Sarfaraz Ahmed's failure to chase down 30 off 3 overs, or Pakistan's? You decide

[waleed88]

Here are some stats from the recent run chases for Pakistan in Limited overs cricket :

1) Pakistan vs South Africa 1st ODI Port Elizabeth : South Africa 266/2

Pakistan chased the total with 5 balls to spare. Hafeez scores a match winning 71 off 63.

2) South Africa vs Pakistan 1st T20 : South Africa 192/6
Pakistan fall just short : 186/9. Malik standing in the last over 16 required, cannot cross the finish line. Pakistan lose by 6 runs

3) South Africa vs Pakistan 2nd T20 : South Africa score 188/3 in 20 overs. Pakistan replied with 181/7. Pakistan looked to be cruising with Babar Azam and Talat at the crease. But losing 6 wickets for 34 runs in the last 24 balls lead to their demise. Lost by 7 runs in the end.

4) Pakistan vs Australia 4th ODI - Australia make 277/7 in the 50 overs.

Pakistan reply seemed to be in cruise control with Abid Ali and Rizwan both scoring 100s. The team managed to lose by 7 runs in the end.
The centurion Mohammad Rizwan was batting in the last over, still couldn't score 16 off the last one.

Scoring 271/8 in their 50 overs. It was also the 4th time in history a team lost after having 2 centurions in their total score.

5) Pakistan vs Australia 5th ODI- Australia make 327/7 in 50 overs.

Pakistan have Haris Sohail leading the chase with a career best 130 off 129 balls. At one point Pakistan needed 89 of 60 balls at almost 9 an over with Umar Akmal batting at 43 and Haris Sohail on the other side. You would think with 2 set batsmen Pakistan would be favorites ?

Pakistan end up losing by 20 runs, scoring 307/7. Imad Wasim getting to his 50, but unable to hit 35 off the last 2 overs.

None of the above mentioned games had Sarfraz playing in them.

Call it a young side, a pattern, a psychological block. We have trouble getting over the line. Not in just this game where we failed to chase 373 and lost by 12 runs in the end.

The only win that came about was with Mohammad Hafeez batting right to the end, but that was the lowest and the easiest totals for us to chase out of all of the others.

 

[Slim]

I agree, the team has genuine issues getting over the line. It could be due to lack of inherent confidence due to our history of being poor chasers. This thing can only gradually improve with time and more victories.

That being said; Sarfraz Ahmed is a big burden in our line up. We are literally carrying our captain who should not be in the playing squad let alone playing 11.

 

[adzzy786]

The only win that came about was with Mohammad Hafeez batting right to the end, but that was the lowest and the easiest totals for us to chase out of all of the others.

I definitely don’t agree with that statement. The thing is a lot of our players do not know how to pace an innings and that’s an issue and then what’s always happens they leave it to the last couple of overs where they need big runs and they can’t score them.

They lack the firepower to get some big run overs in when they need them. Hafeez is one of the few that can do it. Asif Ali who I’ve never been a fan of has shown some glimpses of it yesterday. But we missing the Afridi and Razaq power

 

[waleed88]

I definitely don’t agree with that statement. The thing is a lot of our players do not know how to pace an innings and that’s an issue and then what’s always happens they leave it to the last couple of overs where they need big runs and they can’t score them.

They lack the firepower to get some big run overs in when they need them. Hafeez is one of the few that can do it. Asif Ali who I’ve never been a fan of has shown some glimpses of it yesterday. But we missing the Afridi and Razaq power

We are more likely to chase lower totals than higher ones. This has been true since the Misbah days. As the totals gets higher the likelihood of us chasing it down drop.

I can only recall one successful 300 run chase that came against England in 2016 in a dead rubber. Sarfraz and Malik top scored.

 

[waleed88]

The other one would probably be against Bangladesh in 2014 in the Asia Cup. 320 something. Our history is littered with messed up chases.

 

[Abdullah]

I agree, the team has genuine issues getting over the line. It could be due to lack of inherent confidence due to our history of being poor chasers. This thing can only gradually improve with time and more victories.

That being said; Sarfraz Ahmed is a big burden in our line up. We are literally carrying our captain who should not be in the playing squad let alone playing 11.

He needs to bat overs 28 to 38 and play the sort of innings he did yesterday. He can do it, let's back him

 

[Dr_Bassim]

Agreed its been happening for a while now.

We are having a mental block in chasing targets and getting over the line.

If the score was 340 we would have ended up with 320.

 

[j_kazmi]

It looks like we don’t pick up the pace in the last 10 overs the way we should.

Becuase you’ve listed a few games where we were in a decent position with 5-10 overs to go but failed to up the run rate which led to situations where we needed 35 runs of 2 overs in the 5th ODI vs Aus and 30 of three overs yesterday.

A lot of the current lot of players are good players but don’t know how to up the run rate when required. This could be because of lack of experience or lack of skills currently.

Hafeez has shown he can up the pace when needed but he’s failed in key moments too many times in the course of his career for me to believe that he can fulfill that role successfully.

Shoaib however also has the ability to hit boundaries and increase the run rate but he’s extremely inconsistent and it looks like he can only produce against weaker bowling.

If I had to pick between the two I would probably go for Hafeez as would many others here. There’s no place for both in the team.

 

[saeed5646]

it is so depressing and disheartening past 7 to 8 month .We have reached so near yet too far from victory and one can thought the above are only missed opportunity then we have test format where we have dropped atleast 5 to 6 test which could have been easy win

 

[CS Khan]

We have this problem from last 10 years almost now ,we manage to get somewhere near the total but we couldn't cross the line,reason being we didn't had the solid finisher who could take responsibility and take team over the line.we are in need of a solid finisher who can hit ball at will and also have solid temperament.

 

[Shaddy86]

This is where nutcases like Afridi and Razzaq were handy, they'd win you games in these situations more often than these useless good for nothing all-rounders. We need a late order hitter, along with Asif.

 

[Lovelydayall]

I was surprised to see Sarf allowed Hassan to take the second run on the first ball of the last over. He should have kept the strike being a better batter than Hassan. His decision making and understanding of the game at particular times is abysmal to say the least.

 

[Major]

Sarfraz fans:

But safraz is a keeper, you cant expect him to chase 30 from 3 overs.

 

[MeanAndGreen]

Whether its Sarfraz or Imad or Faheem, all are at fault.

Pakistan has a problem finishing matches off - whether its with ball or bat - and every single member of the squad and coaching staff has contributed to these losses over the last 12 months.

 

[big_gamer007]

Players like Kohli or dhoni are masters because they have realised how to pace their innings and worked super hard on their fitness.
Not every ball can be hit of a four players like Kohli and dhoni run hard between the wickets and keep the scoreboard ticking. So eventually when the boundaries come the target is very manageable.

Pakistani players are just unfit and not willing to work on fitness I guess. That's why they night win once in a blue moon when someone's slogging comes off any every ball goes to the boundary but most of the time they won't cross the line.. Pakistani fans and cricketers alike don't understand the importance of singles. Even on PP they would prefer sloggers like afridi or razzaq who on their day can win the match but against modern bowlers with variations they will mishit and get our most of the times. You need smart and fit cricketers like Bevan, dhoni, Kohli etc who can run between the wickets and take singles and doubles if it's hard to find the boundary to keep scoreboard moving.

Maybe it's genetics or maybe the food they eat, I don't know what but Pakistan seems to have unfit players who don't losses enough fitness and stamina to compete in modern game.


PS: This is about old dhoni not the current one. Even though the current one is still very fit but has lost his hand eye coordination and reflexes which results in his power hitting missing.

 

[Maliq_Mudasir]

These kind of targets are not chased by a single player. I believe everyone played their part in reaching close to the target. I would even take imam's inning in a positive manner even I want Abid Ali to replace him before Pakistan looses more matches due to him. Apart from him, Zaman, Babar and Asif Ali tried there best to create the history. 32 of last 18 was the testimony of the fact that whosoever batted in the top order has done more than enough to get closer to the target. It was utterly shameful that our unfit and incompetent captain couldn't hit a boundary in last 3 overs. Moreover, Imad has been given a role finish the inning from last couple of years now. He also failed to construct his inning according to the situation and went for mindless slogging. This is a high time for Pak team to realise there weaknesses and strengths. We have a habit of blaming the person who scored 100 or 50 that they couldn't finish the match but in cricket the history is created by team not by individuals. Sarfaraz need to finalize his spot in top 4 as he can keep the scoreboard ticking without going for big shots which he can't do even against minnows.

 

[Savak]

We have lost plenty of close ODI and T-20 matches recently and the predominant reason has been the inability of our finishers to finish inspite of having wickets in hands. This clearly indicates the abscene of a Klusenar, Razzaq, Afridi down the order.

 

[Syed1]

Sarfaraz is everyone's bogeyman these days. You know people have agendas when innings of 35(44), 51(52) and 14(18) are acceptable but 41(32) is the worst innings in the history of the game.

 

[Savak]

Sarfaraz is everyone's bogeyman these days. You know people have agendas when innings of 35(44), 51(52) and 14(18) are acceptable but 41(32) is the worst innings in the history of the game.

You can't look at the numbers in isolation, you have to factor in game situation and context in which he came to bat.

 

[Syed1]

You can't look at the numbers in isolation, you have to factor in game situation and context in which he came to bat.

The game situation from word go was 7.5 rpo required. In that scenario is it acceptable for the opener to bat at 79 SR?

 

[dhump]

I don't get it what he is trying to do with himself, and the team he can't play down the order got no power shots and it impossible for him to speed up the game and he is scared to come up the order where his kind of batting may add some value to the team.

This spineless brand of cricket will not help nor Pakistan.

 

[shaz619]

Sarfraz fans:

But safraz is a keeper, you cant expect him to chase 30 from 3 overs.

No, he is a captain.

You can't expect him to bat or keep.

 

[jonny darko]

The blame rest squarely on the shoulders of Babar Azam & Asif Ali, getting pretty fifities & then getting out.

By the way, what did some people in here said when dual centurions Rizwan & Sohail couldn't steer pakistan home vs Aus?

 

[PakPremi]

The blame rest squarely on the shoulders of Babar Azam & Asif Ali, getting pretty fifities & then getting out.

By the way, what did some people in here said when dual centurions Rizwan & Sohail couldn't steer pakistan home vs Aus?

Even then it was Sarfraz fault because we hate him.

 

[Hawkeye]

Imad Wasim and Sarfraz don't have the ability to get you over the line.

They can't accelerate or hit at will.

But, I'm surprised at the hate being directed at Sarfraz alone. Much bigger culprit is Imad Wasim, who has won us no match.

Our late order is worst in the world with Imad Wasim and Sarfraz taking key spots. Both unfit for these positions.

The sooner we realize it's not only Sarfraz, the better for us. For now, we'll continue to lose from these kind of situations.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Following are the reasons probabaly

Leaving too many for the last five overs, not trying to score enough runs by targeting one bowler during the period when they have two set batsman to bring the total under 6 runs an over.

Fitness is one of the issues here as well, as they don’t convert 1s into 2 and 2s into 3. As that will put pressure on the bowler and the fielders

Good enough hitters, Faheem Ashraf is not a hitter, until they get some one like Hardik, pollard, Sammy, Razzaq, klusener, they will suffer to chase totals.

Plus sarfraz and Haris are the best foil to score 75-85 runs in 30-40 overs without taking any risk, as they hit odd boundaries+rotate strike easily, but yesterday they both came in very late

 

[Maliq_Mudasir]

The game situation from word go was 7.5 rpo required. In that scenario is it acceptable for the opener to bat at 79 SR?

Stop hiding incompetent captain. 32 of 18 with your captain on crease is gettable in any situation.

p.s This doesn't mean I am in favour of Imam. He is still poor in terms strike rotation. But in yesterday's game we can't blame him because we couldn't score 30 runs in last 3 overs. We only managed to score 18 of last 18 balls. That's Pathetic batting down the order.

 

[Chokli]

No match winners in the side.

Hafeez is the only one, he won us the T20s vs NZ and Aus as well.

 

[jonny darko]

No match winners in the side.

Hafeez is the only one, he won us the T20s vs NZ and Aus as well.

Remember when he deposited Duanne Olivier into the roof when pak batsmen were having nightmares about him.

 

[nam]

Here are some stats from the recent run chases for Pakistan in Limited overs cricket :

1) Pakistan vs South Africa 1st ODI Port Elizabeth : South Africa 266/2

Pakistan chased the total with 5 balls to spare. Hafeez scores a match winning 71 off 63.

2) South Africa vs Pakistan 1st T20 : South Africa 192/6
Pakistan fall just short : 186/9. Malik standing in the last over 16 required, cannot cross the finish line. Pakistan lose by 6 runs

3) South Africa vs Pakistan 2nd T20 : South Africa score 188/3 in 20 overs. Pakistan replied with 181/7. Pakistan looked to be cruising with Babar Azam and Talat at the crease. But losing 6 wickets for 34 runs in the last 24 balls lead to their demise. Lost by 7 runs in the end.

4) Pakistan vs Australia 4th ODI - Australia make 277/7 in the 50 overs.

Pakistan reply seemed to be in cruise control with Abid Ali and Rizwan both scoring 100s. The team managed to lose by 7 runs in the end.
The centurion Mohammad Rizwan was batting in the last over, still couldn't score 16 off the last one.

Scoring 271/8 in their 50 overs. It was also the 4th time in history a team lost after having 2 centurions in their total score.

5) Pakistan vs Australia 5th ODI- Australia make 327/7 in 50 overs.

Pakistan have Haris Sohail leading the chase with a career best 130 off 129 balls. At one point Pakistan needed 89 of 60 balls at almost 9 an over with Umar Akmal batting at 43 and Haris Sohail on the other side. You would think with 2 set batsmen Pakistan would be favorites ?

Pakistan end up losing by 20 runs, scoring 307/7. Imad Wasim getting to his 50, but unable to hit 35 off the last 2 overs.

None of the above mentioned games had Sarfraz playing in them.

Call it a young side, a pattern, a psychological block. We have trouble getting over the line. Not in just this game where we failed to chase 373 and lost by 12 runs in the end.

The only win that came about was with Mohammad Hafeez batting right to the end, but that was the lowest and the easiest totals for us to chase out of all of the others.

care to provide solutions as well? do you have a replacement ready in your ranks?

 

[nam]

You can't look at the numbers in isolation, you have to factor in game situation and context in which he came to bat.

what context? asking rate was hovering over 7.5 from the get go.. you think other numbers are justified?

 

[hadi123]

Sarfaraz can't be blamed, like others are saying Pakistan are making a habit of struggling to get over the line in run chases

 

[Major]

Sarfaraz can't be blamed, like others are saying Pakistan are making a habit of struggling to get over the line in run chases

when 30 was needed from 3 overs, then offcourse sarfraz is to be blamed.

He is the captain and was out there. It was his duty to finish the match off.
Once you have reached this stage of the match, the performance of other players becomes irrelevent. Why? Because the captain is out there, iamd is still there and faheem aswell.

If even then you fail to get 30 of 3 overs, then that is a serious problem.

Sarfraz is a good captain, but as a batsmen he has been terrible.

 

[Major]

what context? asking rate was hovering over 7.5 from the get go.. you think other numbers are justified?

oh bhai, once the game reaches the 45th over and you need 50 runs of the last 5. Then asking rate doesn't matter, 10 runs of every over is required

There was nothing wrong in the asking rate. The guys int he top and middle order had done their job, 50 of 5, 30 of 3 is gettable if you know how to play shots for six.

The situation was set up for sarfraz,imad and faheem to finish it.
I was even baffled when safraz took taht single in the alst over to give hasan ali teh strike.

 

[Major]

I think its quite simple. Sarfraz is playing in the team as a no.5 batsmen. if he cant finish of games, then move him up as opener or 1 down. evaluate how imam does, if imam doesnt perform, bring in Malik at no.5

 

[The_Odd_One]

The team has developed a habit of enjoying moral victories. I remember when Asad cut his century cake the very same day Pakistan lost the test to Australia. This should tell you about the mindset of the players.

Appreciating individual performances has become more important than actually winning the game. This is a loser mentality which unfortunately even the coach has exhibited by praising individual performances after every series loss.

 

[CricFan2012]

It's common knowledge that our teams in the past two decades crumble under pressure, dropped catches, unable to get over the line, etc.

 

[aukhan]

The game situation from word go was 7.5 rpo required. In that scenario is it acceptable for the opener to bat at 79 SR?

Lets bash Imam in another thread. This thread should be reserved for your mediocre Sarfraz who couldn't get the team over the line and was exposed horribly batting at number 6? Who forced this garbage to bat at no.6? Waqar or Misbah? Who would you blame. I would not talk about his skill-set as everyone knows he is incompetent apart from his deluded fans.

 

[cricketInsight]

oh bhai, once the game reaches the 45th over and you need 50 runs of the last 5. Then asking rate doesn't matter, 10 runs of every over is required

There was nothing wrong in the asking rate. The guys int he top and middle order had done their job, 50 of 5, 30 of 3 is gettable if you know how to play shots for six.

The situation was set up for sarfraz,imad and faheem to finish it.
I was even baffled when safraz took taht single in the alst over to give hasan ali teh strike.

Absolutely spot on! You would bet on the batting side to win the match in those situation with 5 wickets in hand.

It also doesnt require a lot of 6 hitting - only one boundary per over does teh job.

Sarfraz is just not capable of batting at 5 or 6 in the shorter format. He must bat at 4 and Hafeez has to bat lower than him for the sake of the team.

 

[Braveheart]

Pakistan are currently lacking in Physical fitness and physical skills required for the modern limited overs games.
Just one example was Asif Ali gasping for air and water after being at the crease for two overs.
It was a spirited chase on Saturday, but you always felt that they just wouldn't have the Mental or Physical skills to overcome the modern day death bowling that most teams process.

 

[goran]

We are poor chasers for as long as I can remember. The only exception was the Imran era as captain. Ever since his retirement, we developed a mental block and have mostly failed to chase almost any total, small or big. It's a psychological issue and no one seems to know the cure.

 

[Major]

We are poor chasers for as long as I can remember. The only exception was the Imran era as captain. Ever since his retirement, we developed a mental block and have mostly failed to chase almost any total, small or big. It's a psychological issue and no one seems to know the cure.

ah no we are not.

this just something you have made up. i have watched alot of Pakistan cricket and we are not poor chasers.

This is the biggest made up statement ever.

 

[waleed88]

ah no we are not.

this just something you have made up. i have watched alot of Pakistan cricket and we are not poor chasers.

This is the biggest made up statement ever.

Really? You must have not seen our stats lately

 

[waleed88]

care to provide solutions as well? do you have a replacement ready in your ranks?

This was an analysis not a solution. These are just games from 2019 and I haven't even gotten in the games we played in recent years. I believe it's more widespread than the players in our playing XI.

 

[MRSN]

Following are the reasons probabaly

Leaving too many for the last five overs, not trying to score enough runs by targeting one bowler during the period when they have two set batsman to bring the total under 6 runs an over.

Fitness is one of the issues here as well, as they don’t convert 1s into 2 and 2s into 3. As that will put pressure on the bowler and the fielders

Good enough hitters, Faheem Ashraf is not a hitter, until they get some one like Hardik, pollard, Sammy, Razzaq, klusener, they will suffer to chase totals.

Plus sarfraz and Haris are the best foil to score 75-85 runs in 30-40 overs without taking any risk, as they hit odd boundaries+rotate strike easily, but yesterday they both came in very late

30 off last 3 overs is not too hard to get with bowling Sarfraz was facing but problem is he has zero power game against pace no matter what quality.

32 off last 3 became 19 off the last over even though we had Sarfraz there all the time. It was as pathetic knock as they come yet we have people like [MENTION=138254]Syed1[/MENTION] shamelessly defend this horrendous knock.

 

[waleed88]

30 off last 3 overs is not too hard to get with bowling Sarfraz was facing but problem is he has zero power game against pace no matter what quality.

32 off last 3 became 19 off the last over even though we had Sarfraz there all the time. It was as pathetic knock as they come yet we have people like [MENTION=138254]Syed1[/MENTION] shamelessly defend this horrendous knock.

In case you haven't seen the stats, Malik failed to chase 16 in the last over against South Africa.

He was 49 off 32. Selfish?

 

[Ronaldo7]

In case you haven't seen the stats, Malik failed to chase 16 in the last over against South Africa.

He was 49 off 32. Selfish?

Was he the reason it came to 16 off the last?

 

[waleed88]

Was he the reason it came to 16 off the last?

Did you see the game?

 

[Yezir]

yet dhoni single handly made sure that india wins the last two odis in australia. i
2nd odi after kohli got out
3rd odi getting a match-winning partnership with jhadav

 

[W63L35]

I have no idea why we are complain about Sarfraz's batting while keeping mum about the real problems in the team...... Malik and Imam? Yes, I know Malik did not play in the last match but tag me if Malik does better than Sarfraz at the end of this England Summer.






.

 

[aukhan]

Not out has made his stats look decent. Malik has been out of form and gets the well deserved bashing from the fans unlike "the Muqaddas Gaye".

 

[Ronaldo7]

Did you see the game?

Yeah but I don't specifically remember what happened. Hence the question "Was he the reason?".

 

[moghul]

Team and now even the supports are contended with getting closer to the target and not necessarily wining it. This Misbah type approach will not take us anywhere.

 

[giri26]

Well in this day and age of T20 cricket, 3 overs 30 runs is an achievable target with one of the batters set. I understand if Sarfaraz got out trying to win the game but remaining not out and falling short by 12 runs is poor.

 

[waleed88]

Yeah but I don't specifically remember what happened. Hence the question "Was he the reason?".

Malik got out on the 2nd ball. Shinwari maybe hit a couple afterwards but it wasnt enough

 

[goran]

ah no we are not.

this just something you have made up. i have watched alot of Pakistan cricket and we are not poor chasers.

This is the biggest made up statement ever.

I don't know which games you have watched. It's a fact and not a made up statement. It's a different issue if you don't want to acknowledge this problem, in which case there is no need for a solution.

 

[MRSN]

What happened this great captain? His magics weren't seen last night. He looked hopeless.

 

[The_Odd_One]

What happened this great captain? His magics weren't seen last night. He looked hopeless.

Sarfraz is finished as a cricketer. He is in the same situation as Younis was in the overseas test tours. He may play an occasional decent inning but he will fail more often.

 

[SecularPakistanii]

His keeping has definitely improved but his batting has deteriorated at an alarming level.

 

[Chokli]

I feel bad for Sarfy

 

[sshakir411]

Both. But Sarfraz as captain should have delivered. I’m certain Sarfraz is not getting the right amount of danda from Mickey. Definitely needs more and someone like Inzi/younis should have a serious talk with him about how his career will be done if he doesn’t get himself together in the coming few weeks. Sarfraz is on very thin ice right now.