Pakistan should simply be ashamed of their cricket approach

[Energy]

Pakistan management, skipper and the batters should be ashamed of putting this mediocre performance against Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe, who continously fielded poorly, bowled only fairly, and gifted runs and also their wickets while batting. There was no scoreboard pressure and this is what our pathetic batting mustered. Bailed out by the bowlers.

I have seen many timid Pakistan teams in the past and this one is right up there make no mistake about it. Absolutely timid and no batter even thinking of imposing themselves. Defensive to the core. The whole approach is deeply defensive. And the attack minded players lack a brain, they're just plain stupid sloggers with no game awareness.

It's a tale of 2 extreme idiotic approaches combined.

Disappointed and embarrassed as a Pakistan cricket fan.

 

[shane]

The approach seems to be to always take the match to the final over, regardless of how easy the win should be. It's remarkable that they win as many matches as they do.

 

[Shafi]

Told you. We will loose 2 of Africa, Zim/BD match. Both Shaheen and Babar are over-hyped and talk to highly of themselves.

 

[shah_1]

Babar is a weak leader

He aspires no confidence, he always goes missing when the team needs him.

 

[SalimBhai]

That’s a terrible defeat. Terrible management , terrible leadership. It seems they have no drive . Some other distraction????

 

[sivanand82]

It is time to make Shadab the captain and releive Babar.or May Rizwan can be considered as well

 

[shane]

People seem to assume that Pakistani batsmen would be capable of the England-style batting of just whacking everything. In my view, the reason Pakistan adopts the batting approach it does is because they know that their batsmen are not good enough to hit sixes. This has proven to be the case. Every time they try and change tempo, they get out.

Sad reality is that a cricket-mad country of 200-million people cannot produce a quality batsman.

 

[Champ_Pal]

Pakistan could have won this had they sent Shaheen a head of Wasim.

Wasim jr is a proper No.11.

 

[pakistanigoneaussie]

People have been shouting this for ages, it was so predictable.

We start every damm batting innings on the backfoot, regardless of oppistion or context. You can get away with that batting first in the UAE but otherwise more often than nought it will cost you.


The sheer arrogance of Babar, Rizwan and the coaching stuff to think that they are right even though no other team on this planet goes out with the intention to bat like they do.


The issue is that this will only make them dig in and bat slower. Yes our middle order is crap, but more is expected of them than any other middle order in cricket


I cant belive im paying to watch this crap

All the glory to Zimbabwe

 

[greatest]

There is no solution for Pakistan cricket. Full Stop!

 

[msb314]

Babar, Rizwan, SSA, Haider, Haris, Nawaz - you all need to GO!

Mentally unfit, unprepared and incompetent - these players need to retire from T20’s TONIGHT!

Frankly not good enough and chokers of the highest orders.

Shameful, Shameful display tonight..

 

[Anwar_194]

Then we need batsman that can hit. Time to get new players in.

 

[Asif321]

Totally pathetic . Lowest point of Pakistan t20 history .
Very few posters were pointing out the problems with our openers etc but we all were scammed by their stats . Today all has been exposed . I can’t believe my eyes to see Pakistan go so down .

 

[Champ_Pal]

Knee jerk.

 

[Savak]

Pakistan's lack of technique on the Perth Wicket was brutally exposed today. Could not do anything against the heavy balls banged into the middle of the wicket by the Zimbabwe bowlers. Not sure what Yousaf and Hayden do with these batsmen in the nets.

 

[AamchiMumbaikar]

Lost on the last ball twice in a row.

However weather and bounce in Perth played a part in todays loss

 

[castortroy]

Stop touring Australia.

Not been able to deal with pace and bounce for 20 years

 

[greatest]

Then we need batsman that can hit. Time to get new players in.

New or old players...no one is going to make a difference. The reason is simple...we lack mental toughness. Now matter how talented you are at the top level it's all about being mentally strong and handling pressure. Sadly, we don't have a culture which puts emphasis on this.

 

[Mamoon]

I’m lovin’ it )

 

[Asif321]

It is time to make Shadab the captain and releive Babar.or May Rizwan can be considered as well

Enough of these stats player . If they really care for team babar and Rizwan should have been batting at 3 and 4 . With proper openers . But they have their ego and arrogance

 

[ask_analyse_act]

It is time to make Shadab the captain and releive Babar.or May Rizwan can be considered as well

He is another joke, who cant bat for himself to save his place even.. lol...

Such mediocre bunch lead by mediocre leader , no other options...

 

[Asif321]

Mentally unfit, unprepared and incompetent - these players need to retire from T20’s TONIGHT!

Frankly not good enough and chokers of the highest orders.

Shameful, Shameful display tonight..

All our bowlers have been good . It’s batting specially with our intent which starts from openers

 

[JibranAnsari]

its usuall bull , nothing unusual.

 

[Technics 1210]

Pakistan yet to win a T20i in Australia.

Beyond embarrassing.

Babar must stand down as Captain and Opener.

Rizwan, well, no words for this guy.

Well-done Zimbabwe, you deserve this victory.

 

[CricketAnalyst]

Pakistan paid dearly despite being one of the best sides.

The quality in this squad is stronger than all but let's go over the decision making.

1) Against India, they made Nawaz bowl the last over and do medium pace. Based on this sample size of 1, a consistent spin bowler is made to stop bowling. To compensate for this the specialist finisher of the side is dropped for an extra bowler.

Ok. Here skill saves Pakistan and the replacement bowler bowls heat and does superbly.

2) Shaheen Shah Afridi is clearly not 100%. This is fine if you're a weak bowling side. Pakistan is not. Why not just rest him? This is not a knock-out game. He bowled at 50% and it was obvious. He's bowling after powerplay. For all practical purposes he was the 5th bowler today and Babar recognized it. So effectively, you've taken a long term great bowler, played him at 50% health, treated him as the 5th bowler and given no overs to the consistent Nawaz. And for this the specialist finisher has been dropped.

3) The result, Pakistan's entire order except Shadab and Masood choke and you're left with a chase tailor-made for the finisher Asif Ali who was dropped based on sample size of 1 game.

Ok Shadab played well, but can someone explain why a fast-scoring specialist hitter like Haider Ali comes behind an all-rounder more used to batting lower down? Why is Haider Ali even ranked ahead of Asif Ali if he's playing as a finisher? He's extremely inconsistent and not good under pressure, which showed here as it has all year.

Pakistan has so much quality but the lack of someone in charge who understands the format and can calmly and authoritatively make decisions is costing the team. Maybe this is why only Imran Khan won a World Cup.

 

[Local.Dada]

This Pakistan team has enough fire power to beat teams like Ind, Aus, Eng, SA, Nzl on their day.

They also have enough bits and pieces cricketer to choke against lesser teams.

Why are you guys acting so surprised, isn’t this unpredictability something you take pride in.

Having said that tournament still not over for Pakistan. The Zim-SA washout has kept them afloat.

 

[msb314]

Cricket is just a microcosm of our society - just look at our economy and you’ll understand why we are struggling in eveything…

 

[ask_analyse_act]

I’m lovin’ it )

Me too.. Enough of this Happy heart , Asif Ali, Ifthi chacha, Danish Aziz , and who else they have lol..

Bunch of gully cricketers...

 

[SpiritOf1903]

Half the team a walking wicket

 

[Shafi]

Ramiz needs to be sacked for persisting with fraud like Saqlain/Yousuf/Majed......and over-hyped Babar as captain.

 

[Savak]

Taking out of form players to the big stage i.e. Haider Ali, Asif Ali, Iftikhar and with inconsistent batsmen like Babar, this was going to be a recipe for disaster

 

[Reham.ch]

Pathetic cricket

Don't board members of pakistan understand the kind of cricket prevailing in t20s, when we the common people understand the kind of old cricket pakistani is playing, so where is the problem
Thinking or system?

 

[greatest]

Me too.. Enough of this Happy heart , Asif Ali, Ifthi chacha, Danish Aziz , and who else they have lol..

Bunch of gully cricketers...

Wait for more fun against Netherlands!

 

[Shafi]

This Pakistan team has enough fire power to beat teams like Ind, Aus, Eng, SA, Nzl on their day.



Having said that tournament still not over for Pakistan. The Zim-SA washout has kept them afloat.

Nice sarcasm!!
We will loose against S Africa and may be BD as well.

 

[Shafi]

This Pakistan team has enough fire power to beat teams like Ind, Aus, Eng, SA, Nzl on their day.



Having said that tournament still not over for Pakistan. The Zim-SA washout has kept them afloat.

Nice sarcasm!!
We will loose against S Africa and may be BD as well.

 

[Kianig89]

More than performance it's the planning and methodology which is costing us Saqi & Moyo should be left there to swim across the Atlantic and reach back home and what a stain on Hayden' CV

 

[WCWinnerPakistan2019]

Barish hoti hai, barish nhi hoti hai....
Toofan aata hai, toofaan jaata hai....
WC jaata hai tou phir aata hai...

This is nature

 

[jattafridi]

Australia is unlucky for Pakistan

Who cares t20 World Cup

Real World Cup is next year

 

[Rohan]

Not comparing with anyone but no game awareness at all especially look at Shadab’s shot in the given situation. Let alone VK, not even at the level of Pandya et al

 

[faisaltep]

I think India had actually knocked them out with such a heavy punch that they were still in a state of dizziness

 

[zaidihusain]

This humiliation is because of arrogance and adamant approach adopted by Baber & Rizwan. They have played almost every single game as an opener and didn't let anyone come above them to show talent. Rizwan was forcefully rested only in 2 matches when he was injured, 1 in Eng series and 1 in NZ tri series. These 2 think they are above the team and beyond scrutiny

 

[asfandyar]

More than approach, there is a serious dearth of talent. Only Babar and Rizwan are half decent. Rest are just mediocre. Even the upcoming "serious" talent will be found out when they face international bowlers. The fluke wins made us believe we were invincible.

That said, nothing will change. Pakistan was knocked out by Ireland in 2007 world cup, and nothing changed. Ultimately, it boils down to the dishonorable nation that makes compromises on integrity and hard work in every walk of life in order to win and be more competitive, but ends up being humiliated. Still doesn't learn and blames all sorts of conspiracies for its failures.

 

[reversehook]

Heard a guy extremely disgusted by the team saying "can we bring them back via malaysian airlines with a stoppage in Kenya?"

 

[Mamoon]

India has developed a mental block against Pakistan after the WT20 2021 fluke. We have become their bogey team of sorts.

Once they regain their composure against us, normal business will resume and they will start whacking us again.

 

[CricFan2012]

Pakistani fans are the most knee jerk, reactionary and emotional fans in the game.

Yes, Babar and Rizwan have failed horribly in these two matches so far. Yes, our batting approach is slow.

But they are our two best batsmen, our middle and lower order pale in comparison, and when these two fail (rarely) that much becomes even more obvious.

Babar in particular hasn't been that good this year, unfortunately that coincided with the World Cup, but he's the type of cricketer who will work hard and come good more often than not.

Rizwan is always consistent, dont let these two bad performances hide the fact that he's the backbone of the team.

I doubt Pakistan have hard hitting consistent batsmen in the squad or back at home so we have to do with what we have.

We need to replace Nawaz with Imad. Nawaz isn't bad, its just that Imad has always been consistently economic and we are missing that sorely.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Pakistan's lack of technique on the Perth Wicket was brutally exposed today. Could not do anything against the heavy balls banged into the middle of the wicket by the Zimbabwe bowlers. Not sure what Yousaf and Hayden do with these batsmen in the nets.

Cricviz clearly outline what it takes to beat pakistan. it will work every time in Australian faster grounds.

https://www.cricviz.com/how-to-beat-pakistan/

 

[chinaman00]

The India defeat has done a real number on the psyche of the Pakistani players.

You can hide pathetic coaches, pathetic selectors, pathetic approach and pathetic squad with the dead pitches of UAE and Pakistan, but ultimately you will be exposed for the farce you are.

As MSB314 said, Pakistan cricket is a microcosm of Pakistan. The lack of professionalism, favoritism, unaccountability, superstitions and believe in miracles instead of hard work we see in Pakistani society is best expressed by the Pakistani cricket team.

Even at its peak in the 1990s, Pakistan cricket never produced a professional team. They relied on individual brilliances and miracles to win and went incognito on every big stage.

Phil Simmons resigned after his side’s shambolic disqualification. Don’t get on any resignations or accountability after this defeat. Only more panic and fake speeches.

 

[Local.Dada]

India has developed a mental block against Pakistan after the WT20 2021 fluke. We have become their bogey team of sorts.

Once they regain their composure against us, normal business will resume and they will start whacking us again.

2-2 is not a mental block. They did look scared against Shaheen early on that’s about it.

In Dubai or in sc the difference between India and Pakistan is marginal. Outside Sc India has the edge.

Having said that Pakistan is not some minnow, they are a very good team that can beat big teams on their day but also have enough flaws to lose to minnows. They are somewhere between Nzl and WI. Mercurial hacks like WI and some amount of right basics like Nzl.

 

[asarkar]

The leadership group needs a serious introspection to its strategy. This is not a typical t20 world cup where you’ll smash lower ranked team. The batters should assess the condition first before going for the shots. Babar and Rizwan can play 3 and 4, respectively. That way, they can maximize their potential in this tournament. The coach and the mentor(along with the whole leadership group) should be accountable for this loss.

 

[msb314]

All our bowlers have been good . It’s batting specially with our intent which starts from openers

That’s your opinion but we lost against India due to SSA and Haris

 

[JibranAnsari]

pakistan was depending mostly on the opening pair but little did the management knew that there are pitches in the world where ball bounces above the kneeroll so rizwan is as good as a tailender on these pitches. Babar is casual and probably out of form too. There is no reasonable batsman after that.

We need to accept that we lacked preparation for the world cup and played whole year with the players thinking that we were gonna play in uae.

 

[DHONI183]

What a shocker of a result! To be honest, it feels rather embarrassing to be admitting this, but when once Zimbabwe crossed the 120-run mark, I said to my brother-in-law, that the problem with this batting line-up is, that any score is a challenging score the moment the required run-rate goes above six at any stage of the innings; and that's exactly what happened today.

The score was converted into an 145-ish score thanks to the conservative batting by the top-order in the first three-four overs, and that's the issue which Pakistan must address in T20I cricket. If only one of them had batted a little aggressively, and had the shots paid off, the target would've right away looked like a below 120 score. That's the nature of T20 cricket, and that's how it's supposed to be played. This Pakistan team tries to change the nature of the game itself, and ends up paying heavily for it.

In my opinion, the deciding delivery of the match was the fourth of the last over. A rather pacy one which Nawaz completely missed, and it immediately put him under pressure to absolutely go for a boundary - and it didn't happen, in the end, of course.

There's still a hope of Pakistan qualifying for the Semi-finals, but a lot of things must go right for Pakistan, and wrong for South Africa, for that to happen. As always, for the time being, it's back to the prayer matt for the Pakistan fans - something which they've got pretty used to since quite a few years now.

Congratulations to Zimbabwe! They were brilliant today.

 

[dodo.2k]

Nice article !

 

[cricketjoshila]

The bounce and pace on these early season Aussie wickets have taken a lot of teams by surprise.

 

[topspin]

Totally pathetic . Lowest point of Pakistan t20 history .
Very few posters were pointing out the problems with our openers etc but we all were scammed by their stats . Today all has been exposed . I can’t believe my eyes to see Pakistan go so down .

Bang on.

Babar and Rizwan have been coasting against B and C string sides in meaningless bilateral games.

It's amazing how many Pakistan fans had their heads in the clouds after that 10 wicket win against a very weak England side. The green tinted hype brigade got so carried away, they were saying things like "where are the Babar/Rizwan critics hiding?" It was as if the Asia Cup never happened.

Well today they've finally woken up.

 

[Mamoon]

2-2 is not a mental block. They did look scared against Shaheen early on that’s about it.

In Dubai or in sc the difference between India and Pakistan is marginal. Outside Sc India has the edge.

Having said that Pakistan is not some minnow, they are a very good team that can beat big teams on their day but also have enough flaws to lose to minnows. They are somewhere between Nzl and WI. Mercurial hacks like WI and some amount of right basics like Nzl.

It is a mental block when you consider the fact that India is light years ahead of Pakistan. They are much better than being 2-2 with Pakistan.

India should be thrashing Pakistan with ease 9/10 times. A 2-2 scoreline indicates two evenly matched sides but that is not case at all.

 

[msb314]

The India defeat has done a real number on the psyche of the Pakistani players.

You can hide pathetic coaches, pathetic selectors, pathetic approach and pathetic squad with the dead pitches of UAE and Pakistan, but ultimately you will be exposed for the farce you are.

As MSB314 said, Pakistan cricket is a microcosm of Pakistan. The lack of professionalism, favoritism, unaccountability, superstitions and believe in miracles instead of hard work we see in Pakistani society is best expressed by the Pakistani cricket team.

Even at its peak in the 1990s, Pakistan cricket never produced a professional team. They relied on individual brilliances and miracles to win and went incognito on every big stage.

Phil Simmons resigned after his side’s shambolic disqualification. Don’t get on any resignations or accountability after this defeat. Only more panic and fake speeches.

Thank you and well said

 

[Rana]

Didn’t want to say I told you so….

But, I TOLD YOU SO!

 

[IMMY69]

I said this after the Asia Cuo and will say it again.
There is simply nothing you can do about a lack of IQ and we seem to have multiple players that are devoid of this as well as the coaches / management.

Until and unless you change the captain, coach and chief selector the team will continue to delivery dross

 

[Suleiman]

Reality finally hits Pak fans.

But but but… we should trust Rizwan/Babar because they are ranked 1 and 3 in t20s no??

Lol. Most already saw this coming due to our draconian approach to t20 batting compared to everyone else.

Epic Zimbabwe-Pakistan rivalry continues.

 

[TheSultan]

They couldn't get bat on ball. The only reason this was close was because of a few top edges for four. Zimbabwe were the better side throughout. The knew what length to bowl on this pitch and the openers gave a solid start. Shaheen and to a lesser extent Naseem started the innings bowling floating half volleys on the fastest pitch in the world - think how costly those 20 odd runs were.

Zimbabwe were clearly the better team and that in itself is an indictment to our cricket.

Babar and Rizwan can drool over their stats and cut a cake

 

[JaDed]

I don't even get how SSA was allowed to come out for that last delivery , Naseem had smacked Afghans and Rauf was clearly better than semi fit SSA, it was bonkers even for PCT management.

 

[Madplayer]

This is a debacle that should have the entire PCB administration fired.

Rameez should go and so should the chief selector.

Tough and uncompromising choices have to be made NOT regarding the team selection BUT regarding the brand of cricket Pakistan wants to play.

 

[IMMY69]

I don't even get how SSA was allowed to come out for that last delivery , Naseem had smacked Afghans and Rauf was clearly better than semi fit SSA, it was bonkers even for PCT management.

Yep, also no way he was going to able run two quickly with his dodgy knee..
Brainless

 

[muqarrab]

Pakistan management, skipper and the batters should be ashamed of putting this mediocre performance against Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe, who continously fielded poorly, bowled only fairly, and gifted runs and also their wickets while batting. There was no scoreboard pressure and this is what our pathetic batting mustered. Bailed out by the bowlers.

I have seen many timid Pakistan teams in the past and this one is right up there make no mistake about it. Absolutely timid and no batter even thinking of imposing themselves. Defensive to the core. The whole approach is deeply defensive. And the attack minded players lack a brain, they're just plain stupid sloggers with no game awareness.

It's a tale of 2 extreme idiotic approaches combined.

Disappointed and embarrassed as a Pakistan cricket fan.

We have carried a freeloader like Saqlian for a year now, he is ayes man to babar and doesn't challenge him. Blame lies with people who appointed Saqlain and with Saqlain.

 

[Energy]

28 off 8. Bowlers could not defend.

3 off 3. Batters could not even score 2 to tie.

And then there's the pep talks. Weak minds rely on empty pep talks.

 

[Kriketer]

Mentally unfit, unprepared and incompetent - these players need to retire from T20’s TONIGHT!

Frankly not good enough and chokers of the highest orders.

Shameful, Shameful display tonight..

Thats just a knee jerk reaction. Pakistan's opening is questionable at times, and middle order sure is shameful but doesn't mean Pakistan has been a bad team. They have been a pretty good T20 team. Game against India was a really good fight and this Zimbabwe one turned out to be a shameful one but that happens. Doesn't mean we go up in arms against the team.

Just need a consistent middle order which fires more than falls flat and we will have a formidable side.

 

[RexRex]

Yep, also no way he was going to able run two quickly with his dodgy knee..
Brainless

Afridi played good shots vs India. Probably thinking about a boundary frm him today.

 

[Kriketer]

Reality finally hits Pak fans.

But but but… we should trust Rizwan/Babar because they are ranked 1 and 3 in t20s no??

Lol. Most already saw this coming due to our draconian approach to t20 batting compared to everyone else.

Epic Zimbabwe-Pakistan rivalry continues.

Rizwan/Babar openeing didn't lose this game. They have done well mostly and can't be expected to click all the time. Middle order should have done the job. Majority of Pakistan's wins in last 2 years have mostly been due to our openers

 

[Champ_Pal]

28 off 8. Bowlers could not defend.

3 off 3. Batters could not even score 2 to tie.

And then there's the pep talks. Weak minds rely on empty pep talks.

3 off 3 is hard to digest. Bowlers can go plenty at the death. Not unusual.

T20 is a batsman's game and not being to score 3 off 3 is unacceptable.

 

[Suleiman]

Rizwan/Babar openeing didn't lose this game. They have done well mostly and can't be expected to click all the time. Middle order should have done the job. Majority of Pakistan's wins in last 2 years have mostly been due to our openers

)

Good one.

Openers flopped Vs India, and flopped today.

World Cup t20 matches matter the most. Their rankings and stats are worth Jack **** if this is how they operate in the first 2 games of a World Cup where the team is heading for a group stage exit.

Middle order is poor but at least fired Vs a high pressure game Vs India.

Riz Bab pair so far only looks good for 1 or 2 bilateral t20 games no one will remember.

 

[Savak]

Thats just a knee jerk reaction. Pakistan's opening is questionable at times, and middle order sure is shameful but doesn't mean Pakistan has been a bad team. They have been a pretty good T20 team. Game against India was a really good fight and this Zimbabwe one turned out to be a shameful one but that happens. Doesn't mean we go up in arms against the team.

Just need a consistent middle order which fires more than falls flat and we will have a formidable side.

You can only support a misfiring team for so long.

This middle order has not performed consistently and reasonably for the last 2 months and in a stretch of 20 games, any other country would have sacked these players long ago and replaced them with inform players.

What Pakistan actually needs is a competent captain who can make competent decisions on the field and can make competent team selections. The captain Babar Azam is primarily responsible for this debacle as it is his decisions which have hurt the team and he goes missing in vital games.

 

[sam_ahm]

Will Ramiz Raja be 'organizing' some series against Zimbabwe now??? or may be this time Zimbabwe will say "No"

 

[pillionrider]

I think the Pak fielder awkwardly dropping the catch couple metres inside the boundary because he thought he was right on the fence and Shaheen jogging towards a ball trickling to the boundary were the highlights for me.

 

[Kroll]

Think it was [MENTION=154144]TheSultan[/MENTION] who said we just don't kill teams off when we have the chance or ruthless and there was a thread that even if we play minnows we always bring ourselves down to their level making it close games.

Both absolutely spot on.

 

[asarkar]

Forget everything for a moment, but how on earth you couldn't score 3 out of 3? It was a common sense to time the ball instead of slogging it. Wondering what the thought process was?

 

[shamaan]

I think the Pak fielder awkwardly dropping the catch couple metres inside the boundary because he thought he was right on the fence and Shaheen jogging towards a ball trickling to the boundary were the highlights for me.

Zimbabwe outfielded Pakistan thier ground fielding was outstanding.

 

[Savak]

Forget everything for a moment, but how on earth you couldn't score 3 out of 3? It was a common sense to time the ball instead of slogging it. Wondering what the thought process was?

Unfortunately in this situation, one dot ball creates massive pressure. Zimbabwe were smart enough to stick to the hard back of a length short pitched strategy.

 

[sivanand82]

He will oraganise Junior t20 series with Zimbabwe and pak teams and try to make money of it.

 

[shamaan]

Pakistan paid dearly despite being one of the best sides.

The quality in this squad is stronger than all but let's go over the decision making.

1) Against India, they made Nawaz bowl the last over and do medium pace. Based on this sample size of 1, a consistent spin bowler is made to stop bowling. To compensate for this the specialist finisher of the side is dropped for an extra bowler.

Ok. Here skill saves Pakistan and the replacement bowler bowls heat and does superbly.

2) Shaheen Shah Afridi is clearly not 100%. This is fine if you're a weak bowling side. Pakistan is not. Why not just rest him? This is not a knock-out game. He bowled at 50% and it was obvious. He's bowling after powerplay. For all practical purposes he was the 5th bowler today and Babar recognized it. So effectively, you've taken a long term great bowler, played him at 50% health, treated him as the 5th bowler and given no overs to the consistent Nawaz. And for this the specialist finisher has been dropped.

3) The result, Pakistan's entire order except Shadab and Masood choke and you're left with a chase tailor-made for the finisher Asif Ali who was dropped based on sample size of 1 game.

Ok Shadab played well, but can someone explain why a fast-scoring specialist hitter like Haider Ali comes behind an all-rounder more used to batting lower down? Why is Haider Ali even ranked ahead of Asif Ali if he's playing as a finisher? He's extremely inconsistent and not good under pressure, which showed here as it has all year.

Pakistan has so much quality but the lack of someone in charge who understands the format and can calmly and authoritatively make decisions is costing the team. Maybe this is why only Imran Khan won a World Cup.

Shadab lost them the game this is brainless shot.