Shoaib Malik special takes Pakistan to narrow three-wicket win over Afghanistan in the Asia Cup

[khan-92]

Masha'Allah great partnership between Babar & Imam,
And some people here wanted Imam out because of 1 failure.

 

[Badsha]

should keep it at 4.5 an over till 35th over. Then bash it.

 

[InziRules]

beautiful batting here, they are watching Rashid very closely and milking him around. This is the way you play a good bowler

We've got 10 runs in 3 overs

 

[Pete Rose]

So, I am gonna ask. What’s the big deal with Rashid

 

[x_KINGKHAN_x]

Rashid getting dealt with

 

[Sirris]

I will be ok with a nine wicket win.

Only if we do it in the 45th over or the captain won't be happy.

 

[Badsha]

We've got 10 runs in 3 overs

And? You think Afghanistan is happy with that?

 

[Pete Rose]

Kinds mangling a Vital Signs song

 

[hasanali22]

too much criticism for Imam on this thread. The way he has steadied the ship after Fakhar's dismissal has been admirable. Pakistan teams of the past could have easily capitulated after that.

 

[malik29695]

RRR above 6

 

[InziRules]

And? You think Afghanistan is happy with that?

Well, it's not exactly the model way of milking someone either, you'd expect to be going around 4 or 5 an over.

 

[Madplayer]

He didnt break the stumps

 

[dani594]

point where pakistan begins to lose wickets .....

 

[Badsha]

too much criticism for Imam on this thread. The way he has steadied the ship after Fakhar's dismissal has been admirable. Pakistan teams of the past could have easily capitulated after that.

Yep. Inzi got it spot on that Imam and the likes are players with good temperament. They know how to react in such situation.

 

[B_Positive]

beautiful batting here, they are watching Rashid very closely and milking him around. This is the way you play a good bowler

yes. i think we handled Indian wrist spinners nicely as well. But Kedar became the destroyer.

 

[Badsha]

Well, it's not exactly the model way of milking someone either, you'd expect to be going around 4 or 5 an over.

On this pitch and in this condition, they are scoring 4ish an over which is fine. The goal is to win the game.

 

[Asif321]

MashaAllah both handled pressure well
Imam is a level headed guy will only get better

 

[Madplayer]

I think Babar might have pulled a muscle there.

 

[Badsha]

How serious is Babar's injury?

 

[InziRules]

On this pitch and in this condition, they are scoring 4ish an over which is fine. The goal is to win the game.

It's 3.333 rpo, not 4ish

 

[ExpressPacer]

yes. i think we handled Indian wrist spinners nicely as well. But Kedar became the destroyer.

I think he was someone we hadn't prepared for, which became the reason for his success.

 

[K4Kohli]

Pakistan fans loving Imam now

 

[Markhor]

Not sure how much exposure our batsmen have had against Rashid Khan, they may have played against him in some of these T20 leagues, but important to keep rotating strike and not take undue risks against him.

 

[Badsha]

It's 3.333 rpo, not 4ish

The current rate is 4.15.

 

[Majestic_Inzi]

why are Afghanistan getting worried, they still in this game.

 

[Sirris]

We are doing well atm. Just don't replace the over the top pessimism into over the top confidence now.

 

[InziRules]

The current rate is 4.15.

The guy I quoted was talking about how we were milking Rashid (Which is around 3 rpo, not even near a model rate)

 

[ExpressPacer]

[MENTION=131678]Madplayer[/MENTION] - what do you make of Imam? someone to invest in? i think he's our best batsman after Babar if persisted with and saved from undue criticism (nepotism accusations).

 

[The_Cricket_Devil]

yes. i think we handled Indian wrist spinners nicely as well. But Kedar became the destroyer.

Yeah, classic case of focussing hard on the main guys and losing your focus against the part timers. Won't happen again

 

[malik29695]

Slow and steady wins the Race.......lolzzz

 

[Something]

why are Afghanistan getting worried, they still in this game.

they were never in the game to begin with

 

[Badsha]

The guy I quoted was talking about how we were milking Rashid (Which is around 3 rpo, not even near a model rate)

I think you were quoting me but who cares if we are getting only 3 rpo from a bowler or 3 runs in last 5 overs. The idea is seeing overall and general trend. Meaningless stats don't win you games.

 

[nextover666666]

at what point of time should this two try to go for it.

 

[Majestic_Inzi]

they were never in the game to begin with

yes they were, when they managed 258, no team has chased more than 230 in this ground.

Afghanis have the spinners.

 

[Hamad_H]

The way they're playing right now they'd need 65 overs to chase this down. They might need to speed it up slightly so they can chase it down in 50.

Now they will try to push for twos more as seen just now but no need to do something silly. 9 wickets in hand, 100 up and 2 settled batsman is a good position for us.

 

[The_Cricket_Devil]

The guy I quoted was talking about how we were milking Rashid (Which is around 3 rpo, not even near a model rate)

The key is not to lose a wicket against the main bowler and to keep it going. You don't need to be going at 5 an over against that. We have put ourselves in a great position to not need to take undue risk and Afghanistan will get increasingly frustrated as Rashid is nullfied. That is the key

You bat the quota of overs you win this easy.

 

[Hasan2K8]

Pak playing it well. Taking others on. As I’ve illustrated before. If you cant hit mujeeb n rashid for 30+ then take others on and one particular one bowler from afg has to go for 60+ Runs and that would be one of the pacer or more

Looks like Aftab will be the target. And Naib too

 

[InziRules]

yes they were, when they managed 258, no team has chased more than 230 in this ground.

Afghanis have the spinners.

Nonsense, we've chased it down 3 times.

The Razzaq thriller, the Kami century, and the Kami late sixes

 

[DuckMaster]

Come on, Afghanistan. One wicket.

 

[Something]

Why is everyone holding up their phones?

 

[KingKhanWC]

at what point of time should this two try to go for it.

Not until the 32 second over. New batsmen will only slow things down at this stage, so keep going at this strike rate for a little longer without losing a wicket.

 

[ExpressPacer]

Aamir Sohail's accent is annoying but his analysis is amazing. Reminds me a slight bit of Nasser.

 

[Madplayer]

[MENTION=131678]Madplayer[/MENTION] - what do you make of Imam? someone to invest in? i think he's our best batsman after Babar if persisted with and saved from undue criticism (nepotism accusations).

Really confused what to make of him. He has shown great temperament, plays long innings once set, has hundereds to his name, plays well under pressure. The only downside is his strike rate and inability to score boundaries even when he is set. That makes you wonder if he should be selected on a horses for course basis.

 

[B_Positive]

Yeah, classic case of focussing hard on the main guys and losing your focus against the part timers. Won't happen again

I hope its not. If it happens it will be criminal. I hope they take him serious this time. He will hurt again otherwise.

 

[Badsha]

feet up

 

[B_Positive]

My adrenaline only gets up when we are against India but somehow its getting up vs Afg today too

 

[nextover666666]

Not until the 32 second over. New batsmen will only slow things down at this stage, so keep going at this strike rate for a little longer without losing a wicket.

thanks brother hopefully they can listen to your advice.

 

[Badsha]

Really confused what to make of him. He has shown great temperament, plays long innings once set, has hundereds to his name, plays well under pressure. The only downside is his strike rate and inability to score boundaries even when he is set. That makes you wonder if he should be selected on a horses for course basis.

Too early to tell. So far he is proving to be a good plater in terms of temperament.

 

[rhony]

11 overs remaining off Mujeeb and Rashid. Even if they score 50 runs in those 11, they need to score 90 off the other 11.

 

[Badsha]

Imam haters gone

 

[Mohsin123]

Excellent batting from Imam and Babar. The loss of Fakhar didn't deter them at the start and they took their time and played sensibly. Starting to become a fan of Imam also. Shows that he has a brain

 

[nextover666666]

Inzamam ul haq has turned up lol what a 6

 

[Madplayer]

Too early to tell. So far he is proving to be a good plater in terms of temperament.

Sure. And is also scoring timely boundaries now.

 

[hasanali22]

Imam haters gone

He is proving them wrong. now just needs to put in a performance against india on sunday

 

[Badsha]

This over will give good breathing space

 

[Usman Chadda]

Both should look to finish this off now. Very well played so far, albeit a bit slow.

 

[Sirris]

I don't want the match to go 5hat deep but would love to see Asif Ali hitting some big sixs

 

[Pete Rose]

Is Aamir 12 th man

 

[Titan24]

So according to the experts here Imam should be out! Lol! you guys, he did it against Ireland under pressure and he is doing it here again. But, haters gonna hate

 

[nextover666666]

50 runs for Babar Azam

 

[Something]

This was important. The run rate was crawling to 7. good work from the two to bring it down

 

[Badsha]

Excellent batting from Imam and Babar. The loss of Fakhar didn't deter them at the start and they took their time and played sensibly. Starting to become a fan of Imam also. Shows that he has a brain

It shows that this new generation has a brain when playing. I am telling you the flair batsmen we had before would have gone for flashy fours.

Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal, Razzak would have gone for flashy shots.

 

[mak36]

Great six from Imam. Why is no one mentioning it?

 

[Madplayer]

Amir sohail is over praising the batsmen.

 

[Hasan2K8]

Nabi getting a beating. I like that. Not that I dislike him. I just feel especially BD show this guy too much respect as if he is RK or Mujeeb. He isn’t mystry spinner just a normal off spinner who bowls well hit isnt unplayable. He must be taken apart, put him off his lines.

 

[B_Positive]

I dont know why people were getting so tensed. Right from the start I was saying that we got this.

 

[KingKhanWC]

Sensible by Afghan to take Rashid off and wait for the new batsmen....if there ever is one.

 

[ExpressPacer]

Really confused what to make of him. He has shown great temperament, plays long innings once set, has hundereds to his name, plays well under pressure. The only downside is his strike rate and inability to score boundaries even when he is set. That makes you wonder if he should be selected on a horses for course basis.

I would agree with your criticism however, even if we are to primarily speak about his inability to score boundaries, in comparison with someone like Shehzad (next best option, I suppose), he is far superior. Shehzad played elegant strokes straight to the fielders for dots, he even struggled to find gaps for singles.

I feel as though everyone repeatedly mentioning his supposed nepotistic selection has also influenced our opinions. He is not nearly half as bad as some people on here make him out to be. At only 20, and genuinely 22 at MOST, he has a lot of time to improve and is already a very solid batsman. I suppose he's worth the investment.

 

[rhony]

Mujeeb and Rashid in tandem now. Next 5 overs will be make or break for both teams

 

[Madplayer]

Good strike rotation

 

[Titan24]

He is proving them wrong. now just needs to put in a performance against india on sunday

He can never prove anything to the haters no mater what he does. I have seen hatred against other players too, and haters of those players even undermined the days where they performed.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Masterful chase by Pakistan here. Impressive!

 

[Madplayer]

Babar shouted something very funny but i heard only half of it.

 

[Titan24]

Some of ours fans think 20 balls 30 is better than 85 balls 70 in ODIs. So much for knowing cricket

 

[Slim]

Where my indian brothers at?

 

[Oligochaetes]

Imam is proving some people wrong here. Good innings under pressure lad. Keep going!

 

[B_Positive]

Babar shouted something very funny but i heard only half of it.

What is it? cricbuzz people not lucky like you

 

[Madplayer]

I think its poor captaincy by Afghan captain.

 

[Badsha]

Babar shouted something very funny but i heard only half of it.

what did he say?

 

[Invincible Gujjar]

both the guys are playing well. Not even a single imam hater is here now. He made them run hard.Playing very well.