Pakistan's top order's perplexing approach against India

[Statsman]

Ahmad Shahzad
You have a large total to chase, you are batting in power play and you play at 54 SR! What was this super aggressive batsman thinking?

Mohammad Hafeez
I like his strokeplay, but really what was Mohammad Hafeez' plan yesterday? Pakistan needed 8+ RPO when he came to bat and he straight away started tuk-tuking. At one point he was 16 runs off 26 (61 SR) deliveries when he should have tried to bat at at least a 120+ SR.

Babar Azam
You can't be an anchor in every innings you play. International cricket and especially the Pakistani line up doesn't give you that freedom. SR of 66 including a 4 off a miss field.

Only Azhar, Malik and Sarfaraz looked like they had some sort of a plan but Sarfaraz always looks in tension and hurry (too chirpy as captain in the field, doesn't let the players be themselves) and Malik looked disinterested.

Not sure who was guiding these players. If nothing else, they should at least know basic math to calculate RRR.

 

[JibranAnsari]

Ahmad Shahzad
You have a large total to chase, you are batting in power play and you play at 54 SR! What was this super aggressive batsman thinking?

Mohammad Hafeez
I like his strokeplay, but really what was Mohammad Hafeez' plan yesterday? Pakistan needed 8+ RPO when he came to bat and he straight away started tuk-tuking. At one point he was 16 runs off 26 (61 SR) deliveries when he should have tried to bat at at least a 120+ SR.

Babar Azam
You can't be an anchor in every innings you play. International cricket and especially the Pakistani line up doesn't give you that freedom. SR of 66 including a 4 off a miss field.

Only Azhar, Malik and Sarfaraz looked like they had some sort of a plan but Sarfaraz always looks in tension and hurry (too chirpy as captain in the field, doesn't let the players be themselves) and Malik looked disinterested.

Not sure who was guiding these players. If nothing else, they should at least know basic math to calculate RRR.

Azhar and hafeez partnership was 30 off 51 , hafeez 16(26) and azhar 13(25) , i wonder what plab did azhar have?

 

[sarmadsl]

Actually while chasing we should have scored at 7 runs per over from the first over.
Ahmed Shahzad intention was not there to chase .... he has been same since his return.
Azhar atleast tried to do so but problem is he is not s natural stroke maker so does bot merit any position in ODIS.
Babar Azam should not have thrown it away he should have played out there. Every day you cant sit back and score. You have to fight some days.
Muhammad hafeez another culprit , his intention was also not there even in the middle overs he did not take singles.
Malik tried to play modern cricket but when your senior 3 batsman are not taking singles and wasting 3-4 deliveries it becomes impossible from one players to score. But its over for him too now. He is old now to play.
Sarfraz needs to understand he is not a 6th no batsman...maximum he can play at no 4. He will be huge success at no 4 because he is some one who takes singles and doubles on every ball. He has intention of not to wate a delivery.
Imad wasim ... this guy cant ball he has not variety he was successful in early because players did not found him. Now he has become easy to play. This guy cant bat even when required . Poor fielder . In batting here and there plays a innings and people say he is proper batsman. We cant gl with bits and pieces cricketers. We need proper players.

When u have such an doubtful discarded batting order you cant chase even 200 runs.

Azhar
Ahmed
Hafeez
Malik
Wahab
Imad wasim
These guys are not international level by any strandards now.
This is a reality untill we keep on bringing them or other plyers of same calibre we are going to loose.

Solution is throw these 6 out of team plus all others who have been playing for years and nothing performance.
We need to rope in 6-8 young players who have shown performances. I would even go with 19 20 year old players. Atleast they will loose they will learn . In couple of years they will be mentally tough to play.

Look at shadab khan!!!! This guy gave 100% in whole match !!! His fielidng alone saved many runs ... look at his bowling guy not for a single second went under pressure !! Look at his battig even he did very little but his intention is there . A mentally very good , confident and top plyer who oht played all his so called senior team mates ?

 

[Statsman]

Actually while chasing we should have scored at 7 runs per over from the first over.
Ahmed Shahzad intention was not there to chase .... he has been same since his return.
Azhar atleast tried to do so but problem is he is not s natural stroke maker so does bot merit any position in ODIS.
Babar Azam should not have thrown it away he should have played out there. Every day you cant sit back and score. You have to fight some days.
Muhammad hafeez another culprit , his intention was also not there even in the middle overs he did not take singles.
Malik tried to play modern cricket but when your senior 3 batsman are not taking singles and wasting 3-4 deliveries it becomes impossible from one players to score. But its over for him too now. He is old now to play.
Sarfraz needs to understand he is not a 6th no batsman...maximum he can play at no 4. He will be huge success at no 4 because he is some one who takes singles and doubles on every ball. He has intention of not to wate a delivery.
Imad wasim ... this guy cant ball he has not variety he was successful in early because players did not found him. Now he has become easy to play. This guy cant bat even when required . Poor fielder . In batting here and there plays a innings and people say he is proper batsman. We cant gl with bits and pieces cricketers. We need proper players.

When u have such an doubtful discarded batting order you cant chase even 200 runs.

Azhar
Ahmed
Hafeez
Malik
Wahab
Imad wasim
These guys are not international level by any strandards now.
This is a reality untill we keep on bringing them or other plyers of same calibre we are going to loose.

Solution is throw these 6 out of team plus all others who have been playing for years and nothing performance.
We need to rope in 6-8 young players who have shown performances. I would even go with 19 20 year old players. Atleast they will loose they will learn . In couple of years they will be mentally tough to play.

Look at shadab khan!!!! This guy gave 100% in whole match !!! His fielidng alone saved many runs ... look at his bowling guy not for a single second went under pressure !! Look at his battig even he did very little but his intention is there . A mentally very good , confident and top plyer who oht played all his so called senior team mates ?

Agree. Pakistan should have gone with the West Indies approach. Start hitting from ball 1. If you collapse, you collapse (any way did) but you can at least make a game out of it.

 

[Statsman]

Azhar and hafeez partnership was 30 off 51 , hafeez 16(26) and azhar 13(25) , i wonder what plab did azhar have?

Azhar is at fault as well, but he atleast started with a + intent.

 

[hussain123]

I remember rameez raja saying about hafeez"it is not he is not trying it is simply he isn't good enough".same can be said for the rest.right now in odi's pak batting is mediocre to the core that must be acknowledged.pak needs a complete overhaul of its domestic cricket to tap the abyss it has gotten itself in.

 

[Ultimate]

Shocking approach it was. At one point the required run rate was above 8 or so, and Babar Azam played a maiden over, whoa. Lack of match awareness. Easily the worst limited overs cricket phase in our history. Power hitting is the only way out in this modern era of cricket.

 

[Inzi_fan_No_1]

Why are people suprised? We have been like this for years. We keep playing the same failures. With them in the side the new kids then follow suit and lose there expansive game.

 

[Saj]

Nothing new, nothing changed.

The same issues with the batting that have been there for a long time now.

A lack of urgency, a lack of game awareness and a lack of clear thinking.

 

[Amjid Javed]

Nothing new, nothing changed.

Spot on Saj

The same issues with the batting that have been there for a long time now.

A lack of urgency, a lack of game awareness and a lack of clear thinking.

These players have experience of English conditions, the team needs experienced players in the team. This is why our great selector Inzi picked these players.

How long have this guys been playing international cricket now and they can not even do the basics. Next time coach/Chief selector is interview these sort of pressing questions should be asked!

The game wasnt even competative and i did say that in one thread the game would be like this.

Shameful to watch yesterday really was.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Was typical stuff from Pakistani batsmen. Nothing new.

 

[LegendInzi]

Nothing new, nothing changed.

The same issues with the batting that have been there for a long time now.

A lack of urgency, a lack of game awareness and a lack of clear thinking.

Or maybe just lack of skill/talent?

 

[jnaveen1980]

These guys are not David warners, Amlas. Pakistan lacks power hitters, stroke players. Having intent is not enough. Unless these guys develop outside pakistan system they will continue to struggle. Look at Imran Tahir. Still at this age holding a spot for an ace team. There is no IPL option now. ONly other option is the old fashioned county system.

 

[Abdullah719]

What's perplexing is how Azhar, Shehzad and Hafeez form integral parts of the top order which is the most important component of a modern day ODI team.

 

[Pete Rose]

Mght be perplexing but entirely predictable. These players are performing to the best of their ability.

 

[Flat_Track_Bully]

Why do they keep playing cut shots and sweep?

Why dont they play proper cricket shots like they do in bilateral matches?

 

[saeedhk]

Pakistani batsmen are not smart enough to be aware of match situation and they seriously lack skills to rotate the strike. The perfect recipe for a mediocre , archaic batting line-up.

 

[PakLFC]

Pak players still don't understand the importance of singles and running between the wickets. Three single and a boundary every over is seven runs allowing them to block two balls. There is no urgency and lack of planning when they come out to bat. When they are unable to hit boundaries that is most of the time it frustrates them so they collapse like a pack of cards under pressure and frustration. Pak team is always in reactive never proactive mode.

 

[Usman Chadda]

When you brand someone as pathetic and selfish as Mohammed Hafeez a senior player, this is what you get. 15 years of nothing. And he has the gall to come on TV and question everyone who even lays an eye on him. The most pathetic personality in that dressing room and I won't be surprised if his ego issues had a part to play in Sarfraz not bowling him on Sunday.

 

[MilkyWay]

Azhar , haffez and shahzad were the culprits. Had abs no clue watsoever and how was azhar showing intent? He too 13 deleveries to score last 3 runs of his 50(47-50). Haffez just doesnt care. He just wanted to play for his place. Score maybe 50/60 and say i did my job people around me shld have batted. All crap . If it was upto me, shahzad, haffez, azhar, wahab would never set foot in dressing room ever again (allow azhar for tests ofcourse). These guys r jokers

 

[Titan24]

I just dont know what they are afraid of. If Shehzad would have scored a 30 of 20 balls, fans would have liked that, team would have liked that as well as the coach. With the current culture which Arthur atleast says of bringing, a 80 ball 50 would have seen him out of the team. May be Shehzad thinks that he can get away with the few 50's like that and retain his place in the side, thats not gonna happen this time.

He plays like a different batsman in domestic competitions, may be he is assured of a place there and is afraid of losing his place in the international team.

 

[Lynx]

Azhar and Shehzad are limited players so don't blame them for playing the way they always do. Blame the system they've come through which discourages stroke making due to the nature of the pitches. Blame the selectors who selected them. But not them, as they only gave us the expected output. Having said that, Azhar did show some real intent and bottle out there and was 36 (33) at one stage. That was his peak performance. Too bad batsmen at the other end kept choking and were a bundle of nerves. Azhar doesn't deserve all the flak he's getting.

 

[Cric_lover4487]

Can someone explain me where is Pakistan's prodigal talent?. Where are the guys who match fire with fire?. There is no exciting player in the current team. No stomach for fight. Sorry, but even Amir hasn't turned the cricketing world on fire since his return. we only saw a glimpse during Asia cup. People keep blaming the system, the same system gave Imran, Wasim, Anwar, Inzi etc. Pakistan team was known to have a bunch of gifted prodigal talents, players who can win matches singlehandedly. Discipline, media management etc were never their forte. Even at their peak (90s), they were unpredictable but someone among them would raise his game eventually. Modern cricket is now quickly becoming more and more professional and coach dependent. Excessive detailed planning, stats evalulation, player development/management which i think doesn't come naturally to pakistani and WI cricketers/management.

 

[Boi]

Azhar tried hard and showed intent throughout even when he struggled as Jadeja came on. Atleast he wasn't aimlessly blocking like the others and tried to do something different by using his feet etc. unfortunately he's just too limited a batsmen and that was exposed when Hafeez came in with zero intent which further increased the pressure on him. Hafeez and Shehzad should really hang their heads in shame. Showed no intent or desire to put the bowlers away or off their lengths and were just content playing for themselves. It was ridiculous really.