Pakistan vs Afghanistan| Asia Cup 2014 | Fatullah | 27/2/2014| Pre Game Discussion

[Kianig89]

The tournament's format is non-stop and Pakistan will have to pick themselves up for this game, Afghanistan gave us a good fight in a T20 in UAE last year.

Our Team combination has to be sorted unless there will be more embarrassment on our way. Ideally i want to drop Afridi but ground reality is he is the first name on team sheet.

Here are some of my combinations

1.Shehzad 2.Hafeez 3.Maqsood 4.Misbah 5.Fawad 6.Akmal 7.Anwar 8.Afridi.9.Saeed 10.Gul.11.Junaid

OR

1.Shehzad 2.Sharjeel 3.Hafeez 4.Maqsood 5.Misbah 6.Akmal 7.Anwar 8.Afridi.9.Saeed 10.Gul.11.Junaid

OR

1.Shehzad 2.Sharjeel 3.Hafeez 4.Maqsood5.Misbah6.Fawadl7.Akmal8.Anwar*9.Rehman* 10.Talha*11.Junaid

+Rest Gul Afridi n Ajmal
I think Option 1 looks more realistic

 

[96NotOut]

Sharjeel looked pretty good, it would be unfair to kick him out. I'd go with the same team, but Anwar in for Afridi.

 

[razabbas]

on these type of surfaces sharjeel is good give him full shot in asia cup

We still have pretty good chance to quailfy because the match vs SL was very close so no issue of Net run rate

We just have to win against India, and india are damn low in confdnc middle order not ssettled new captain and bowling as always useless

If we lose against this india team then surely we dont deserve to play final of asia cup

 

[Adil_94]

Expect Hafeez to get a big daddy hundred 150 coming up

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[Madplayer]

i dont see many changes. They will go with the same team. Yeah if anything they will bring in anwar for bhatti , thats about it.

 

[ChaudrySaab]

Shehzad
Sharjeel
Fawad (no other choice)
Maqsood
Misbah (C)
Akmal (WK)
Hafeez
Afridi
Gul
Ajmal
Junaid

Hafeez, Shehzad, Maqsood and Fawad can share the fifth bowler's quota.

 

[Asif321]

1 change Anu in for Billawal

 

[Sam18696]

Why do Banglas make such phatta wickets? Game's not interesting if there is nothing for the bowlers

Anyway. I think Anwar will be smacked around more than Bhatti so I think we should go with the same team except bhatti at 7 and afridi at 8

 

[bigdaddymiandad]

Afghanistan will win the Asia cup.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Sharjeel looked pretty good, it would be unfair to kick him out. I'd go with the same team, but Anwar in for Afridi.

Same here. Afridi is a better bowler, but we need batsmen more and Ali looks like he can bat properly.

 

[King Cobra]

Mohammed Bradman Hafeez to get a mammoth ton , followed by a match winning 6fer by Shahid " Sobers " Afridi.

 

[mussu-100]

Mohammed Bradman Hafeez to get a mammoth ton , followed by a match winning 6fer by Shahid " Sobers " Afridi.

These comments really make me question our priorities. Would you rather that they don't do well and we lose?

 

[EarthBoltX]

These comments really make me question our priorities. Would you rather that they don't do well and we lose?

The Hafeez comments were plentiful enough prior to the Sri Lanka game too.

 

[hur rizvi]

Afghanistan are dangerous, dont take them easy, we should not be resting Ajmal and Gul

 

[saiyan0312]

We shouldnt take them easy. We need to win this with a bonus point. So those afridi sixfers and hafeez hundreds will be needed alot.

 

[bigdaddymiandad]

Mohamed Nabi will score a century and pick up five wickets.

 

[Madplayer]

Mohamed Nabi will score a century and pick up five wickets.

and also save the world?

 

[Asif321]

Afghans are not that easy to beat , they will fight hard they have better fast bowlers then Bangladesh and Srilanka Hamid Hassan ,Shapoor and Dawlat
Pakistan can collapse if under pressure

 

[Misia]

Shehzad
Sharjeel
Maqsood
Umer
Misbah (C)
Fawad
Hafeez
Anwar/Bhutti
Gul
Ajmal
Junaid

 

[Smbhayi]

first win toss and bat first..

 

[Sherlock]

The pitches are so dry in Bangladesh that batting first will be the priority through this series.

Afghanistan are a very handy team and play with so much passion.

 

[menace2society]

Shehzad
Sharjeel
Hafeez
Alam
Misbah
Umar Akmal
Afridi
Gul
Ajmal
Talha
Junaid

Maqsood's poor performances in the middle order cannot be tolerated. He needs to go away and practice in pointless bilateral series with a minnow before playing in a tourney.

We need Alam for middle order stability.

 

[MSHKing]

on these type of surfaces sharjeel is good give him full shot in asia cup

We still have pretty good chance to quailfy because the match vs SL was very close so no issue of Net run rate

We just have to win against India, and india are damn low in confdnc middle order not ssettled new captain and bowling as always useless

If we lose against this india team then surely we dont deserve to play final of asia cup

I agree about Sharjeel Khan.
Net Run Rate is not really important in this tournament, points are important. If two teams will have same point then decider will be head to head match. Whoever won that game will granted to play final. Remember????

Expect Hafeez to get a big daddy hundred 150 coming up

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I hope so.

Afghanistan will win the Asia cup.

In your dreams. Go back to sleep.

first win toss and bat first..

I would suggest bat second, and chase down in under 40 overs to get bonus point.

Shehzad
Sharjeel
Hafeez
Alam
Misbah
Umar Akmal
Afridi
Gul
Ajmal
Talha
Junaid

Maqsood's poor performances in the middle order cannot be tolerated. He needs to go away and practice in pointless bilateral series with a minnow before playing in a tourney.

We need Alam for middle order stability.

Shoaib is a match winner. You cannot kick him out simply because of one failure. He is for the future.

 

[London_Lahori]

Same team, everyone deserves another go.

How's Fawad Alam's bowling now?

 

[Shoaib Akhtar's Fan]

Must win game. Should be an interesting match. I hope sense prevails among the management and Fawad Alam is given a chance in Bhatti's place. Need to strengthen our batting.

 

[Adil_94]

Sharjeel will do well and so will Hafeez expecting Anwars record to get broken by Professor Afridi to get 10fer setting yet another record :Sachin

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[Adil_94]

Shehzads pathetic start 1 off 20 forced Sharjeel to hit out vs SL he was smashing Lankans before he got out if Shehzad scored even at 80 S/R Sharjeel on that Phatta would've got a quick 50

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[AFG_Brit]

Its gona be a good game.. i want pakistan to reach the final and also want afghanistsn to win tomorrow! I will be supporting both teams.. i hope its a tie

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[Energetic]

AFG batting has improved a lot now and play fearless Cricket. Pakistan lose this and they are

 

[asifp]

they need to put Fawad in the team

 

[Extreme Pace]

My 11

1. Ahmed Shezad
2. Sharjeel Khan
3. Mohammed Hafeez
4. Sohaib Maqsood
5. Misbah-ul-Haq
6. Umar Akmal
7. Anwar Ali
8. Shahid Afridi
9. Umar Gul
10. Saeed Ajmal
11. Mohammed Talha
(Resting Junaid for this game, dropping Bhatti for Anwar)

 

[London_Lahori]

Shehzads pathetic start 1 off 20 forced Sharjeel to hit out vs SL he was smashing Lankans before he got out if Shehzad scored even at 80 S/R Sharjeel on that Phatta would've got a quick 50

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That's what I was thinking when looking at the score in cricinfo lol.

Shehzad needs to rotate the strike better before he gets his eye in.

 

[London_Lahori]

You could easily bring Fawad in for Bhatti in this game as Fawad could give you 4/5 overs.

Issue is, where do you bat Fawad?

 

[Canistani Hero]

Pakistan have decided to field an unchanged eleven.

 

[Canistani Hero]

Misbah-ul-Haq has struck four fifties in the last seven matches, all of which Pakistan ended up losing.

Here's hoping he gets a 49

 

[Adil_94]

Re: Pakistan vs Afghanistan| Asia Cup 2014 | Fatullah | 27/2/2014| Pre Game Discussio

That's what I was thinking when looking at the score in cricinfo lol.

Shehzad needs to rotate the strike better before he gets his eye in.

Shehzad plays some magnificent shots but that's all he does he hits one Sachin Style Cover drive then he doesn't score for the rest of the over if someone taught him how to rotate the strike he would be a top class Opener

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[Canistani Hero]

Well, it should be obvious by now, to anybody with an iota of cricketing intellect that Shehzad is playing according to his role. These are very clear cut instructions from the think-tank - Sharjeel will attack, he is the aggressor, he will capitalize on the power play. You - Ahmed, take your time, build your innings, don't throw your wicket away, we don't want both openers going out swinging and having a 28/2 after 2 overs.

 

[London_Lahori]

Well, it should be obvious by now, to anybody with an iota of cricketing intellect that Shehzad is playing according to his role. These are very clear cut instructions from the think-tank - Sharjeel will attack, he is the aggressor, he will capitalize on the power play. You - Ahmed, take your time, build your innings, don't throw your wicket away, we don't want both openers going out swinging and having a 28/2 after 2 overs.

Don't want him to swing his bat, he plays some gorgeous cricket shots and his roll should be too bat long and big. Just wish he'd rotate the strike in his first 15-20 balls. Would help him and the team.

 

[London_Lahori]

Shehzad plays some magnificent shots but that's all he does he hits one Sachin Style Cover drive then he doesn't score for the rest of the over if someone taught him how to rotate the strike he would be a top class Opener

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That's exactly it, he'd benefit big time from being able to rotate strike more. Has the talent and work ethic to be our best opener for a long time.

 

[Canistani Hero]

Don't want him to swing his bat, he plays some gorgeous cricket shots and his roll should be too bat long and big. Just wish he'd rotate the strike in his first 15-20 balls. Would help him and the team.

I couldn't agree more but you have to understand there's this fear of getting out early. He has been told, very explicitly, Ahmed - your role is to 'negate the new ball', if you get out early, you have failed the team. Even if you get to 10 (30), you would have negated the new ball and you have done a great job, this means your middle order won't have to be pressurized by the new ball and can accelerate easily (which rarely happens by the way ) and Ahmed, you are a gifted stroke player, you have all the shots in the books, you can accelerate at any time, you can still finish off with 65 (75).

 

[Adil_94]

Re: Pakistan vs Afghanistan| Asia Cup 2014 | Fatullah | 27/2/2014| Pre Game Discussio

That's exactly it, he'd benefit big time from being able to rotate strike more. Has the talent and work ethic to be our best opener for a long time.

If Shehzad was Indian he would've been a 40+ averaging opener by now he has all the shots in the book but his strike rotation is not good enough at this level hopefully Zaheer Abbas can teach him this

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[London_Lahori]

I couldn't agree more but you have to understand there's this fear of getting out early. He has been told, very explicitly, Ahmed - your role is to 'negate the new ball', if you get out early, you have failed the team. Even if you get to 10 (30), you would have negated the new ball and you have done a great job, this means your middle order won't have to be pressurized by the new ball and can accelerate easily (which rarely happens by the way ) and Ahmed, you are a gifted stroke player, you have all the shots in the books, you can accelerate at any time, you can still finish off with 65 (75).

That is what he is most probably being told, though I also think he tries to secure a score early in a series/tournament so as to play with freedom later on. He then has a good score to fall back on.

 

[London_Lahori]

Shehzad has only ever played 1 game against India right? That was the T20 warm up in the UK in 2009, I think.

 

[London_Lahori]

If Shehzad was Indian he would've been a 40+ averaging opener by now he has all the shots in the book but his strike rotation is not good enough at this level hopefully Zaheer Abbas can teach him this

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Thing is, surely the management and seniors have stressed this to him? They must have noticed this. I think someone like YK will have stressed this to him, that's why I'm glad Shehzad is playing Test Cricket, so as to allow him to spend time with YK.

 

[chacha kashmiri]

No amazing tips in how to bat or who should be dropped from someone who hasn't played beyond primary school level, unfortunately

I'm rooting for afg

 

[Energetic]

The key games are yet to happen still:-

Pakistan - India (Biggest clash/rivalry/politics)
India - Sri Lanka (India always seem to beat them in recent times and Sri Lanka have a point to prove)
Ban - Afg (Battle of minnows. People say Afg are better than Ban and will win)
Ban - Pak (Still unable to beat Pak and desperate to break the trend).

 

[Myrmidon]

Taking Afghanistan lightly, they are a much different team when Hamid Hasan is spear heading their attack. Guy is a fantastic bowler but unfortunately will probably never get to play test matches.

These flat wickets might prove to be a bonus, probably wont beat Pakistan but certainly will take India and Bangladesh close due to their crap bowling

 

[MarkCooper]

If you lose this one its time to quit cricket and try a new national sport. Maybe table tennis or golf.

 

[Seen Sheen]

The pitches are so dry in Bangladesh that batting first will be the priority through this series.

Afghanistan are a very handy team and play with so much passion.

Not sure about batting first. The dew factor might force teams to chase from now on.

Dew had no say in opening game but definitely had a say in yesterday's match.

 

[Saeed]

If you lose this one its time to quit cricket and try a new national sport. Maybe table tennis or golf.

Hockey is Pakistan's national sport.

 

[Canistani Hero]

Taking Afghanistan lightly, they are a much different team when Hamid Hasan is spear heading their attack. Guy is a fantastic bowler but unfortunately will probably never get to play test matches.

These flat wickets might prove to be a bonus, probably wont beat Pakistan but certainly will take India and Bangladesh close due to their crap bowling

Afghanistan just need to get their players to play with a little more temperament. If this was T20, I'd be sure they'd beat a team or two, not sure how their batsmen will approach the 50 over game.

 

[Cricfan4eva]

Expect Afridi to show up against a minnow AGAIN! and then W63l & all Afridi fanbois get all excited opening threads about the no. of MOTM Afridi has with a sly dig at Misbah somewhere in there, never gets old.

 

[Myrmidon]

Afghanistan just need to get their players to play with a little more temperament. If this was T20, I'd be sure they'd beat a team or two, not sure how their batsmen will approach the 50 over game.

If they bat first and make 250 + it will certainly be very hard for Pakistan as they are bad chasers. Afghanistan will be very up for this. Their players seem to play very well in Bangladesh. Based on BPL, they all make big scores and take plenty of wickets

 

[Seen Sheen]

Taking Afghanistan lightly, they are a much different team when Hamid Hasan is spear heading their attack. Guy is a fantastic bowler but unfortunately will probably never get to play test matches.

These flat wickets might prove to be a bonus, probably wont beat Pakistan but certainly will take India and Bangladesh close due to their crap bowling

Afghanistan's problem is their rash batting. All of them apart from Stanekzai are impatient from what I have seen, they don't believe in strike rotation, don't believe in respecting good bowlers which lands them in precarious situations most of the times. If they learn to build their innings properly then they can definitely be a lot more consistent with their performances.

Their bowling attack is pretty good,it's almost always their batting that lets them down against big teams anyway.

 

[Myrmidon]

They have another guy on their team, Rehmat Shah, solid solid batsman, proper technique, but will he get a game. Nabi is the same, he is relatively sensible in the longer formats, but you are right about the rest

Rehmat Shah is averaging 105 in just 4 first class games, and most of them innings came against the better associate (Ireland). Very useful spinner too. Might not play though, due to politics

 

[Adil_94]

Only way we can lose to Afghans is if we seriously underperform with Hafeez Bradman and Warne Afridi in our team Afghans have no chance

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[Canistani Hero]

I've seen Karim Sadiq play in person and I tell you he has the hand-eye co-ordination of a beast, for me, on his day he can destroy any bowling attack at ease, I hope the Afghans get some games against big teams to test this out and yes, before the world cup

 

[Myrmidon]

Yeah they call him Da Kabul Sehwag

 

[Adil_94]

Re: Pakistan vs Afghanistan| Asia Cup 2014 | Fatullah | 27/2/2014| Pre Game Discussio

Yeah they call him Da Kabul Sehwag

Sehwag oh no expect him to destroy Pakistan then

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[Myrmidon]

He is having a very bad time of it in the middle. Is a walking wicket these days, regardless of how destructive he is

 

[yadunoe]

I think we should drop junaid for anwar ali we need the extra batsman fawad should come in for maqsood

 

[Red Devil]

Sharjeel
Shahzad
Fawad
Maqsood
Misbah
Umar
Hafeez
Afridi
Gul
Ajmal
Junaid.

 

[Myrmidon]

I think we should drop junaid for anwar ali we need the extra batsman fawad should come in for maqsood

If anybody needs to be dropped its Bhatti for being such cannon fodder

Dropping Junaid would be suicide.

 

[Gangnam]

Afghanistan need to inject some fresh blood into the squad. They have been playing with the same group for quite sometime, for them to be successful in the long run its very important to keep adding new talent into the team.

 

[mussu-100]

I couldn't agree more but you have to understand there's this fear of getting out early. He has been told, very explicitly, Ahmed - your role is to 'negate the new ball', if you get out early, you have failed the team. Even if you get to 10 (30), you would have negated the new ball and you have done a great job, this means your middle order won't have to be pressurized by the new ball and can accelerate easily (which rarely happens by the way ) and Ahmed, you are a gifted stroke player, you have all the shots in the books, you can accelerate at any time, you can still finish off with 65 (75).

This. If our openers play out 10 overs, then goes into beast mode.

 

[thelandofthebravepeople]

Afghanistan need to inject some fresh blood into the squad. They have been playing with the same group for quite sometime, for them to be successful in the long run its very important to keep adding new talent into the team.

Agreed

 

[taqi]

Anwar for Bhatti rest is ok we need to win this with bonus point


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