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Was it the right option to choose to bowl first against India?

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murtuza.husain

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Lot of time still left in this match but i’m unsure if bowling first was the right decision. There doesn’t seem to be much in it. Only a few of Amir’s deliveries swung. Possibly there was more swing but we won’t know as Hassan and Wahab decided to bowl short of a length.

With the sun now showing itself and a long batting line up of India, Pakistan are likely to face a steep chase. I do not recall Pakistan being able to chase well even more so in such crunch games.

I feel they should have not put their eggs in the one basket of Amir swinging the ball especially when we all know he hasn’t been doing so of late.
 
We would have lost regardless of bowling first or second.

Indian bowlers would exploited the conditions to the fullest and we would have been 40-3 after 10 overs.

The talent gap between both teams is just enormous, there’s no rivalry anymore its just humiliating.
 
The pitch was a good one, the reason for bowling first was probably based on the fear it might rain later. Otherwise obviously you wouldn't bank on Pakistan bowlers getting early wickets with their atrocious record with the new ball.
 
Of course not. We should always bowl first no matter what. We are the worst chasers!

I just cannot fathom why Pakistani team and management do not understand how mediocre chasers we are.
 
Pakistan can’t chase more than 220 230 in a pressure game. Ridiculous decision.
 
Was very dumb imo.

In a game like this always opt for runs on the board. Even if Pakistans batting flops, a total of even 220-230 can become tough if early wickets occur in the chase and the pressure ramps up.

By bowling first vs Indian batting you just hand them the advantage from the second over onwards and have chased the game since. India's batting is decent but its not perfect, this Pak bowling line up isnt good enough to give your batting a chance imo.
 
Yes, it was the right choice. Just relax Pakistan is not the best team and India is better currently.
 
I had a bet with my Pakistani boss. If Pak bat first they have 70 % chance of winning. If not, 5 % at best.
 
Sarfaraz and Mickey has costed pakistan world cup already with their decisions after winning the toss... And the rest of mediocrity is well supported by having Malik and Hafeez in the team..
 
Absolutely right to bowl first.

But problem is that Pakistan have been crap.
 
With this bowling attack don't make a difference. One of the worst in our history.
 
should have batted first - would be more difficult to play Amir when chasing.
 
murtuza.husain said:
Lot of time still left in this match but i’m unsure if bowling first was the right decision. There doesn’t seem to be much in it. Only a few of Amir’s deliveries swung. Possibly there was more swing but we won’t know as Hassan and Wahab decided to bowl short of a length.

With the sun now showing itself and a long batting line up of India, Pakistan are likely to face a steep chase. I do not recall Pakistan being able to chase well even more so in such crunch games.

I feel they should have not put their eggs in the one basket of Amir swinging the ball especially when we all know he hasn’t been doing so of late.
Click to expand...

Bowl first or second... pak would have lost anyways... u dont expect a team with 3 batsmen to win a game.
 
PakWarrior said:
Absolutely right to bowl first.

But problem is that Pakistan have been crap.
Click to expand...

Why is that? There wasn’t much in the conditions and i feel you can’t play purely on the sky. The biggest factor has to be your own team. Their form, their strengths and ability.
 
Yes, it was the right decision our bowlers messed it up. The conditions favored bowling first.
 
KamranDestiny said:
We would have lost regardless of bowling first or second.

Indian bowlers would exploited the conditions to the fullest and we would have been 40-3 after 10 overs.

The talent gap between both teams is just enormous, there’s no rivalry anymore its just humiliating.
Click to expand...

Nailed it.
 
You bowl first in a game like this when you believe you have the bowling strength to capitalise on conditions and knock over the opposition batting line up - and if that’s the belief you have then you would go with an attacking mindset , bowlers bowling with aggression looking to take wickets and captain setting attacking fields — it didn’t seem like that today did it?
 
Hasan Ali is done. Done and dusted.

Thank you for 2017 and goodbye.
 
still early days guys... pitch is flat.....there is still rain in the offing.... and all sorts of crazy permo's are possible with uncle-bhanja combo of duckworth and lewis....am indian...but i still feel anything can happen
 
Markhor said:
Hasan Ali is done. Done and dusted.

Thank you for 2017 and goodbye.
Click to expand...
Agree, players who don’t do enough to improve their performances to become better players is bad enough , but those like Hassan Ali who go in the other direction and deteriorate for over a year, they should get no favours and be kicked out at first available opportunity.
 
Wouldn't have made a difference.

The gap between these two sides are too big for it to be much of a factor.

Pakistan would have been about 115-4 at the same stage had they batted.
 
Omer2002 said:
both were going to bowl first
Click to expand...

Two points:

1. India can take wickets with the new ball.

2. India can chase a big score.

Pakistan have a poor history of both. The only possible reason to bowl must have been the fear of rain.
 
It doesn't matter if Pak chose to bowl first or bat first. This is a team of tullay baaz, listless mediocres who like to think of themselves as elite world beaters. Random, one off wins here & there and they start acting like they've already conquered the world. What do we really have going in our favor right now ... world class batting? elite bowling squad? unmatched fielding skills? superb leadership?

The only place where they're skilled masterful tacticians is after every defeat how they come up with reasons for defeats and claims of lessons learnt for better performance next time. Expect the same daram after today's humiliating chitrol by India.
 
Bad decision. We are terrible chaser. Also if you are mentally strong side and you got good fielding unit then you can gamble. Very disappointing to see them playing in opposition hands. They have already given them two chances.
 
Araash said:
It doesn't matter if Pak chose to bowl first or bat first. This is a team of tullay baaz, listless mediocres who like to think of themselves as elite world beaters. Random, one off wins here & there and they start acting like they've already conquered the world. What do we really have going in our favor right now ... world class batting? elite bowling squad? unmatched fielding skills? superb leadership?

The only place where they're skilled masterful tacticians is after every defeat how they come up with reasons for defeats and claims of lessons learnt for better performance next time. Expect the same daram after today's humiliating chitrol by India.
Click to expand...

Yes, well said.

Why are so many here so deluded about how good Pakistan are?

Man for man, India is miles ahead of Pakistan.
 
Wrong decision. It's like the Australia game all over again. I knew we wouldn't make use of the conditions, plus we are mental midgets when it comes to chasing.
 
You make the decision and then make it right. If we had batted first what miracle Imam and Fakhar would've done on a pitch where there is bounce and seam.

Pakistan still needs to chase, those who have been glorifying these jokes Imam and Babar on this forum should back them instead of crying and diverting blame. You have had 2 years, from England to Australia all have strengthened their lineups. Inzamam was busy fooling Arthur in protecting his favorites and bringing in friends like family. Today the chief selector criminal manipulation with the team will be open to the world
 
Bowl first or Bat first, this team and the group of players are just not good enough. The CT win really did more harm then good in the long run.
 
Basing decisions on the likelihood of rain is ridiculous. But ultimately the main problem has been the poverty of our bowling and fielding. It’s a shame but we seem to have very clear semi-finalists here only half way into the league stage.
 
No.

We can't Chase anything and especially with this lineup. Sarfraz, Malik and Imad at 5, 6, 7 says it all.
 
Can’t beat India unless they have a meltdown, which is what happened in the CT Final.

We are simply too mediocre and they are an elite team.
 
Always bat first in big match. Kohli made the same mistake in CT finals and we were a better team then. Mentally weak Pakistan team has just no chance while chasing.
 
To be fair, all the commentators felt it was the right decision. It has rained so hard over the last few days that the wicket might have sweated under the covers.
We are terrible chasers though.....
 
It was an atrocious decision by an atrocious team management. They have just regressed beyond words with time. Pathetic to say the least.

Imran khan said bat first and dont select bits and pieces players.

Safraz the visionary did the opposite in both cases.
 
gibsyhesperis said:
To be fair, all the commentators felt it was the right decision. It has rained so hard over the last few days that the wicket might have sweated under the covers.
We are terrible chasers though.....
Click to expand...

It never is what commentators say... Just look at pakistans history of chasing down anything... Be it 250
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sarfaraz made the same mistake what kohli made back in CT17. Won toss and bowl first. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAKvsIND?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PAKvsIND</a></p>— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) <a href="https://twitter.com/shoaib100mph/status/1140215011991851008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 16, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
One of the worst decisions by the team management. How can you decide to chase against India in a high-pressure WC game? Add to this the fact that we are the worst chasers in the world at the moment. Also, why would you play two spinners against India of all teams, they can play spin even in their sleep.
 
Guys its 50- 50% decision. Stop blaming Sarfaraz. Anyone would have done the same after seeing the pitch.

It's was our batting was good which made the difference.
 
MenInG said:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sarfaraz made the same mistake what kohli made back in CT17. Won toss and bowl first. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAKvsIND?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PAKvsIND</a></p>— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) <a href="https://twitter.com/shoaib100mph/status/1140215011991851008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 16, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Click to expand...

No he didnt. This is a sensible decision with the rain around. Just imagine if they batted 1st and got rolled over for 130 with the ball zipping around from Bumrah. Its always easier to be wise after the event.
 
Absolutely right decision.
When there is weather around , you bowl second.
Pak are capable of losing the game in the first hour in such conditions and there is no coming back then. ( Think windies game, think bhuvi/bumrah- even if it is only a mental block for our team)

This was the plan.
India will play cautious to start with and we will look for early wicket or 2. Rain was forecast after about 30 overs ( as at toss time) and had we got early wickets India ( even on the belter would be 150-3 or 4)
If we then start losing overs in the game we are well ahead, and India have wet ball to contend

Two things happened , we bowled lose and rain came late

Correct decision given all the above.
Not even contentious if you know your cricket
 
Last edited:
Madplayer said:
It was an atrocious decision by an atrocious team management. They have just regressed beyond words with time. Pathetic to say the least.

Imran khan said bat first and dont select bits and pieces players.

Safraz the visionary did the opposite in both cases.
Click to expand...

IK is right in normal conditions but not with the rain around.
 
Virat Kohli wanted to bowl first as well.

I think players are collectively quite poor at reading ground conditions.

India batted really conservatively in first 5-6 overs. It was quality batting. Rahul left a lot of deliveries of Amir. They clearly had a plan and were able to execute.

Had India not batted well they could easily have been 30/3
 
Two schools of thought.

1. Bat first, set a target, create pressure.
2. Bat second, given the prediction of the rain, and cloud cover in the morning.

IK, SG, et al, said before the toss, to bat first.

Now with the rain:

184 from 20
105-1. (if play resumes at 16:30)

Pakistan #1 in T20s? Time to prove it.

It can go either way, in other words, the toss was literary 50/50.

Hindsight is a great thing.
 
Abdullah said:
Absolutely right decision.
When there is weather around , you bowl second.
Pak are capable of losing the game in the first hour in such conditions and there is no coming back then. ( Think windies game, think bhuvi/bumrah- even if it is only a mental block for our team)

This was the plan.
India will play cautious to start with and we will look for early wicket or 2. Rain was forecast after about 30 overs ( as at toss time) and had we got early wickets India ( even on the belter would be 150-3 or 4)
If we then start losing overs in the game we are well ahead, and India have wet ball to contend

Two things happened , we bowled lose and rain came late

Correct decision given all the above.
Not even contentious if you know your cricket
Click to expand...

Not to mention in hindsight, India played two spinners.

They will have to bowl with a wet ball now, so that has some advantage as well.

If the game does get reduced to lets say 20-25 overs its a huge advantage batting second.

Decision was right but the new ball bowling and in the middle overs execution was very poor.
 
It's a logical decision, but not something that suits Pakistan.

It has to be because of the rain that Sarfraz still opted to bowl first. Otherwise I don't see these people taking this much risk.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">4/5 1. In order ro have a winning offensive strategy Sarfaraz must go in with specialist batsmen and bowlers because "Raillu Kattas" rarely perform under pressure - especially the intense kind that will be generated today. 2. Unless pitch is damp, Sarfaraz must win the toss & bat</p>— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI/status/1140150828277387264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">16 June 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Technics 1210 said:
D/L targets :

Overs Target
40 298
35 272
30 245
25 215
20 184
Click to expand...


It wss the absolutely the right decision with rain around The exection in the field was lousy as usual from our bowlers

Hopefully it can rain for the next couple of hrs The shorter the game the better the chance pakistan have coming back into this
 
blackanhyellow said:
Not to mention in hindsight, India played two spinners.

They will have to bowl with a wet ball now, so that has some advantage as well.

If the game does get reduced to lets say 20-25 overs its a huge advantage batting second.

Decision was right but the new ball bowling and in the middle overs execution was very poor.
Click to expand...

Yes can u imagine if India were only on course for a 285-290 score ( full 50 overs) which 2 early wickets would have ensured.
Then the match starts getting reduced.
Fully favours Pak.
Now it will still be tough coz of crap early bowling.
Yes Sharma was a little lucky but we still bowled dross
 
Pakistan batted first vs the WI, results are in front of us. Team is devoid of confidence, losing 13 of your last 14 games will take a toll. Team management has just failed.
 
Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Every captain would have bowled first here because of the rain forecast.

And half the forum would've been wrist slitting anyway had he batted first. You can't make everyone happy.
 
Even if it rains cats and dogs for a century, Pakistan should still bat first.

We are the worst chasers, have jelly spine and are mentally midgets. We cannot even chase 170.
 
Decision to bowl first was a bad one

Sarfaraz put his batsmen under immense pressure by bowling first as in a high pressure game any score over 230 would have been a task for Pakistan to chase. Pakistan’s only chance was to bat first, put up a total and let Amir lose on their top order batsmen.

From Australian series in UAE to the match today all we have seen is bad planning and decision making making from chief selector to team management. Sarfaraz also has proven himself to be an ordinary captain, I haven’t seen in his entire career as captain one decision that had turned the game in Pakistan’s favour.
 
I lost half the hope at this decision.

Even though the reason they had was exploiting the early movement and the rain factor probably but there was no need.
Because our bowlers can not take wickets upfront (the last game should have been an eye opener) and we are far too erratic and disorganized to be batting with a plan even if there was the rain threat involved. So we should have backed our strengths and never opt for a chase.
 
I don't think toss would have made any difference. I don't think Pakistan would be able to score 334 and if they did somehow they would not be able to defend it. We need to understand there is a huge difference b/w Pakistan and india cricket right now when it comes to talent. I don't think there is one player from Pakistan playing 11 who can replace any player from Indian X1 and that is the reality.
 
We should have bat first ,it wasn't a bad decisions considering conditions and d/l but we know that we bottle chasing anything over 2 digits
 
If he had batted first and got bowled out for a low score because the conditions every one would be going ballistic. He did the right thing but the bowling from Amir, HA and Wahab was just poor.
 
As I had mentioned previously, even if it rains cats and dogs for a century prior to a match, we should still bat first. We are the worst chasers.


The match was already lost at the toss.
 
Bowling first was the safer option, batting first would of been the more bold decision and frankly I was in shock when I heard Sarfaraz say he’s going to bowl first. Yes, cloud cover, forecasted rain, dls scenario all of these were looming but chasing is always harder as we’ve seen throughout this tournament and even before this World Cup. Hindsight is a beautiful thing haha but I can’t help but think if we batted first we would of won with anything above 270-80.

Especially considering the state of our pace bowling as a whole no way would I have seen cloud cover etc. as an advantage. Hassan Ali was downright terrible and in the Australian match couldn’t bowl a pair of dot balls to save his live, and really none of the other players really went up and tried to gear him up, terrible body language for instance the missed runout when Fakhar through it at the wrong end, no body screamed which end to throw it at.

Our fielding is a joke and it’s possible an overlooked reason as to why they’re a top 3 team.
 
I wanted us to bowl when we won the toss. Conditions seemed overcast at the time, thought the ball would swing.
 
Another excuse to stroke your battered ego. When will fans realise that toss is irrelevant between Pakistan and India. The two teams are as far apart as north and south pole. It wouldn't matter what Pakistan did after winning the toss.
 
Yes, it was mistake by pakistani captain. But He second guessed it because of following things.
(1) Amir' form. he came out of fifer in last game.
(2) over cast condition. Amir could be trump card.
(3) wahab was not bad in last match. As usual, He trusts wahab more than wahab's wife.
(4) Hasan Ali with 10 wicket jingoism. CT17 Final motivation.
(5) Wicket was covered and can't be judge easily. Tricky wicket. Kohli made mistake in CT 17 Final also.
(6) Check out Rahul's interview and batting. He clearly said that the pitch was spongy and tricky. He played well but he rated his inning 6/10. He got out with stupid shot.

Overall, it didnt work out in his favour. He made mistake.

It doesnt matter who bats first. India will be winner in any case.

 
Savak said:
Pakistan batted first vs the WI, results are in front of us. Team is devoid of confidence, losing 13 of your last 14 games will take a toll. Team management has just failed.
Click to expand...

Same team batted against England and score 350

Plus the whole world knows all matches for India were played on absolute belters and batting first was the correct decision...

But I blame Mickey and Inzi the dictator for the decision, poor Sarfaraz is only following orders...
 
saeedhk said:
Even if it rains cats and dogs for a century, Pakistan should still bat first.

We are the worst chasers, have jelly spine and are mentally midgets. We cannot even chase 170.
Click to expand...

Absolutely.They should always bat first regardless of conditions.Even after that Australia loss they still didn't learn.Awful captaincy
 
saintgrace said:
Yes, it was mistake by pakistani captain. But He second guessed it because of following things.
(1) Amir' form. he came out of fifer in last game.
(2) over cast condition. Amir could be trump card.
(3) wahab was not bad in last match. As usual, He trusts wahab more than wahab's wife.
(4) Hasan Ali with 10 wicket jingoism. CT17 Final motivation.
(5) Wicket was covered and can't be judge easily. Tricky wicket. Kohli made mistake in CT 17 Final also.
(6) Check out Rahul's interview and batting. He clearly said that the pitch was spongy and tricky. He played well but he rated his inning 6/10. He got out with stupid shot.

Overall, it didnt work out in his favour. He made mistake.

It doesnt matter who bats first. India will be winner in any case.
Click to expand...

You are right.

I think the right decision was to bat first for Pakistan considering they are the WORST chasers and have lost countless times to India chasing in WCs (WC 2015, 2011, 1999, etc.).

Having said that, it would not have made a difference to the final result.
 
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