that good at home, just like Aussies beat Poms 4-0 (should have been 5-0), with probably 1 Toss win. Toss is extremely important in Asian tracks - but yes, at times the gap between two teams can be wider enough to cover that up - MSD's India once won 4-0 against Aussies, batting in total 6 times after loosing all four tosses - that only proves that they were at different level, not because toss is overrated. One important info is that in last 25 years IICRC, IND had lost 3 or 4 Tests at home after winning the toss, including rain soaked Bangalore (which Sharma can explain better) - it's that crucial on typical Indian tracks!!!!

I know Kiwis were 88 all-out after fielding for 602-5, which can happen - after 2 days of fielding on hot & humid conditions, it's not new to collapse. But, they did score 350+ on Day 3-4 track against 500+ deficit, which was praise worthy. This sort of scores has nothing to do about the next (or previous) Test - before losing the last two Tests, Poms also scored 800+ at 5 RR to win by innings against same opponents, but different set of bowlers. India also had a 28 runs lead at Mumbai, still lost - that only tells how difficult it is to bat fourth on turning tracks and how important it is to win toss for visitors in Asia.

Kiwis were starting their cricket season at SRL after winter break - they were too raw to handle quality spin. Besides, from last year when SRL lost to PAK, there has been a major change in SRL team - they have found a 90+ average Test batsman and this guy is going to end as one of modern greats.

I think, you are overestimating PAK's batting a bit - not sure how "seem friendly" Pindi track was where first 4 days scores read 448/6d & 565 ..... but on that same track, PAK got packed for 146 against 2 finger spinners on day 5, then next Test on day 1 conceded a 5-for to Miraz - not sure if it's Miraz's bowling or PAK's batting that I should credit ..... same batting line-up taking on Ashwin, Jadeja, Sundar on far more faster, bouncier & drier Indian tracks ........ may be, I don't know, can't prove either.

Anyway, I'll still say Kiwis were almost unreal in last series and on similar tracks, they would have beaten every team 3-0 with that show & Toss. As for IND-PAK on turning tracks - depending on how many tosses PAK wins, result will swing between 5-0 or may be 4-1 ...... but again, I can't prove anything based on PAK had beaten SRL 2-0, SRL had beaten Kiwis 2-0 & then Kiwis had beaten India 3-0 (Who knows, may be SRL could have beaten IND 5-0 in a 3 Test series, in an AI simulation...)
 
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Aqib_mustafa said:
Bro one thing is certain it was a big call by aqib to have spinning pitch against bazball poms would have smashed pace what do you make of that pak series win i think its kind of pak templete to win vs sena teams now like how misbah used to do back in uae and do you think pak can beat this kiwi team on spinning pitch looking for your anyalise on this.
Click to expand...
It was so obvious that, I am not sure if I should praise Aaquib or kick ar$e of those who couldn't figure this out. Of all the teams, England is the last team against whom you should play on flat belters and ENG is the first team including BD, AFG & WIN that you should play on rank turners.

PAK can beat Kiwis on a dead turners, if they bat first - but, that wicket has to be a typical black soil wicket which is good for batting on Day 1/2 & gradually turns. This will allow PAK to post 400+ on first 4 sessions and then spinners can come in to play. PAK spinners are orthodox finger spinners - they'll need runs on the board. On rank turners - wicket that turns from ball one, I don't see full strength Kiwis loosing to PAK. Remember, they were missing Will and Shantner (for 2 Tests) in India. Now that they have an idea about the tactics, on similar tracks, they'll play three finger spinners, and couple of pace all-rounders (one of them might be Mitchel) to take shine out of new ball and pack the side with 7 batsmen including Bundel + Phillips - I don't see PAK winning or saving a Test against them.
 
MMHS said:
It was so obvious that, I am not sure if I should praise Aaquib or kick ar$e of those who couldn't figure this out. Of all the teams, England is the last team against whom you should play on flat belters and ENG is the first team including BD, AFG & WIN that you should play on rank turners.

PAK can beat Kiwis on a dead turners, if they bat first - but, that wicket has to be a typical black soil wicket which is good for batting on Day 1/2 & gradually turns. This will allow PAK to post 400+ on first 4 sessions and then spinners can come in to play. PAK spinners are orthodox finger spinners - they'll need runs on the board. On rank turners - wicket that turns from ball one, I don't see full strength Kiwis loosing to PAK. Remember, they were missing Will and Shantner (for 2 Tests) in India. Now that they have an idea about the tactics, on similar tracks, they'll play three finger spinners, and couple of pace all-rounders (one of them might be Mitchel) to take shine out of new ball and pack the side with 7 batsmen including Bundel + Phillips - I don't see PAK winning or saving a Test against them.
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Ya excellent points you made bro it was really management fault for giving flat tracks like ramiz raja did that on purpose that was the big reason pak lost all those matches.
 
MMHS said:
It was so obvious that, I am not sure if I should praise Aaquib or kick ar$e of those who couldn't figure this out. Of all the teams, England is the last team against whom you should play on flat belters and ENG is the first team including BD, AFG & WIN that you should play on rank turners.

PAK can beat Kiwis on a dead turners, if they bat first - but, that wicket has to be a typical black soil wicket which is good for batting on Day 1/2 & gradually turns. This will allow PAK to post 400+ on first 4 sessions and then spinners can come in to play. PAK spinners are orthodox finger spinners - they'll need runs on the board. On rank turners - wicket that turns from ball one, I don't see full strength Kiwis loosing to PAK. Remember, they were missing Will and Shantner (for 2 Tests) in India. Now that they have an idea about the tactics, on similar tracks, they'll play three finger spinners, and couple of pace all-rounders (one of them might be Mitchel) to take shine out of new ball and pack the side with 7 batsmen including Bundel + Phillips - I don't see PAK winning or saving a Test against them.
Click to expand...
Bro one more thing why this ramiz was such a idiot by saying i have not cracked a code of test match pitches where aqib just give us 2 good slow spin pitches does this mean ramiz was justing protecting babar by giving flat tracks on purpose? Looking for your take on this
 
Nikhil_cric said:
Yes, after 12 years , it is possible that an India in transition can be beaten by Pakistan.

Even if only hypothetically
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Yes, Pakistan is a well established side, right?

We’re in far bigger crisis than the Indian team tbh.
 
Hawkeye said:
On turning pitches it would have been an even contest even before this supposed transition IMO.
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Nope, if that would had been the case Ajaz Patel with his 10fer before wouldn’t had lost.

Kiwis are not touring first time.
 
On certain rank turners in India, Pakistan would always stand a chance, as factors like luck, the toss, time of day, and which batsmen are at the crease can make a significant difference. However, Pakistan’s real challenge over the past decade has been scoring enough runs on truer wickets and ensuring their fast bowlers maintain fitness and stamina to bowl long spells and take 20 wickets.

On rank turners, just one strong innings can sometimes mask Pakistan’s weaknesses to an extent. Yet, overall, there remains a gulf in class and experience between India and Pakistan. On truer surfaces, India is likely to come out on top
 
Hawkeye said:
On turning pitches it would have been an even contest even before this supposed transition IMO.
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I can agree if you are talking about the time when you had younis, misbah and yasir. Younis is better than any current Indian batsman against spin.
 
Typical vitriol from Pakistan.

Pakistan will not even beat India’s C team regardless of what pitch they play at. The gap between the two teams is that vast.

Pakistan won two tests at home after many years and all of a sudden this meek team is being overhyped.
 
Noman and Sajid are miles ahead of Ajaz and Phillips.
Ajaz struggled on a turner in Pune and was only effective on a Wankhede minefield where the ball turned 5 degrees on average.
Who knows what Noman and Sajid would've done on that pitch.

Pakistan's batters wouldn't have a chance of surviving though.
 
He was telling me about this personally when he came to Toronto this year! It’s his opinion I didn’t have anything negative to say. He also said he is convincing via media to bring 2 countries closer so they can play a test match.
 
I think India always underestimate NZ and they pay for that... They don't seem to prepare well against them as they do when playing against Australia, England (and even South Africa, also WI in the past)... Even when they tour NZ, they don't make proper preparations... It is time they take NZ seriously. NZ are smarter than Australia & England when it comes to playing against India... They hunt in packs like Hyenas, they are not a team like Australia/England where you can target some top players & put pressure on rest... So this defeat should be a huge wakeup call...
 
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