The order of disaster - The tragedy that Pakistan batting order is

[fight_club]

Hoo haa, Congratulation, Shabash !!

Asif ali, saved Pakistan from Embarrassment twice within a week to keep it at the top of the table and sure spot in the semi's. One has to admit that this has been quite an achievement for team which changed 3 members in the squad at the very last minute.

There is a positive energy about the bunch and they have been the most impressive bowling unit of the tournament so far. There is a positive current flowing in the veins and they have been electric in the field. These are clear indicator of a team totally charged up.

Pakistan has won three matches while chasing and are consider tournament red hot favorites. So, what makes me come up with a thread like this. Well In my mind sirens are already ringing and I have a feeling that Pakistan may not go past semi's unless they do something with there batting.

The fact is not lost on me that Asif brilliance has saved Pakistan in two low scoring chases and you all know if they have to chase anything in the region of 170-180 what is the likely outcome. But if they were about to lose on two low scoring chase then You got to look deeper into the malice.


A Chance promotion has been grabbed by both hand from Rizwan becoming world no.1 T20 batsmen and then there is Babar, a touch Player who plays authentic cricket shots and still keep the score board clicking.

He has a very interesting stats worth closer scrutiny. His strike rate in power play is lower than overs after field restriction. It clearly indicate that he loves to play in the gap wait for loose balls and his tempo lift
as he play less or no dot ball after PP.

All these stats and facts are crying for him to Come at no.3 a number he is familiar with in white ball cricket and looking at the shambolic middle order it becomes even more crucial that he play the anchor role and let other take risk.

Now look at Mr. Fakhar, Pakistan best opener in ODI's and a match winner in his own right. He is not really suited for low and slow pitches and he is not a particularly good player of spin though can hit them long. He has been floating around from no.5 to no.3 like a pendulum.


Today he briefly displayed us what Pakistan has been missing in Power play as he batted with a strike rate of 160 before fizzing out to a strike Rotator role.

It seems Pakistan might to try out even Cinderella at no.3 but they would simply not break an opening combination which hardly make use of PP and make no sense to continue barring addiction to records.

Let's talk about Professor Who seems to have turned a new leaf and was consider the best T20 batsmen not too long ago with his middle order exploits but he has been on a steady decline from the past one year has not done anything of note.

He has been getting out to spinners on multiple occasion and Since Malik is the best batsmen of Spin in Pakistan then he should come at either 3 or 4 but surely not at 5. Again as long as Pakistan can keep the opening pair they don't seem to give a damn about middle order woes.

Asif Ali, who has become an overnight sensation and savior of Pakistan cricket has been bought as a finisher on these surfaces which suits him. However his fairy tale may not continue for long as his weakness on short pitch stuff at pace has been well exposed and he may not be able to pull Pakistan out of self inflicted hole every time.

Pakistan bowling has so far never allowed any team to post a health total
nor has Pakistan batted first and set up a total in high pressure games so far. I fear for them in semi's. It would be interesting to see if they try few variation's in remaining games something they have been so shy of in the past.

There are teams obsessed about winning and then there are teams obsessed about records. Pakistan has a great chance to Lift the trophy if they can fix there batting woes or it will come back to haunt them before its too late.

Fight_Club

 

[Major]

You are overly criticizing Pakistan here.

The NZ pitch was a very difficult pitch to bat on. Its easy to criticize that match after few days have passed, but watch that game live, it was not easy to bat on that pitch. The bounce was uneven. Even when Asif Ali tried hitting he had trouble judging the bounce. That is why babar Azam also got out.
Malik also batted well that day

Today Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam batted well. Afghanistan is not a weak team. I have said this many times, problem is you fans dont watch enough cricket and assume that Afghanistan is a weak minnow when infact they are not. Mujeeb ur Rehman, Nabi and Rashid khan are quality spinners and today they bowled quality overs.

What do you expect Pakistan to do? Chase the target in 15 overs? You are highly devaluing the Afghanistan team.

By now, all of our batsmen except Hafeez have played good cricket in the world t20, thus critisizng Pakistani batting makes no sense at all.

Our batting and bowling and fielding won us against India, NZ and Afg. Nz pitch was difficult and Afg has very good spinners especially in UAE.

 

[fight_club]

Dont you agree that Pakistan made a mess of two low scoring chases and could have been at the losing end.

Pp score in both the matches were lower than what there opponent scored.

 

[Major]

Dont you agree that Pakistan made a mess of two low scoring chases and could have been at the losing end.

Pp score in both the matches were lower than what there opponent scored.

Against NZ
The pitch was terrible. NZ barely posted a score and batting again on that pitch made it very difficult. Like i mentioned in my post, the batsmen had to to play agaisnt some uneven bounce. They batted really well and never made any mess.

Against Afg
This is the habit of many Pak fans who think Afg are a bad side. The bowling was opened by Mujeeb and Nabi. Mujeeb Ur Rehman is a very good off spinner and he bowls with the new ball. Pakistan was always going to be in trouble playing Mujeeb, Rashid and Nabi. Infact, Pakistan batted very very very well as Mujeeb is a quality spinner. They never made a mess of anything. Maybe the score could had been 10 runs more in the PP but mujeeb is quality.

Pakistan took advantage of Afg mistakes. Had Nabi played mujeeeb later where he attacked with mujeeb and rashid from both ends Paksitan would had been in trouble.

The difference between Pakistan and Afghanistan was, Pakistan knew the opponent. They played out mujeeb, went after the pacers and even played out Rashid. Nabi made a bad mistake of using Rashids last over at that moment because getting a wicket meant nothing. Asif Ali was yet to come.

had Rashid been bowling agianst Asif Ali, it would had been a different ball game.

Pakistan has batted well they have done nothing wrong. All batsmen except Hafeez have performed now. Stop expecting 10 wickets win in every game, Understand the conditions, and give respect to the opponent.

 

[fight_club]

Against NZ
The pitch was terrible. NZ barely posted a score and batting again on that pitch made it very difficult. Like i mentioned in my post, the batsmen had to to play agaisnt some uneven bounce. They batted really well and never made any mess.

Against Afg
This is the habit of many Pak fans who think Afg are a bad side. The bowling was opened by Mujeeb and Nabi. Mujeeb Ur Rehman is a very good off spinner and he bowls with the new ball. Pakistan was always going to be in trouble playing Mujeeb, Rashid and Nabi. Infact, Pakistan batted very very very well as Mujeeb is a quality spinner. They never made a mess of anything. Maybe the score could had been 10 runs more in the PP but mujeeb is quality.

Pakistan took advantage of Afg mistakes. Had Nabi played mujeeeb later where he attacked with mujeeb and rashid from both ends Paksitan would had been in trouble.

The difference between Pakistan and Afghanistan was, Pakistan knew the opponent. They played out mujeeb, went after the pacers and even played out Rashid. Nabi made a bad mistake of using Rashids last over at that moment because getting a wicket meant nothing. Asif Ali was yet to come.

had Rashid been bowling agianst Asif Ali, it would had been a different ball game.

Pakistan has batted well they have done nothing wrong. All batsmen except Hafeez have performed now. Stop expecting 10 wickets win in every game, Understand the conditions, and give respect to the opponent.

Answer the following question.

1. What has been pakistan avg. Pp score in past 15 matches

2. Should a team plan to exploit pp to kill the game and put opposition into pressure.

3. If babar has to play risk free cricket and anchor the innings which he must do then shouldn"t he come at no.3

4. Did fakhar strike at 160 in pp today when babar had a strike rate of 10 from 19 balls

5. Is hafeez better player of pace or malik

6. Is malik.better player actually best player of spin or hafeez

 

[Major]

Answer the following question.

1. What has been pakistan avg. Pp score in past 15 matches

2. Should a team plan to exploit pp to kill the game and put opposition into pressure.

3. If babar has to play risk free cricket and anchor the innings which he must do then shouldn"t he come at no.3

4. Did fakhar strike at 160 in pp today when babar had a strike rate of 10 from 19 balls

5. Is hafeez better player of pace or malik

6. Is malik.better player actually best player of spin or hafeez

Pak has won 3 on 3 with everyone performing, and instead of taking offense do learn that conditions have an effect on batting and opposition matters.

 

[cricketInsight]

It's been a great run and hope it continues to the end. But there is some truth to what you have said. Fakhar would be best used in PP while the ball is new to make an impact before the start of spin at both ends. Babar can be equally as good at 3 as he is at 1. Fakhar could add an extra dimension opening. The risk with Fakhar at 3 is that you could also lose two quick wickets.

Hafeez has not done well but I think his place is fine - I trust him less than Malik to get us through in a tough chase especially in current form. We are overly reliant on Asif - Imad & Shadab don't have a lot of confidence with the bat either.

Maybe we fix the bowling to save the batting having to push hard. We should try to experiment with Hassan, maybe bring in Waseem or even Nawaz. One thing Pakistan is really bad at as you said is to change a winning combination - it's like black magic for us. We have to learn from our mistakes, experiment a bit otherwise a tough game in the semis after two relatively softer ones might do us in.

 

[moghul]

Wonder what will it take to drop very out of from and very old Hafeez. He is so old and weak, his attempted six cannot go beyond 50 yard now and he gets caught in the mid field. Bring in Haider or even Nawaz for him .

 

[Alter_Ego]

Absolutely. The powerplay utilisation is one of the poorest by Pakistan. I would say even a 160 will be enough to defend against these batters. Aus or Eng will certainly score well beyond 160 and it will game set and match

 

[Colorblind Genius]

Hoo haa, Congratulation, Shabash !!

Asif ali, saved Pakistan from Embarrassment twice within a week to keep it at the top of the table and sure spot in the semi's. One has to admit that this has been quite an achievement for team which changed 3 members in the squad at the very last minute.

There is a positive energy about the bunch and they have been the most impressive bowling unit of the tournament so far. There is a positive current flowing in the veins and they have been electric in the field. These are clear indicator of a team totally charged up.

Pakistan has won three matches while chasing and are consider tournament red hot favorites. So, what makes me come up with a thread like this. Well In my mind sirens are already ringing and I have a feeling that Pakistan may not go past semi's unless they do something with there batting.

The fact is not lost on me that Asif brilliance has saved Pakistan in two low scoring chases and you all know if they have to chase anything in the region of 170-180 what is the likely outcome. But if they were about to lose on two low scoring chase then You got to look deeper into the malice.


A Chance promotion has been grabbed by both hand from Rizwan becoming world no.1 T20 batsmen and then there is Babar, a touch Player who plays authentic cricket shots and still keep the score board clicking.

He has a very interesting stats worth closer scrutiny. His strike rate in power play is lower than overs after field restriction. It clearly indicate that he loves to play in the gap wait for loose balls and his tempo lift
as he play less or no dot ball after PP.

All these stats and facts are crying for him to Come at no.3 a number he is familiar with in white ball cricket and looking at the shambolic middle order it becomes even more crucial that he play the anchor role and let other take risk.

Now look at Mr. Fakhar, Pakistan best opener in ODI's and a match winner in his own right. He is not really suited for low and slow pitches and he is not a particularly good player of spin though can hit them long. He has been floating around from no.5 to no.3 like a pendulum.


Today he briefly displayed us what Pakistan has been missing in Power play as he batted with a strike rate of 160 before fizzing out to a strike Rotator role.

It seems Pakistan might to try out even Cinderella at no.3 but they would simply not break an opening combination which hardly make use of PP and make no sense to continue barring addiction to records.

Let's talk about Professor Who seems to have turned a new leaf and was consider the best T20 batsmen not too long ago with his middle order exploits but he has been on a steady decline from the past one year has not done anything of note.

He has been getting out to spinners on multiple occasion and Since Malik is the best batsmen of Spin in Pakistan then he should come at either 3 or 4 but surely not at 5. Again as long as Pakistan can keep the opening pair they don't seem to give a damn about middle order woes.

Asif Ali, who has become an overnight sensation and savior of Pakistan cricket has been bought as a finisher on these surfaces which suits him. However his fairy tale may not continue for long as his weakness on short pitch stuff at pace has been well exposed and he may not be able to pull Pakistan out of self inflicted hole every time.

Pakistan bowling has so far never allowed any team to post a health total
nor has Pakistan batted first and set up a total in high pressure games so far. I fear for them in semi's. It would be interesting to see if they try few variation's in remaining games something they have been so shy of in the past.

There are teams obsessed about winning and then there are teams obsessed about records. Pakistan has a great chance to Lift the trophy if they can fix there batting woes or it will come back to haunt them before its too late.

Fight_Club

I think I agree.
The use of power play is somewhat of a concern. We must look into it.
We are not launching an aggressive attack and fly off the blocks.

And so is Hafeez’s role n contribution. Even today, he played a half hearted shot with no passion, energy and no bat speed.

And I would try to address both issues by replacing Hafeez with Haider Ali, and make him open.
And push Barber at 3.

Second issue that we must stay on the alert for;
Sooner than later, averages are gonna catch up with Asif and he will start getting out cheaply.
We must take proactive action and be ready and plan to counter it, before it happens.
Asif is not going to play like this for you every day.

We already knew before arriving into UAE that middle order batting was our weakest link - and that hasn’t changed.

Our batting almost made a meal out of TWO low targets.
Those trademark phenomenon of self imposing pressure for no apparent reason, were quite evident. How often do you think Asif is gonna come to your rescue?
And that’s the concern - a major one.

Again, Haider is a must in the playing squad.

So far as the bowling goes, yes anything is possible, but the chances of opposition scoring 180 are not very high.

However, if that happens, our weak middle order will be exposed yet again with all of us acting like a deer caught in the headlights.

 

[Abdurmirr]

Our opening partnership has been the reason for our success in all three games.

First match vs India we were chasing a target of 152 against probably the one of the best bowling line ups of the tournament. Many Pakistan teams of the past would have choked this total, if we had lost even 1 wicket upfront from over aggression than we could have easily fallen like a house of cards. However both Babar and Rizwan assessed the conditions upfront, took their time and waited for lose bowling; the result, a 10 wicket win.

Second game against NZ we're chasing 135 on a slow Sharjah wicket (same wicket were a guy of Willamson's class only scored 25 off 26). Once again our opening partnership got us of to a slow but steady start and that gave us a platform to work with. Chasing such a small total low risk cricket was needed and that was given through Rizwan's 33 off 34 which forced NZ to use up an extra over from Boult and bowl out Sodhi before Asif arrived: the result, another win.

Finally against Afghanistan, Babar this time played the role off anchor and was able to ensure that our late middle order did not have to face the likes of Mujeeb, Nabi or Rashid and instead they could have the chance to attack Afghanistan's weaker links of Janat and Naveen. As Asif said post match, the management and himself had confidence that even a total of 20 of the last 2 could be chased down. Once again we had a plan to negate their spinners and to attack their pacers, once again it payed off and once again it resulted in another win.

Look if we want to play sloggers at the top of the order then that's ok. Just look at how well the West Indies are doing. I mean our top order's terrible that it has resulted in us winning 3 out of 3 games against top tier oppositon's

 

[Colorblind Genius]

Our opening partnership has been the reason for our success in all three games.

First match vs India we were chasing a target of 152 against probably the one of the best bowling line ups of the tournament. Many Pakistan teams of the past would have choked this total, if we had lost even 1 wicket upfront from over aggression than we could have easily fallen like a house of cards. However both Babar and Rizwan assessed the conditions upfront, took their time and waited for lose bowling; the result, a 10 wicket win.

Second game against NZ we're chasing 135 on a slow Sharjah wicket (same wicket were a guy of Willamson's class only scored 25 off 26). Once again our opening partnership got us of to a slow but steady start and that gave us a platform to work with. Chasing such a small total low risk cricket was needed and that was given through Rizwan's 33 off 34 which forced NZ to use up an extra over from Boult and bowl out Sodhi before Asif arrived: the result, another win.

Finally against Afghanistan, Babar this time played the role off anchor and was able to ensure that our late middle order did not have to face the likes of Mujeeb, Nabi or Rashid and instead they could have the chance to attack Afghanistan's weaker links of Janat and Naveen. As Asif said post match, the management and himself had confidence that even a total of 20 of the last 2 could be chased down. Once again we had a plan to negate their spinners and to attack their pacers, once again it payed off and once again it resulted in another win.

Look if we want to play sloggers at the top of the order then that's ok. Just look at how well the West Indies are doing. I mean our top order's terrible that it has resulted in us winning 3 out of 3 games against top tier oppositon's

So we should not worry about, or plan to take advantage of the power play, and hope that Asif Ali will come to rescue every day?

 

[Abdurmirr]

So we should not worry about, or plan to take advantage of the power play, and hope that Asif Ali will come to rescue every day?

We obviously could do some thing better such as looking to be a bit smarter with strike rotation and looking to play the gaps with more precision, however with our players and the way this tournament is going, I would much rather look to keep wickets upfront and look to build a big score.

Lol we’re playing in the UAE, taking advantage of the power play is looking to build a solid base not looking to score 60 of the first 6.

Just look at the West Indies or Afghanistan yesterday

 

[UsmanhailsAfridi]

Oh yes let’s throw Afridi type batters to open and just pray

Seriously our fans have 0 cricket knowledge and don’t want to appreciate good cricket. Fans like these are waiting for us to fail so they can say I told you so.

Open with Haider. Oh yeah has anyone seen the kid bat at international level

Open with Fakhar. Sure it could work but should we try that now in the middle of the tournament?

We have a solid opening pair, we haven’t had this kind of consistently since Amir Saeed were opening. Stop being ungrateful and enjoy the ride

 

[Hectic]

“Asif Ali saved Pakistan twice from embarrassment”

What is this logic? Asif Ali is playing as a batsman, his role in this team is literally to finish off games in the final 5 overs. What actually is an embarrassment is to act as we were 9 down in both games and needed heroics from no. 11 in the final over to drag us over the line. When in reality we won both games with 5 wickets and overs to spare.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

The heading of this post should have been:

'A sad post from a sad individual who is mad that Pakistan didn't select the team/batting line-up of his choice'.

 

[Cric1234]

The heading of this post should have been:

'A sad post from a sad individual who is mad that Pakistan didn't select the team/batting line-up of his choice'.

To be fair under ideal conditions and scores which ideally suit our team in all 3 matches it would’ve been a failure to not win 2/3 of these matches at least.

What we don’t want now is a high scoring match in the Semis in games where 140 150 is being set we can squeeze out most teams using our experience and knowledge of conditions.

 

[badsha001]

Nawaz or Haider in for Hafeez.

 

[IMMY69]

Dont you agree that Pakistan made a mess of two low scoring chases and could have been at the losing end.

Pp score in both the matches were lower than what there opponent scored.

I think quiet a few team may have messed up both chases.
I can literally see them panic against the spin or not being able to time the ball....

We did extremely to win both games

 

[happydavy]

If pakistan can contain the opposition team at 150 or less then powerplay doesn't matter. It's fine if they are 40/0 at end of 6 overs as scoring 110 of 84 balls with such a long batting line-up is easy. The long batting line up means that if most score 20-25 runs each also and no one makes a 50, is enough for pakistan to sail through. The ODI problems don't come to the fore in T20s. I have been saying since before ind-pak match that Pakistan problems start when they have to chase 170+, which is when a few teams will be able to outscore pakistan.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

To be fair under ideal conditions and scores which ideally suit our team in all 3 matches it would’ve been a failure to not win 2/3 of these matches at least.

What we don’t want now is a high scoring match in the Semis in games where 140 150 is being set we can squeeze out most teams using our experience and knowledge of conditions.

If it was Australia, I would agree with you. But it isn't.

Its UAE where 150-160 is the norm. And 160 can easily be a winning total.

 

[UzmanBeast]

So we should not worry about, or plan to take advantage of the power play, and hope that Asif Ali will come to rescue every day?

The Babar+Rizwan opening combination is something nobody complains about when it works, but everyone jumps on if it doesn't work for a game.

Now, you could let Fakhar Zaman open for the remaining two games and test the bench strength by replacing Hafeez with Haider Ali.

Haider's newfound form in the NT20 Cup came from batting at #3, so it depends on how you distribute the roles.

In the bowling, I would rest either Shaheen or Hasan and replace them with Mohammad Wasim.

When Pakistan's openers have done well, they have maximized the powerplay. When they don't do well, a lot of questions are brought up immediately.

Surprisingly, nobody questioned Afghanistan's openers when they tried going all guns blazing and ended up with half their side in the pavilion.

 

[Corridor of Uncertainty]

So we should not worry about, or plan to take advantage of the power play, and hope that Asif Ali will come to rescue every day?

Teams wins consistently when they set themselves up to turn their strengths into towering strengths. They lose their way when they focus on who they are not - and obsesses about their weaknesses. An example: Ronaldo will be far better off practicing his finishing and runs into the box rather than spending hours on his defending - because he will never be a great defender but he can always become an even more lethal striker.

Pakistan has won 3/3 because their team is set up to turn their strengths into towering strenghts:

- Opening: Babar/Rizwan are Pakistan's top bats. Pakistan is set up to utilize their best players to their strengths - which involves going at a reasonably brisk but low risk rate at the top to preserve wickets and set platform.
- Bowling: A multidimensional, attacking bowling unit is Pakistan's core strength. Pakistan hasn't had big totals to chase because Pakistan's bowling is set up to restrict batsmen with wickets.
- All rounders: Pakistan know they don't work well with only bowlers/only batsmen set up, so they have set themselves up to be all-rounder heavy. Pakistan are playing Hafeez and Hassan because they do dual roles, as do Imad and Shadab (Also, to some extent Shoaib). Otherwise they'd play Dahani/Wasim/Haider. Hassan is struggling a bit even if taking wickets - but Hafeez has already come to the party with his bowling. So has Shoaib who has played crucial roles. Hafeez and Shoaib provide much needed calm in an otherwise young team.
- Finishing: Pakistan has developed some lower order hitting prowess of late. Asif and Hassan do that. Imad and Shadab can tonk a few as well. Asif's role is setup as a finisher so if he performs, he is only doing what he is required to do in this set up.

Of course, things can go wrong with any plan, including possibly against England, but that's sport - not all plans work all the time.

However, it is far more advisable to focus on your core strengths and turn them into towering strengths rather than focus on what might happen and build the team on worst case scenarios.

 

[fight_club]

Looks like Sidhu Paaji happy vaali spirit has rubbed into many posters here. So I will keep your sentiments
while trying to do "Bruahhhhhaaa" opps, I mean discussion.

1. Oye, ye toh saada plan hai (means, a well thought out intentional strategy) shava !! Shava !!

So, The opening pair has a plan to score between 5 to 7 RR in PP. "Arree yeh to masterplan hai"
Hurrayyyaa

Sir, When you are chasing low score you should not give an inch to the opposition and shut the door
firmly right there Also "Happy Vaale Sir ji" if we take sample size of last 15 match's we will notice
that its actually not a strategy its the "Damn Limitation" Babar Strike rate is always low in PP
and than he accelerate after PP. So, What is he doing in PP ??

"What" The stats are saying this, Oh Goli marro ji, Dhol lao, Bhangra pao , Aur koi "Stats" lao bhai
(these stats though reveal the truth but Since I am So happy even as I read it shaking my legs
So, I wouldn't care. World no.1 opener followed by poorest middle order)

2. Babar must not take risk and bat through the inning keeping one end while other batters play
around him- Very Sensible argument"

now, please check the way he got out against Kiwi's playing an ugly swipe?? Why Mr. Jolly avg fellow
because he got sucked up into pressure by playing nothing in PP however had be been playing at
no.3 he could have just knocked the ball in gap kept his wicket and you would have still kept your
biryani

"Oye, World class opening pair. Please put only convenient fact to tower my happiness" Why should
we keep an open mind, open your mouth and do "Bruhhhhaaaaaaaaaaa" Oye Logic gaya bhaad
mein."


3. Fakhar, haider ali and few days ago (The Asif Ali) they are all slogger's Oye bajao mujiKK

Yes Happy Paaji, Just to keep you morale high and lame arguments going everyone else become
a slogger. Yesterday we all saw when Fakhar finally came in PP. Something where he is most
comfortable and his natural position throughout his career he played at a strike rate of 160
and was 25 of 15 balls Where as Babar has played 19 deliveries for 10 (Sssh that's was plan)

Sir, Fakhar has no experience to play at no.3, 4, 5 etc

Sir: Shava Shava, He is a slogger who will perform at no.3 Bruaahhaaa

4. Malik at no.5 and Hafeez at no.4 Oye oye

Sir ji, Can you keep both legs on the ground and please listen that Hafeez is not suitable at no.4
and Malik who is the best player of spin must come at his position or even no.3

Sir: As long as Babar and Rizwan is opening to hell with all these little uncomfortable facts. everything
is a PLAN you got it PLAN oye plan plan shava shava


5. Happy Sir ji, Asif has a know weakness. Pacer will target him with short pitch stuff at pace

"Oye, Chup karo. Nothing is going in my head there is so much noise. Oye Mujikkk pao jor se
aaj mein Nachunga saari raat re....

 

[Colorblind Genius]

“Asif Ali saved Pakistan twice from embarrassment”

What is this logic? Asif Ali is playing as a batsman, his role in this team is literally to finish off games in the final 5 overs. What actually is an embarrassment is to act as we were 9 down in both games and needed heroics from no. 11 in the final over to drag us over the line. When in reality we won both games with 5 wickets and overs to spare.

He sure did.
Didn't he?
In both games, we were on our last leg chasing a small total.
In the game against NZ, we were just one wicket away from a complete disaster.
And in the game against Afghanistan, we were again, just one wicket away from a humiliating defeat.

When you mess up such small totals to a point where you push yourself on the brink under a self imposed pressure for no apparent reason - then there is something wrong with your batting EVEN THOUGH you have won the game.
How hard is it to understand?

Teams wins consistently when they set themselves up to turn their strengths into towering strengths. They lose their way when they focus on who they are not - and obsesses about their weaknesses. An example: Ronaldo will be far better off practicing his finishing and runs into the box rather than spending hours on his defending - because he will never be a great defender but he can always become an even more lethal striker.

Pakistan has won 3/3 because their team is set up to turn their strengths into towering strenghts:

- Opening: Babar/Rizwan are Pakistan's top bats. Pakistan is set up to utilize their best players to their strengths - which involves going at a reasonably brisk but low risk rate at the top to preserve wickets and set platform.
- Bowling: A multidimensional, attacking bowling unit is Pakistan's core strength. Pakistan hasn't had big totals to chase because Pakistan's bowling is set up to restrict batsmen with wickets.
- All rounders: Pakistan know they don't work well with only bowlers/only batsmen set up, so they have set themselves up to be all-rounder heavy. Pakistan are playing Hafeez and Hassan because they do dual roles, as do Imad and Shadab (Also, to some extent Shoaib). Otherwise they'd play Dahani/Wasim/Haider. Hassan is struggling a bit even if taking wickets - but Hafeez has already come to the party with his bowling. So has Shoaib who has played crucial roles. Hafeez and Shoaib provide much needed calm in an otherwise young team.
- Finishing: Pakistan has developed some lower order hitting prowess of late. Asif and Hassan do that. Imad and Shadab can tonk a few as well. Asif's role is setup as a finisher so if he performs, he is only doing what he is required to do in this set up.

Of course, things can go wrong with any plan, including possibly against England, but that's sport - not all plans work all the time.

However, it is far more advisable to focus on your core strengths and turn them into towering strengths rather than focus on what might happen and build the team on worst case scenarios.

If we go by your logic then this is the gist of it (and correct me if I am wrong).
"we are NOT going to change our approach in the powerplay and in the opening because we are not confident or good enough in scoring quick. This is a static approach that we won't change".

Which means,
"we will always 'HOPE' that Asif Ali is going to deliver the goods to make up for it".

Now, what are the probabilities of Asif delivering every time because we will make sure that our opening and powerful play approach will be the same every time?

Here is the issue with this approach, and always remember "Hope is not a plan."

As I said in post # 10, averages ARE going to catch up with Asif Ali and he will start getting out cheaply (God forbids).
And in that case, what you are telling me is that we perhaps won't be able to chase even the small totals after our bowlers have bowl their heart out to put us in a winning situation?

The Babar+Rizwan opening combination is something nobody complains about when it works, but everyone jumps on if it doesn't work for a game.

Now, you could let Fakhar Zaman open for the remaining two games and test the bench strength by replacing Hafeez with Haider Ali.

Haider's newfound form in the NT20 Cup came from batting at #3, so it depends on how you distribute the roles.

In the bowling, I would rest either Shaheen or Hasan and replace them with Mohammad Wasim.

When Pakistan's openers have done well, they have maximized the powerplay. When they don't do well, a lot of questions are brought up immediately.

Surprisingly, nobody questioned Afghanistan's openers when they tried going all guns blazing and ended up with half their side in the pavilion.

The last piece is definitely something to ponder about and it seems like there is a trend here. We haven't seen too much of blasting in the powerplay during this entire tournament. Yes, I will give it to you BUT I will surely not trap myself in a tunnel vision and be stuck in a rut.

The next two games are something where we MUST try to launch an attack in the powerplay regardless of if we are batting first or second and regardless of if we chasing a small or big total.
We must open ourselves to well practiced with a couple of different approaches in the batting display.

If chasing such low scores brings the entire fanbase on the brink of having a heart attack then there is something wrong with this batting approach.

As I stated above, Asif Ali is not going to deliver from you every day. Don't count on him all the time and take action before fit hits the shan.

 

[UzmanBeast]

He sure did.
Didn't he?
In both games, we were on our last leg chasing a small total.
In the game against NZ, we were just one wicket away from a complete disaster.
And in the game against Afghanistan, we were again, just one wicket away from a humiliating defeat.

When you mess up such small totals to a point where you push yourself on the brink under a self imposed pressure for no apparent reason - then there is something wrong with your batting EVEN THOUGH you have won the game.
How hard is it to understand?



If we go by your logic then this is the gist of it (and correct me if I am wrong).
"we are NOT going to change our approach in the powerplay and in the opening because we are not confident or good enough in scoring quick. This is a static approach that we won't change".

Which means,
"we will always 'HOPE' that Asif Ali is going to deliver the goods to make up for it".

Now, what are the probabilities of Asif delivering every time because we will make sure that our opening and powerful play approach will be the same every time?

Here is the issue with this approach, and always remember "Hope is not a plan."

As I said in post # 10, averages ARE going to catch up with Asif Ali and he will start getting out cheaply (God forbids).
And in that case, what you are telling me is that we perhaps won't be able to chase even the small totals after our bowlers have bowl their heart out to put us in a winning situation?




The last piece is definitely something to ponder about and it seems like there is a trend here. We haven't seen too much of blasting in the powerplay during this entire tournament. Yes, I will give it to you BUT I will surely not trap myself in a tunnel vision and be stuck in a rut.

The next two games are something where we MUST try to launch an attack in the powerplay regardless of if we are batting first or second and regardless of if we chasing a small or big total.
We must open ourselves to well practiced with a couple of different approaches in the batting display.

If chasing such low scores brings the entire fanbase on the brink of having a heart attack then there is something wrong with this batting approach.

As I stated above, Asif Ali is not going to deliver from you every day. Don't count on him all the time and take action before fit hits the shan.

Against teams like Namibia and Scotland, I would make a few changes for sure.

I can understand not changing a winning combination, but perhaps changing how players are used.

I would certainly let Imad and Shadab get more time to bat. If they too can be among the runs, then we'll know our capabilities should the top order get blasted away, just a precautionary measure.

Furthermore, I'd also test Mohammad Wasim and let Hasan Ali get some rest. Ever since that injury scare in the NT20 Cup, it seems like he's been struggling with his fitness, and I think some rest will do him good.

The thing is, I don't think we can sent Fakhar to open. He's been doing well at #3 in these conditions. What needs to change is the intent of the openers in the powerplay. If Rizwan is comfortable playing aggressively, then he should carry that intent from start to finish. If Babar is comfortable getting set, then he should rotate strike and let Rizwan take most of the strike.

If we push Fakhar to open, and it results in him losing form, then we'll be in a deeper ditch.

Haider Ali needs to be tried ahead of Mohammad Hafeez though, I feel as though Hafeez contributes nothing with the bat now.

 

[hitthestump]

No changes. Keep the momentum going.

Hasan Ali desperately needs to play. He's bowled brilliantly in patches but his inconsistency is letting him down. Hopefully some practice with the pressure off is going to be helpful for him.

 

[Corridor of Uncertainty]

He sure did.
Didn't he?
In both games, we were on our last leg chasing a small total.
In the game against NZ, we were just one wicket away from a complete disaster.
And in the game against Afghanistan, we were again, just one wicket away from a humiliating defeat.

When you mess up such small totals to a point where you push yourself on the brink under a self imposed pressure for no apparent reason - then there is something wrong with your batting EVEN THOUGH you have won the game.
How hard is it to understand?



If we go by your logic then this is the gist of it (and correct me if I am wrong).
"we are NOT going to change our approach in the powerplay and in the opening because we are not confident or good enough in scoring quick. This is a static approach that we won't change".

Which means,
"we will always 'HOPE' that Asif Ali is going to deliver the goods to make up for it".

Now, what are the probabilities of Asif delivering every time because we will make sure that our opening and powerful play approach will be the same every time?

Here is the issue with this approach, and always remember "Hope is not a plan."

As I said in post # 10, averages ARE going to catch up with Asif Ali and he will start getting out cheaply (God forbids).
And in that case, what you are telling me is that we perhaps won't be able to chase even the small totals after our bowlers have bowl their heart out to put us in a winning situation?




The last piece is definitely something to ponder about and it seems like there is a trend here. We haven't seen too much of blasting in the powerplay during this entire tournament. Yes, I will give it to you BUT I will surely not trap myself in a tunnel vision and be stuck in a rut.

The next two games are something where we MUST try to launch an attack in the powerplay regardless of if we are batting first or second and regardless of if we chasing a small or big total.
We must open ourselves to well practiced with a couple of different approaches in the batting display.

If chasing such low scores brings the entire fanbase on the brink of having a heart attack then there is something wrong with this batting approach.

As I stated above, Asif Ali is not going to deliver from you every day. Don't count on him all the time and take action before fit hits the shan.

Way to totally miss the point. All I am saying is, stick to what has worked for you against three of the top teams.

However continue to tweak so you get better at execution. I am absolutely against change in personnel, batting order, approach or other inane things you suggested.

 

[Extra_Cover]

The thread is overly critical of Pakistan who has been spectacular so far in this tournament. Some areas where criticism has been laid has been follows:

1. Hafeez not scoring runs - Well on two occasions he batted so far its fair to say that against NZL he would consider himself unlucky as he got out to potentially the catch of the tournament. Against most fielders that would have been a boundary. Next against Rashid he was outdone by potentially the best spinner in bowling friendly conditions. The chances of him facing a bowler of similar capability in similar bowling friendly conditions are close to nil. Yes, Hafeez hasn't scored runs so far but he is someone who was in red hot form sometime back and I hope that Hafeez turns up in knockout games.

2. Hasan's bowling - This is more to do with mentally Hasan not focusing enough. We saw Hasan in yesterday's game nodding head when in discussion during the spell but not really listening or heeding to the advice being given to him. Similary we saw glimpses of Hasan losing his cool during Indian game on Pakistani fielders. If Hasan has a good game then Pakistan 8/10 times have a good game too so its imperative Hasan sort his head ahead of knockout games. I wish someone like Hayden works with Hasan's mental side here.

3. Babar getting dismissed cheaply - You got to criticise the way Babar has given his wickets against NZL and AFG. In both these games the opposition found a bit of momentum out of nowhere after Babar got himself out. As a captain and leader in side I much rather see Babar taken the responsibility and going all the way in a match. Yes the wickets are tricky but Babar is too good of a player to be comprehensively bowled twice now.

 

[Colorblind Genius]

The thread is overly critical of Pakistan who has been spectacular so far in this tournament. Some areas where criticism has been laid has been follows:

1. Hafeez not scoring runs - Well on two occasions he batted so far its fair to say that against NZL he would consider himself unlucky as he got out to potentially the catch of the tournament. Against most fielders that would have been a boundary. Next against Rashid he was outdone by potentially the best spinner in bowling friendly conditions. The chances of him facing a bowler of similar capability in similar bowling friendly conditions are close to nil. Yes, Hafeez hasn't scored runs so far but he is someone who was in red hot form sometime back and I hope that Hafeez turns up in knockout games.

2. Hasan's bowling - This is more to do with mentally Hasan not focusing enough. We saw Hasan in yesterday's game nodding head when in discussion during the spell but not really listening or heeding to the advice being given to him. Similary we saw glimpses of Hasan losing his cool during Indian game on Pakistani fielders. If Hasan has a good game then Pakistan 8/10 times have a good game too so its imperative Hasan sort his head ahead of knockout games. I wish someone like Hayden works with Hasan's mental side here.

3. Babar getting dismissed cheaply - You got to criticise the way Babar has given his wickets against NZL and AFG. In both these games the opposition found a bit of momentum out of nowhere after Babar got himself out. As a captain and leader in side I much rather see Babar taken the responsibility and going all the way in a match. Yes the wickets are tricky but Babar is too good of a player to be comprehensively bowled twice now.

Tell me a plan to win if Asif Ali fails?
Is there any safety net around Asif? Is there a Plan B?

 

[shaz72]

Oh yes let’s throw Afridi type batters to open and just pray

Seriously our fans have 0 cricket knowledge and don’t want to appreciate good cricket. Fans like these are waiting for us to fail so they can say I told you so.

Open with Haider. Oh yeah has anyone seen the kid bat at international level

Open with Fakhar. Sure it could work but should we try that now in the middle of the tournament?

We have a solid opening pair, we haven’t had this kind of consistently since Amir Saeed were opening. Stop being ungrateful and enjoy the ride

I agree with you, our batsmen understanding of power play is blind slogging. Because our batsmen are not technically sound nor mentally mature and lack game awareness. They will like to hit every ball out of park in first six over thus loosing 3-4 owicket under power play and loosing momentum and match.

 

[fight_club]

If we push Fakhar to open, and it results in him losing form, then we'll be in a deeper ditch.

Haider Ali needs to be tried ahead of Mohammad Hafeez though, I feel as though Hafeez contributes nothing with the bat now.

Why would a batsmen who has opened all his life and looked the best player of PP would lose his form?
This kind of silly argument is not new to save the "Fav" opening pair

I agree with you, our batsmen understanding of power play is blind slogging. Because our batsmen are not technically sound nor mentally mature and lack game awareness. They will like to hit every ball out of park in first six over thus loosing 3-4 owicket under power play and loosing momentum and match.

Did, you see Fakhar doing that and even if he does. I would like a batsmen who would provide some challenge to bowlers and not allow them to come with set plans. This is T20. All team are ready to risk one batsmen if he goes out Babar and rizwan can continue doing there things

Another brainless argument among many I have seen in this thread

 

[Colorblind Genius]

Pakistan should plan to bat with one simple assumption - There is no Asif Ali in the squad.

How are you going deliver a winning batting performance?

 

[Major]

Pakistan should plan to bat with one simple assumption - There is no Asif Ali in the squad.

How are you going deliver a winning batting performance?

Hassan ALI, shadab, imad waseem.

They can also strike the ball, not as good as asif.

Why are posters acting as if pakistan is a great team that no team can challenge them.

When you play on bad wickets and against good bowlingz you will fave problems and pakistan has came out as top in both games.
Asif alis role is to play such shots, which is why he is sent in a time when we need quick runs near the end

 

[Colorblind Genius]

Hassan ALI, shadab, imad waseem.

They can also strike the ball, not as good as asif.

Why are posters acting as if pakistan is a great team that no team can challenge them.

When you play on bad wickets and against good bowlingz you will fave problems and pakistan has came out as top in both games.
Asif alis role is to play such shots, which is why he is sent in a time when we need quick runs near the end

This is EXACTLY what we DON'T want.

The actual plan should be to NOT make a mess out of the batting innings, and do NOT rely on the lower order to hit big in the last 2 overs.

We displayed this vulnerability twice already and it needs to be addressed.
Top and middle order must be reinforced and deliver the goods or else, we are walking on thin ice.

 

[Major]

This is EXACTLY what we DON'T want.

The actual plan should be to NOT make a mess out of the batting innings, and do NOT rely on the lower order to hit big in the last 2 overs.

We displayed this vulnerability twice already and it needs to be addressed.
Top and middle order must be reinforced and deliver the goods or else, we are walking on thin ice.

Again, you are asking something that isnt possible. We are not a top level team, you will expect these guys to finish when good bowling is being faced.

Shadab, imad play as all rounders. Hasan ali plays as a slogger.

If asif ali fails we will rely on them.

This is t20 cricket, i think most of you are viewing this as odi.
If this was odi i would had agreed with you

 

[Monsee]

I guess other teams are there to eat Nihari taay Lassi Shassi and be marry...last I checked, they come to play crickuut too

These grounds are not letting many/most teams to score freely and all three teams we faced so far, had very good/exceptional attacks (in general, even if they they struggled a bit against us at times)...to still come out trumps is quite an achievement. They question: what if Asif Ali was not there or didn't perform, well, wasn't he selected for a role and he came through as expected. What is the issue there, now?

Yes, we could do away with one of Hafeez and Malik but despite liking Haider from his U19 days, I still think he is far from a settled Pak player to rescue the team on the Int'l level. Till then, or if another one shows up with better skills, we are sort of stuck relying on the same player who have won us 3-3

 

[fight_club]

I have seen many lengthy post's on this thread but no one has given straight answer's to simple questions.

I would watch with lot of interest what Pakistan will do against Nambia and than Scots. In Misbah era No
experimentation were ever done even in dead matches or against minnows. Will Pakistan Try a different
batting order and combination is what I would watch with keen interest. Also They should look to bat
first for a change.

Semi's are on 10th and 11th. So, far all the games have gone with similar template. Bowling first and restricting the opponents within 152 and then huffing and puffing through the red line barring one.

 

[Colorblind Genius]

I have seen many lengthy post's on this thread but no one has given straight answer's to simple questions.

I would watch with lot of interest what Pakistan will do against Nambia and than Scots. In Misbah era No
experimentation were ever done even in dead matches or against minnows. Will Pakistan Try a different
batting order and combination is what I would watch with keen interest. Also They should look to bat
first for a change.

Semi's are on 10th and 11th. So, far all the games have gone with similar template. Bowling first and restricting the opponents within 152 and then huffing and puffing through the red line barring one.

http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/s...2021-Match-Discussion&p=11336158#post11336158

 

[IMMY69]

Pray to the lord that we go in with the same line up today and with the same batting order!!

 

[MenInG]

 

[fight_club]

Powerplay score of 29/0 against mighty nambia. Almost 15 overs played by opening duo.

Great going

 

[Titan24]

I think we are not factoring into account the nature of pitches here. There have been just two scores above 170 so far in the tournament involving any of the top 8-9 teams.

Eng’s power play so far (That too while chasing 125 and under on 3 occasions)

39
50
60
36

So its not like Eng who is known for an aggressive brand of cricket is taking power play overs to the cleaners.

Teams will decent finishes here to chase or set totals unless you are chasing 125 and under like Eng did thrice in 4 matches.

 

[Colorblind Genius]

Powerplay score of 29/0 against mighty nambia. Almost 15 overs played by opening duo.

Great going

Probably slightly different pitch and we took a little longer to adjust to it - plus Rizwan escaped a close LBW call; however, the issue is consistent.
Our powerplay performance has a room of improvement.

 

[Extra_Cover]

A lot of criticism is again levied on PP batting of Pakistan. Again I would infer as a Pakistani fan what would you take 20(12) or 75(50). We are lucky that one of Babar or Rizwan plays deep and makes it easy for Pakistan. The PP issue will resolve itself however as both of them are playing long and deep and winning games for Pakistan its a non-issue to break our heads upon.

For fans who would reply to this saying that 75(50) won't happen always and won't happen all the time; to them I would say come out of the the hole when it doesn't happen while its been happening and happening consistently stay in the hole.

 

[Colorblind Genius]

A lot of criticism is again levied on PP batting of Pakistan. Again I would infer as a Pakistani fan what would you take 20(12) or 75(50). We are lucky that one of Babar or Rizwan plays deep and makes it easy for Pakistan. The PP issue will resolve itself however as both of them are playing long and deep and winning games for Pakistan its a non-issue to break our heads upon.

For fans who would reply to this saying that 75(50) won't happen always and won't happen all the time; to them I would say come out of the the hole when it doesn't happen while its been happening and happening consistently stay in the hole.

Did you notice? We are not even trying.
We have completely shut the door and got it set in stone that we will NEVER try to look into this option and we will ALWAYS waste the PP EVEN against teams like Namibia and perhaps against Scotland too.

And we will ALWAYS rely on the lower or middle order to score.

This tunnel vision has a high probability to backfire.

So, there are two separate approaches. One is statistic because we are fully controlling it. (always waste PP)

The other is dynamic because it's not necessarily in our full control. We saw it against Afghanistan and NZ. Both times, we walked on the thin ice.

I still believe that we are batting deep, so PP should be exploited - at least against Scotland now.

And from today's game, I hope I am wrong but the worst news is Hafeez scoring runs, EXACTLY what I feared.
And now, he will haunt us in the playoffs. Lets hope again that I am wrong.

 

[Major]

Powerplay score of 29/0 against mighty nambia. Almost 15 overs played by opening duo.

Great going

Again, you did not watch the match and just posting numbers here.

The namibian bowler who opened the bowling bowled really well. His first two overs were very good. There was no need to take risks.

Doesnt matter what the score was, at the end a score of 189 was posted. Let me remind you that the par score is 140 at this ground, pakistan posted a very good score

The same rizwan who struggled against that namibiam bowler, later in the innings he attacked him to an extent where the bowlers economy rised. I think it was trumplmen.

Pakistan has stated again and again there strategy is simple, either of rizwan and babar will bat till the end.

I still dont see the purlose of this thread as by now every batsmen of pakistan has been a success in this tournament. And no, not every batter will perform in every game.


I guess some posters think that 240+ should be posted

 

[Major]

Did you notice? We are not even trying.
We have completely shut the door and got it set in stone that we will NEVER try to look into this option and we will ALWAYS waste the PP EVEN against teams like Namibia and perhaps against Scotland too.

And we will ALWAYS rely on the lower or middle order to score.

This tunnel vision has a high probability to backfire.

So, there are two separate approaches. One is statistic because we are fully controlling it. (always waste PP)

The other is dynamic because it's not necessarily in our full control. We saw it against Afghanistan and NZ. Both times, we walked on the thin ice.

I still believe that we are batting deep, so PP should be exploited - at least against Scotland now.

And from today's game, I hope I am wrong but the worst news is Hafeez scoring runs, EXACTLY what I feared.
And now, he will haunt us in the playoffs. Lets hope again that I am wrong.

How is hafeez scoring runs is bad? So basically you wanted him to fail just to prove a point and not see the players you dislike play.

Pp does not mean you score at 8 an over everytime. Good bowling needs to be respected, wickets in hand matter.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Did you notice? We are not even trying.
We have completely shut the door and got it set in stone that we will NEVER try to look into this option and we will ALWAYS waste the PP EVEN against teams like Namibia and perhaps against Scotland too.

And we will ALWAYS rely on the lower or middle order to score.

This tunnel vision has a high probability to backfire.

So, there are two separate approaches. One is statistic because we are fully controlling it. (always waste PP)

The other is dynamic because it's not necessarily in our full control. We saw it against Afghanistan and NZ. Both times, we walked on the thin ice.

I still believe that we are batting deep, so PP should be exploited - at least against Scotland now.

And from today's game, I hope I am wrong but the worst news is Hafeez scoring runs, EXACTLY what I feared.
And now, he will haunt us in the playoffs. Lets hope again that I am wrong.

It's a team sport and people are given roles. Not every player is going to do his role to perfection in every game but it will take a lot of things to go wrong. Rizwan showed some good power hitting towards the end albeit against a weak bowling attack. Hafeez looked in good touch and he can capitalize on it and go berserk at the end. Malik can effortlessly rotate the strike in the middle overs. Hasan Ali can slog very well in the last 3-4 overs. Imad and Shadab are good batters for t20is. Imad has a good range in the V. Shadab can hit a few.

It's about adaptability. When a team is in trouble, one or two guys have to stand up and take responsibility. Asif and Malik did that against Afg and NZ. Hopefully Hafeez would repay the faith in the knockouts as well.

 

[fight_club]

Again, you did not watch the match and just posting numbers here.

The namibian bowler who opened the bowling bowled really well. His first two overs were very good. There was no need to take risks.

Doesnt matter what the score was, at the end a score of 189 was posted. Let me remind you that the par score is 140 at this ground, pakistan posted a very good score

The same rizwan who struggled against that namibiam bowler, later in the innings he attacked him to an extent where the bowlers economy rised. I think it was trumplmen.

Pakistan has stated again and again there strategy is simple, either of rizwan and babar will bat till the end.

I still dont see the purlose of this thread as by now every batsmen of pakistan has been a success in this tournament. And no, not every batter will perform in every game.


I guess some posters think that 240+ should be posted

A lot of criticism is again levied on PP batting of Pakistan. Again I would infer as a Pakistani fan what would you take 20(12) or 75(50). We are lucky that one of Babar or Rizwan plays deep and makes it easy for Pakistan. The PP issue will resolve itself however as both of them are playing long and deep and winning games for Pakistan its a non-issue to break our heads upon.

For fans who would reply to this saying that 75(50) won't happen always and won't happen all the time; to them I would say come out of the the hole when it doesn't happen while its been happening and happening consistently stay in the hole.

I think we are not factoring into account the nature of pitches here. There have been just two scores above 170 so far in the tournament involving any of the top 8-9 teams.

Eng’s power play so far (That too while chasing 125 and under on 3 occasions)

39
50
60
36

So its not like Eng who is known for an aggressive brand of cricket is taking power play overs to the cleaners.

Teams will decent finishes here to chase or set totals unless you are chasing 125 and under like Eng did thrice in 4 matches.

I thought the What I have Posted and backed up solid undisputed data was not that hard to comprehend but just the Team has decided to the Horse in front of Cart(entire team) It was all expected.

I have been saying this that whatever Pakistan is achieving can still be realized even if Babar comes at
no.3 and an Pure aggressive opener replace him there. Both these batsmen play's percentage cricket
and take the game deep which is what Pakistan would love to have. Let the risk be taken by some other guy.

Plus the Middle order is totally undercooked, Fakhar is not a natural no.3 and never comfortable starting his innings against spinners. It has been Asif who has saved Pakistan from two defeats.

Against better teams in high pressure games. You will have to exploit PP and we have seen how Babar got out playing ugly swipes in those scenario's

I don't seen Pakistan moving beyond semi's without solid contribution from the fragile middle order. Lets hope for the best

 

[Major]

Pakistan has come up with a strategy that they have been working on for over an year, and it has been soo successful that we have come out as on top in the World T20.

But some fans just so see shots want to mess with the combination.

Better teams? India was a better team and high pressure game. NZ game was not only a better team but played on a difficult wicket. Afghani team was also a better team as their sspinners are good.

If one hopes that Pakistan loses just so they could enjoy being right, than cant argue with that

 

[fight_club]

Missed out one thing if ppl who are blindly putting post after post over here without fully comprehending what really is the point being made.

Did you guys notice how Comfortable Hafeez is smashing pacers in the death. Now check the OP what did
I write that he should come at no.5 after Malik.

The sheer stupidity of this batting order is mind boggling and so is the audacity of poster blindly coming here and posting. This might cost Pakistan dearly

 

[ask_analyse_act]

For these UAE pitches , what Pakistan have is the best opening pair.

I have said this another thread..

People calling for PP overs not used well by Babar and Rizwan , should take a look at the alternatives SR and AVG into consideration.

If fakhar opens the inns and loses a wicket, that will add more pressure to Babar and he might lose his wicket cheaply..

Right now with Babar and Rizwan opening the inns , even if they fail to score runs above 6 an over they havent panicked and played the balls on merit and try to score runs with proper cricketing shots and no UA and shehzad like ugly heaves to the cow corner.

Yes England have the best PP scores.. but what is their score when they bat first.
Yes they also havent face Pakistan bowling attack yet.

Look at waht happend to Aus trying to play t20 in its real form going berserk in the powerplay and put on the backfoot early with 30/5, then all they do was catching up the whole match which England took away in the 1st inns PP... More likely to happen with Pakistan if it wasnt for Babar and Rizwan on the top...

Some armchair pandits will not be able to realise this, they take pitches, good bowling, sensible batting preserving wickets on low slow pitches all out of their equation..

The style of play OP recommend will put the team in all sorts of trouble early on with 30/4 or 30/6 ..

Yes the batting order needs a tweaking with Haider in at 4 and Asif sitting out but that is vindicated with Asifs perfromance..

 

[Major]

again, why should Pakistan fix something when there is nothing that is to be fixed. Fakhar and Hafeez are there to hit shots and bat along either one of babar and Rizwan......

Keep hoping for Pakistan to lose..

 

[Major]

For these UAE pitches , what Pakistan have is the best opening pair.

I have said this another thread..

People calling for PP overs not used well by Babar and Rizwan , should take a look at the alternatives SR and AVG into consideration.

If fakhar opens the inns and loses a wicket, that will add more pressure to Babar and he might lose his wicket cheaply..

Right now with Babar and Rizwan opening the inns , even if they fail to score runs above 6 an over they havent panicked and played the balls on merit and try to score runs with proper cricketing shots and no UA and shehzad like ugly heaves to the cow corner.

Yes England have the best PP scores.. but what is their score when they bat first.
Yes they also havent face Pakistan bowling attack yet.

Look at waht happend to Aus trying to play t20 in its real form going berserk in the powerplay and put on the backfoot early with 30/5, then all they do was catching up the whole match which England took away in the 1st inns PP... More likely to happen with Pakistan if it wasnt for Babar and Rizwan on the top...

Some armchair pandits will not be able to realise this, they take pitches bowlers sensible batting preserving wickets on low slow pitches all out of their equation..

exactly this. When you dont watch matches and just keep on updating score cards or even watch without even knowing the context only than would anyone would criticize this Pakistani team.

Afg bowlers quality was ignored, today namibias opening bowlers quality was ignored and the NZ pitch was ignored.

Basically, fans expect us to play dumb cricket like Afghanistan.

 

[ritzy_123]

For these pitches and these conditions everything is right about our batting order. The only thing I'm worried about is when we played against SAF we bowled second time around and today we bowled again in 2nd innings and both the times we were quite ordinary.

 

[asadee]

I was at the ground there was a lot of dew

 

[Colorblind Genius]

It's a team sport and people are given roles. Not every player is going to do his role to perfection in every game but it will take a lot of things to go wrong. Rizwan showed some good power hitting towards the end albeit against a weak bowling attack. Hafeez looked in good touch and he can capitalize on it and go berserk at the end. Malik can effortlessly rotate the strike in the middle overs. Hasan Ali can slog very well in the last 3-4 overs. Imad and Shadab are good batters for t20is. Imad has a good range in the V. Shadab can hit a few.

It's about adaptability. When a team is in trouble, one or two guys have to stand up and take responsibility. Asif and Malik did that against Afg and NZ. Hopefully Hafeez would repay the faith in the knockouts as well.

If you look at in all honesty, in both games against NZ and Afghanistan, we were at the brink of disaster, and it was only a matter of ONE wicket.
What are we thumping our chest about?

 

[Colorblind Genius]

For these UAE pitches , what Pakistan have is the best opening pair.

I have said this another thread..

People calling for PP overs not used well by Babar and Rizwan , should take a look at the alternatives SR and AVG into consideration.

If fakhar opens the inns and loses a wicket, that will add more pressure to Babar and he might lose his wicket cheaply..

Right now with Babar and Rizwan opening the inns , even if they fail to score runs above 6 an over they havent panicked and played the balls on merit and try to score runs with proper cricketing shots and no UA and shehzad like ugly heaves to the cow corner.

Yes England have the best PP scores.. but what is their score when they bat first.
Yes they also havent face Pakistan bowling attack yet.

Look at waht happend to Aus trying to play t20 in its real form going berserk in the powerplay and put on the backfoot early with 30/5, then all they do was catching up the whole match which England took away in the 1st inns PP... More likely to happen with Pakistan if it wasnt for Babar and Rizwan on the top...

Some armchair pandits will not be able to realise this, they take pitches, good bowling, sensible batting preserving wickets on low slow pitches all out of their equation..

The style of play OP recommend will put the team in all sorts of trouble early on with 30/4 or 30/6 ..

Yes the batting order needs a tweaking with Haider in at 4 and Asif sitting out but that is vindicated with Asifs perfromance..

With the playoffs on the Horizon, if you are made to bat first and you don't post a 190+ total against those good teams, you don't stand a chance. This is how bad the dew is, for bowlers in the second innings.

Matter of fact, even 190 looks easily chase-bale by a good batting side batting second. This is how easy to bat second.

Are we ready, or do we even have practice to score 200+ plus batting first WITHOUT making use of powerplay? Are we even open to his idea and to this possibility? Are we going to always win the toss and bat second?

Toss is a HUGE, HUGE, HUGE factor in these D/N games.
If we lose the toss and are put in to bat first, I don't think we are ready or even open to the idea of putting 200+ on the board for our bowlers to defend it in dew.

And I don't think we realize it either.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

If you look at in all honesty, in both games against NZ and Afghanistan, we were at the brink of disaster, and it was only a matter of ONE wicket.
What are we thumping our chest about?

t20 cricket is 90% of the time about 1 wicket, 1 ball or 1 batter, 1 bowler, 1 run out etc etc.

 

[Colorblind Genius]

t20 cricket is 90% of the time about 1 wicket, 1 ball or 1 batter, 1 bowler, 1 run out etc etc.

naw, doesn't apply here.
You need to take it into context "WE WERE CHASING A VERY SMALL TOTAL" and should've not taken it to " 1 wicket, 1 ball or 1 batter, 1 bowler, 1 run out etc etc" scenario.

We got lucky. Not gonna happen every day. We need to take proactive action and try our best to intelligently address the disaster before it happens.

 

[fight_club]

For these UAE pitches , what Pakistan have is the best opening pair.

I have said this another thread..

People calling for PP overs not used well by Babar and Rizwan , should take a look at the alternatives SR and AVG into consideration.

If fakhar opens the inns and loses a wicket, that will add more pressure to Babar and he might lose his wicket cheaply..

Right now with Babar and Rizwan opening the inns , even if they fail to score runs above 6 an over they havent panicked and played the balls on merit and try to score runs with proper cricketing shots and no UA and shehzad like ugly heaves to the cow corner.

Yes England have the best PP scores.. but what is their score when they bat first.
Yes they also havent face Pakistan bowling attack yet.

Look at waht happend to Aus trying to play t20 in its real form going berserk in the powerplay and put on the backfoot early with 30/5, then all they do was catching up the whole match which England took away in the 1st inns PP... More likely to happen with Pakistan if it wasnt for Babar and Rizwan on the top...

Some armchair pandits will not be able to realise this, they take pitches, good bowling, sensible batting preserving wickets on low slow pitches all out of their equation..

The style of play OP recommend will put the team in all sorts of trouble early on with 30/4 or 30/6 ..

Yes the batting order needs a tweaking with Haider in at 4 and Asif sitting out but that is vindicated with Asifs perfromance..

Don't know why you remined me of Sunney Deol paaji but then I read your name couple of times without blinking and realized that you applied none of those "AAA" while making this Lame post.

I am sure now, you wouldn't disappoint me as many others posters have and answer few simple question

1. What is the PP average of Babar and Rizwan in all grounds world over??
2. Babar plays in which number in ODI's (Did you see him ever running like Jarvo)
3. IF Fakhar or any authentic opener who know how to exploit PP like briefly displayed by
Fakhar against Afgan going at a rate of 160 get out then Rizzy and Bobby can do
there routine and the score will read 37/1 however it can also read 49/1 or 55/1

Wow just Wow !! if Pakistan can score that without losing either Babar and Rizwan (Tears in my eyes)

4. You know in T20 lot's of team will look to exploit PP and they have created batsmen to do that
and Pakistan has....

5. Will Babar coming at no.3 and playing deep through the inning strengthen the weak middle order
because he is the best to play proper cricket shots and keep the scoreboard busy without taking
risk (Twinkle in my eyes)


I hope you will come back with a sensible post next time though you are living up to my expectation
but maybe for the sake of your name

again, why should Pakistan fix something when there is nothing that is to be fixed. Fakhar and Hafeez are there to hit shots and bat along either one of babar and Rizwan......

Keep hoping for Pakistan to lose..

exactly this. When you dont watch matches and just keep on updating score cards or even watch without even knowing the context only than would anyone would criticize this Pakistani team.

Afg bowlers quality was ignored, today namibias opening bowlers quality was ignored and the NZ pitch was ignored.

Basically, fans expect us to play dumb cricket like Afghanistan.

Sir, Will you try answering least one of the pointed question while posting your "Entertaining posts"

 

[BunnyRabbit]

naw, doesn't apply here.
You need to take it into context "WE WERE CHASING A VERY SMALL TOTAL" and should've not taken it to " 1 wicket, 1 ball or 1 batter, 1 bowler, 1 run out etc etc" scenario.

We got lucky. Not gonna happen every day. We need to take proactive action and try our best to intelligently address the disaster before it happens.

Apart from Eng, all teams have had some sort of problems chasing similar totals in this tournament.

Plus what proactive action do you want the team management to take? You can't bring in new players in the middle of a wt20. Players aren't developed in a 3 week tournament. If you want to change the opening combination or bring someone like Haider Ali, its your opinion.

We just need to stick to what we do best. Babar, Hafeez and Malik are experienced enough to know how a situation can change and they need to be at their best in the next games.

You are just saying the same stuff we need to do best, be proactive, be intelligent. It's reminding me of Shoaib Akhtar who says players jaan nai mar rae.

 

[Extra_Cover]

Did you notice? We are not even trying.
We have completely shut the door and got it set in stone that we will NEVER try to look into this option and we will ALWAYS waste the PP EVEN against teams like Namibia and perhaps against Scotland too.

And we will ALWAYS rely on the lower or middle order to score.

This tunnel vision has a high probability to backfire.

So, there are two separate approaches. One is statistic because we are fully controlling it. (always waste PP)

The other is dynamic because it's not necessarily in our full control. We saw it against Afghanistan and NZ. Both times, we walked on the thin ice.

I still believe that we are batting deep, so PP should be exploited - at least against Scotland now.

And from today's game, I hope I am wrong but the worst news is Hafeez scoring runs, EXACTLY what I feared.
And now, he will haunt us in the playoffs. Lets hope again that I am wrong.

Bottomline in here is that we have 2 batsmen who value the long innings (one of them usually goes deep). In past we had openers going bang and then bust immediately with no plan in mind. You would have noticed these two really assess the conditions and calibrate a realistic target when they are together at the crease from overs 1-3. After assessing conditions they really play the field, run hard and bring occasional boundaries. We have never been this systematic in our approach in the past. Why change this when it has been working brilliantly.

The problem is where you say "we are not even trying". According to you "trying" would mean throwing bat around but to them "trying" would be playing the field, running hard and avoiding dot balls when going is tough. To cap it off they are 2 of the players who "try" to bat 20 overs (atleast one of them) whilst if similar situation would have been faced by other bang openers we have in domestic they would cave into the pressure and throw their wicket away due to scoreboard pressure because they are "trying to up the anti".

I don't blame you but this is not tunnel vision, they are the best bats Pakistan have got and if they calibrate that this is a 140-150 wicket then they would go in pursuit of that target rather than trying to go for 180. This is how things are and I'm happy we have got such players that can apply themselves on the field and on the pitch.

 

[Colorblind Genius]

If I have to put the problem in a different way then I think what I see is this,

Unconsciously, and unknowingly, Pakistan Think Tanks are operating based on some sort of a hidden and divine promise that we are going to win the toss in both playoffs and will bowl first. It's just a given. So no worries.

And this false sense of security has given them so much satisfaction that their brains have gotten numb to open up to the possibility of looking into 50% chance of LOSING the toss.

In which case we will be made to bat first. And all of our planning and peace of mind will be shattered into pieces, leaving us like a deer in the headlights.

The question should be simple, How are we going to post 200+ total against SA/Australia/England if we are to bat fist, and defend it in heavy dew?

Are we ready to even imagine this scenario of losing the toss and put a proper plan against it?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!

We are happy to waste the powerplay and leave it to the middle and lower order REGARDLESS of whether we are batting first or second.

Well, good luck with this strategy if you lose the toss and made to bat first in the playoffs.

 

[Colorblind Genius]

Bottomline in here is that we have 2 batsmen who value the long innings (one of them usually goes deep). In past we had openers going bang and then bust immediately with no plan in mind. You would have noticed these two really assess the conditions and calibrate a realistic target when they are together at the crease from overs 1-3. After assessing conditions they really play the field, run hard and bring occasional boundaries. We have never been this systematic in our approach in the past. Why change this when it has been working brilliantly.

The problem is where you say "we are not even trying". According to you "trying" would mean throwing bat around but to them "trying" would be playing the field, running hard and avoiding dot balls when going is tough. To cap it off they are 2 of the players who "try" to bat 20 overs (atleast one of them) whilst if similar situation would have been faced by other bang openers we have in domestic they would cave into the pressure and throw their wicket away due to scoreboard pressure because they are "trying to up the anti".

I don't blame you but this is not tunnel vision, they are the best bats Pakistan have got and if they calibrate that this is a 140-150 wicket then they would go in pursuit of that target rather than trying to go for 180. This is how things are and I'm happy we have got such players that can apply themselves on the field and on the pitch.

Yes, obviously, no one knows he future and it's all based on probabilities.

I think we can come to a common ground to at least agree that we need at least Haider and possibly Nawaz, and sideline Shadab (for Haider), and either Imad or Hafeez or Hassan Ali for Nawaz to beef up the batting line just in case if we lose the toss and are made to bat first in the playoffs? We will need to set that 200 or else, we will have a very small chance bowling second against those teams.

 

[IMMY69]

Powerplay score of 29/0 against mighty nambia. Almost 15 overs played by opening duo.

Great going

What an absurd post.
Did you even watch the game?

 

[IMMY69]

If I have to put the problem in a different way then I think what I see is this,

Unconsciously, and unknowingly, Pakistan Think Tanks are operating based on some sort of a hidden and divine promise that we are going to win the toss in both playoffs and will bowl first. It's just a given. So no worries.

And this false sense of security has given them so much satisfaction that their brains have gotten numb to open up to the possibility of looking into 50% chance of LOSING the toss.

In which case we will be made to bat first. And all of our planning and peace of mind will be shattered into pieces, leaving us like a deer in the headlights.

The question should be simple, How are we going to post 200+ total against SA/Australia/England if we are to bat fist, and defend it in heavy dew?

Are we ready to even imagine this scenario of losing the toss and put a proper plan against it?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!

We are happy to waste the powerplay and leave it to the middle and lower order REGARDLESS of whether we are batting first or second.

Well, good luck with this strategy if you lose the toss and made to bat first in the playoffs.

Let's address the very first line in your post.
There is no problem!

 

[Colorblind Genius]

Let's address the very first line in your post.
There is no problem!

So if we lose the toss, the chances of which are 50%, we are going to stick with our strategy to score 30 odd runs in the powerplay, and hope that middle/lower order will fire up to a point that it will put about 200 runs on the board against a good bowling unit like Australia or SA or England - so that our bowlers will have a chance to defend this total in heavy dew?

 

[IMMY69]

So if we lose the toss, the chances of which are 50%, we are going to stick with our strategy to score 30 odd runs in the powerplay, and hope that middle/lower order will fire up to a point that it will put about 200 runs on the board against a good bowling unit like Australia or SA or England - so that our bowlers will have a chance to defend this total in heavy dew?

Did we score 30 in 6 overs against England when we ended with 230?

You have to see the conditions snd your opposition.
Here we had a seaming, bouncy track and the openers played it beautifully. They had their luck in the first two overs snd then kept it going until the tenth before unleashing. They did this because the opposition was Namibia and they could afford to do it against them...

When you have an opening pair that has made three of four 100+ partnerships just in 2021 why would you even consider changing it? That defies logic

 

[Colorblind Genius]

Did we score 30 in 6 overs against England when we ended with 230?

You have to see the conditions snd your opposition.
Here we had a seaming, bouncy track and the openers played it beautifully. They had their luck in the first two overs snd then kept it going until the tenth before unleashing. They did this because the opposition was Namibia and they could afford to do it against them...

When you have an opening pair that has made three of four 100+ partnerships just in 2021 why would you even consider changing it? That defies logic

...because on these wickets, if you lose the toss (50% chance of it happening) and are put in to bat, it's quite less likely that the English or Aussies bowlers will let your middle and lower order set things ablaze, and let you put a 200 on the board.


We MUST have TRIED to make use of power play and practice how to release pressure on middle/lower order that we are going to create by scoring 30 runs in the first six overs while batting first.

If you are made to bat first and you go with your stuck in the rut approach to choke the power play, and end up scoring 170 odd, you don't stand a chance to defend it in the heavy dew against the likes of Australia and England.

 

[shamaan]

With the playoffs on the Horizon, if you are made to bat first and you don't post a 190+ total against those good teams, you don't stand a chance. This is how bad the dew is, for bowlers in the second innings.

Matter of fact, even 190 looks easily chase-bale by a good batting side batting second. This is how easy to bat second.

Are we ready, or do we even have practice to score 200+ plus batting first WITHOUT making use of powerplay? Are we even open to his idea and to this possibility? Are we going to always win the toss and bat second?

Toss is a HUGE, HUGE, HUGE factor in these D/N games.
If we lose the toss and are put in to bat first, I don't think we are ready or even open to the idea of putting 200+ on the board for our bowlers to defend it in dew.

And I don't think we realize it either.

If Pakistan get 190 they will win the game in the semi or final.

 

[shamaan]

They Namibia bowled well and thier was some movement on offer

 

[IMMY69]

...because on these wickets, if you lose the toss (50% chance of it happening) and are put in to bat, it's quite less likely that the English or Aussies bowlers will let your middle and lower order set things ablaze, and let you put a 200 on the board.


We MUST have TRIED to make use of power play and practice how to release pressure on middle/lower order that we are going to create by scoring 30 runs in the first six overs while batting first.

If you are made to bat first and you go with your stuck in the rut approach to choke the power play, and end up scoring 170 odd, you don't stand a chance to defend it in the heavy dew against the likes of Australia and England.

Which is why I said we played accordingly to the situation AND the opposition.
This team is capable of making big scores as proven over the course of a year or two so don't fret on it.

 

[Usman Chadda]

...because on these wickets, if you lose the toss (50% chance of it happening) and are put in to bat, it's quite less likely that the English or Aussies bowlers will let your middle and lower order set things ablaze, and let you put a 200 on the board.


We MUST have TRIED to make use of power play and practice how to release pressure on middle/lower order that we are going to create by scoring 30 runs in the first six overs while batting first.

If you are made to bat first and you go with your stuck in the rut approach to choke the power play, and end up scoring 170 odd, you don't stand a chance to defend it in the heavy dew against the likes of Australia and England.

We would have lost quick wickets in the powerplay had we gone all guns blazing, disrespecting the conditions and the opposition. Credit to Namibian bowlers, who did swing the ball in the early overs. You have to adapt and adapt they did.

No reason Pakistan cannot do this against England or Australia. We know how to play in the UAE and have done well in this tournament because of that, keeping in mind our strengths.

 

[Mamoon]

Pakistan has looked like a very average team after the India match. They have played ordinary cricket but were lucky that New Zealand and Afghanistan were worse.

The problem with Pakistani fans is that they sweep everything under the carpet when the team wins. They are short-sighted and ignorant.

I think this is a good thread but I do not necessarily agree with the premise. I think Pakistan is a deeply mediocre team and only thing that has kept the team afloat is the Babar and Rizwan combo at the top.

People criticize Misbah, but sacking Sarfraz and promoting Rizwan as opener was a genius move by Misbah.

Our fans would be creaming themselves had a foreign coach made this call, but no appreciation for Misbah.

 

[Extra_Cover]

Yes, obviously, no one knows he future and it's all based on probabilities.

I think we can come to a common ground to at least agree that we need at least Haider and possibly Nawaz, and sideline Shadab (for Haider), and either Imad or Hafeez or Hassan Ali for Nawaz to beef up the batting line just in case if we lose the toss and are made to bat first in the playoffs? We will need to set that 200 or else, we will have a very small chance bowling second against those teams.

Absolutely not. Again you are hell bent that we need 200+ no matter what. This isn't PS4, its real cricket and real field. As I mentioned above Babar and Rizwan does their best in opening 1-3 overs to calibrate how many runs would be defendable on that particular wicket. With your combination of going all guns blazing from ball one there is no one doing this calibration and we have seen teams aiming for 180 in this tournament ending up for less than 150. So its very important that we play conditions rather than play minds (which you are doing).

Now Haider replacing Hafeez as per your suggestion simply because he can play fast. The last innings Hafeez played at strike rate of 200 and given the past 12 months or so he had where he was phenomenal I do not see a point of making a change here. Haider might be brilliant but we have to continue with Hafeez as I feel he is more reliable when getting runs at the moment. Not to mention Hafeez can chip some very handy overs as well.

Nawaz replacing Imad is like for like replacement and does not make sense given Imad is having such a nice tournament. Yes Nawaz would strengthen the batting but in all likelihood Shadab has faced only 1 ball in whole tournament so not sure how handy would Nawaz's batting skills would be if he doesn't get to bat.

I think you have cluttered your thinking with 200+ totals and we are not playing in England or NZL where such totals are round about par. So given the conditions our thinktank is working well.

 

[Extra_Cover]

Pakistan has looked like a very average team after the India match. They have played ordinary cricket but were lucky that New Zealand and Afghanistan were worse.

The problem with Pakistani fans is that they sweep everything under the carpet when the team wins. They are short-sighted and ignorant.

I think this is a good thread but I do not necessarily agree with the premise. I think Pakistan is a deeply mediocre team and only thing that has kept the team afloat is the Babar and Rizwan combo at the top.

People criticize Misbah, but sacking Sarfraz and promoting Rizwan as opener was a genius move by Misbah.

Our fans would be creaming themselves had a foreign coach made this call, but no appreciation for Misbah.

Most batting line-ups in T20 cricket have openers facing 12 overs or more to be successful, so this analogy would apply to all successful T20 teams.

Yes Pakistan were brilliant against India and the intensity levels dropped slightly in the other games but we are no Australia of 2000s lets face it Pakistan came into this tournament as a low ranked middling team and so far has been quite brilliant. Hopefully the intensity would pick in the semi-final and we ride this winning wave all the way.

 

[IMMY69]

Pakistan has looked like a very average team after the India match. They have played ordinary cricket but were lucky that New Zealand and Afghanistan were worse.

The problem with Pakistani fans is that they sweep everything under the carpet when the team wins. They are short-sighted and ignorant.

I think this is a good thread but I do not necessarily agree with the premise. I think Pakistan is a deeply mediocre team and only thing that has kept the team afloat is the Babar and Rizwan combo at the top.

People criticize Misbah, but sacking Sarfraz and promoting Rizwan as opener was a genius move by Misbah.

Our fans would be creaming themselves had a foreign coach made this call, but no appreciation for Misbah.

Yeah at this point Kiwis looking pretty average too aren't they? 53/3 against Scotland

 

[Mamoon]

Yeah at this point Kiwis looking pretty average too aren't they? 53/3 against Scotland

Sure they do. They are highly overrated. They were poor against Pakistan and they have been poor today. However, they are India’s bogey team though.