Watching the highlights of the India game... a few thoughts on Pakistan

[Sherlock]

I couldn't watch the game live and only watched the highlights but what came across for me was :

*Pakistan were trying to be too aggressive, and unnaturally so.

*Bhuvi and Bumrah bowled a fantastic spell first up and Pakistan could've done more to manoeuvre the ball around.

*Babar and Malik's partnership was how you're supposed to bat and play aggressively without losing your head.

*Except for Bhuvi in his initial spell, Pakistan did well not to give their wickets away to the main bowlers, up until Yadav got Babar.

*The batsmen took Jadhav too lightly and because of their initial start they tried to force the issue, in the process losing some silly wickets. Jadhav was excellent too.

*In-regards to bowling, I thought the bowlers were trying too hard to get quick wickets. They kept bowling too short and pretty poor lines.

*India were terrific all-round and took the game as professionally as a fan would hope.

Finally I think the wrist-slitters need to realise the composition of the tournament, no matter what Mortaza and other state, we play India again in a few day time, and Afghanistan and Bangladesh too.

Either way we needed a proper battering as that seems to be the only way our players wake up from their inevitable slumber and over-confidence.

Well done India, and better luck Pakistan in the next match and the culminating matches.

 

[jaf348]

Imam and Fakhar got out due to the pressure of dot balls and maiden overs, they opted to go for big release shots which failed.

Also Kuldeep got Babar not Jadhav.

 

[Sherlock]

Imam and Fakhar got out due to the pressure of dot balls and maiden overs, they opted to go for big release shots which failed.

Also Kuldeep got Babar not Jadhav.

With all due respect it was the 3rd over. Not the 43rd.

also

Maybe you need to read closely...

 

[Hasan123]

Couldn't watch the highlights of that game again.

 

[Sherlock]

Couldn't watch the highlights of that game again.

I only watched the highlights after missing the live game. I'm not into sadomasochism

 

[Cric_lover4487]

Cricket is a funny game. You never know, Pakistan might crush India again like they did in CT. However, it is obvious that if Fakhar gets out early unreliable middle order gets exposed. Pakistan team is relying on Babar to bail them out who seems like a batsman in Ajinkya Rahane mold, non gutsy and timid. No offense but i would rather play with Umar akmal at no. 6 slot. His stats are better than most of Pakistan batsman in last 10 years. I have no idea why he was dropped from test team by Misbah. With extended run in test team by now he could have been a gun player for Pakistan team in all formats. If not, atleast he could have been Raina for Pakistan team. To me at times his ramblings on team management seems legit.

 

[jaf348]

With all due respect it was the 3rd over. Not the 43rd.

also

Maybe you need to read closely...

2nd over was a maiden by Bumrah, Imam gets out first ball of the 3rd over.

4th over was a maiden by Bumrah, Fakhar gets out first ball of the 5th over.

Would Imam and Fakhar have gone for those big shots if the previous overs weren't maidens? Maybe you should have watched the game.

 

[InziRules]

2nd over was a maiden by Bumrah, Imam gets out first ball of the 3rd over.

4th over was a maiden by Bumrah, Fakhar gets out first ball of the 5th over.

Would Imam and Fakhar have gone for those big shots if the previous overs weren't maidens? Maybe you should have watched the game.

The entire point is that you don't be a ***** in the 3rd and 5th over just because you didn't get runs quickly

 

[Sherlock]

2nd over was a maiden by Bumrah, Imam gets out first ball of the 3rd over.

4th over was a maiden by Bumrah, Fakhar gets out first ball of the 5th over.

Would Imam and Fakhar have gone for those big shots if the previous overs weren't maidens? Maybe you should have watched the game.

For goodness sake. This is why it's a 50 over game and not a bloody T20. Realise who you're playing against, and what bowlers they possess. Watching it live doesn't hide that fact.

 

[Slim]

Good analysis and very much in line with what Mickey identified as well. You cannot blast your opponent into outer space from the get go, players needed to play sensibly.

 

[Hitman]

Babar played a completely unnecessary shot, and Malik simply was silly in that run out. Pak could have ended up with a score of 250+ if those two stuck around. A set batsman is never, ever supposed to throw away his wicket unless when it comes down to the last overs of an innings in ODI cricket where slogging is necessary. That's the golden rule of thumb.

 

[Hitman]

One point I'd like to mention here, as an Indian fan some ODI matches against Pakistan might seem pretty irrelevant in the scheme of things. But when you look at the bigger picture, every match for us is worthy against Pakistan. Why? Because we are lagging behind in our overall record against Pakistan.

Yesterday's match might seem irrelevant, but it helped us improve our overall record against them by one more victory. There were many such irrelevant matches between both the teams in the past, and it's because Pakistan won a lot of them that they are much ahead of us in the overall ODI record between both the teams.

I'll be the first one to admit that the Asia Cup holds very little significance. It's good for chest thumping though. But winning such tournaments and matches would help us in catching up with Pakistan, and that to me is definitely worthy.

 

[Sherlock]

Babar played a completely unnecessary shot, and Malik simply was silly in that run out. Pak could have ended up with a score of 250+ if those two stuck around. A set batsman is never, ever supposed to throw away his wicket unless when it comes down to the last overs of an innings in ODI cricket where slogging is necessary. That's the golden rule of thumb.

I agree with Malik [what was he doing? ]

I don't know about you, but the Babar dismissal was a little odd to me. He seemed to want to stay in the crease, then mid-flight thought "I can hit this out of the ground" and kind of came out, but didn't take a full stride and was left off balance.

I remember Yadav bowled a similar delivery to I think it was Bairstow or Buttler, in the ODI series a month or so back.

 

[Sherlock]

One point I'd like to mention here, as an Indian fan some ODI matches against Pakistan might seem pretty irrelevant in the scheme of things. But when you look at the bigger picture, every match for us is worthy against Pakistan. Why? Because we are lagging behind in our overall record against Pakistan.

Yesterday's match might seem irrelevant, but it helped us improve in our overall record against them by one more victory. There were many such irrelevant matches between both the teams in the past, and it's because Pakistan won of them that they are much ahead of us in the overall ODI record between both the teams.

I'll be the first one to admit that the Asia Cup holds very little significance. It's good for chest thumping though. But winning such tournaments and matches would help us in catching up with Pakistan, and that to me is definitely worthy.

Fair enough that. Also India winning 6 times over Pakistan's 5 times in the Asia Cup is what you're referring to, no?

 

[Hitman]

I agree with Malik [what was he doing? ]

I don't know about you, but the Babar dismissal was a little odd to me. He seemed to want to stay in the crease, then mid-flight thought "I can hit this out of the ground" and kind of came out, but didn't take a full stride and was left off balance.

I remember Yadav bowled a similar delivery to I think it was Bairstow or Buttler, in the ODI series a month or so back.

Both of them were looking extremely good, and I was really getting worried. Babar's shot was unnecessary in my mind keeping in mind the situation of the match. Both of them were pretty much set, and they knew that the rest of their batting line up is brittle. Pak could have very easily scored ore than 250 if those 2 stuck around. And yes, Babar's dismissal looked pretty unusual to me as well.

 

[Angrez Pakistani]

I think that apart from Babar, the younger generation of our batting don’t know how to play spin. I think there are three major reasons for it.
1) The amount of t20 our young batsmen play make sure that they don’t get enough time on the wickets to develop a defensive technique against the threat of spin.
2) There is a lack of quality off spinners in our 1st class, ODD and T20D cricket.
3) Our Under19s and A teams don’t get enough tours of India, Sri-Lanka or Bangladesh, the little we do are only about playing limited overs cricket without any 3 day or 4 day games.
Plus, there are no 3 day or 4 games in our club cricket so the batsmen have developed no temperament to survive long spells of quality spin.

 

[Hitman]

Fair enough that. Also India winning 6 times over Pakistan's 5 times in the Asia Cup is what you're referring to, no?

I think Pakistan has won the Asia Cup 2 times. I'm speaking about the overall head to head record between both the teams in ODI cricket. India is lagging far behind. When you look at it from Pakistan's perspective, they are lagging behind India in Asia Cup victories. They would definitely like to win this tournament making their total Asia Cup victories to 3, compared to India's 5. Also, the head to head record between both the teams in Tournament Finals favors Pakistan heavily. They would like to maintain that, rather than let India improve their record.

Like I said, some matches and tournaments and matches might look irrelevant. But when you look at the bigger picture, there is definitely more to it.

 

[Sherlock]

I think Pakistan has won the Asia Cup 2 times. I'm speaking about the overall head to head record between both the teams in ODI cricket. India is lagging far behind. When you look at it from Pakistan's perspective, they are lagging behind India in Asia Cup victories. They would definitely like to win this tournament making their total Asia Cup victories to 3, compared to India's 5. Also, the head to head record between both the teams in Tournament Finals favors Pakistan heavily. They would like to maintain that, rather than let India improve their record.

Like I said, some matches and tournaments and matches might look irrelevant. But when you look at the bigger picture, there is definitely more to it.

Ah, I saw a graph yesterday on how India and Pakistan both had 5 wins each on a head-to-head in the Asia Cup.

 

[Hariskhan]

I was watching analysis by Brett Lee on how to bowl to Zaman, all in all he stated that the Indian bowlers shouldnt give him room to free his arms therefore cramp him for space. This exactly what the Indiana did, thereby buildling pressure on Zaman.

Would you suggest that Zaman takes moves from off stump to middle stump guard ?

If the bowlers miss their line, he can flick it to the offside ?

 

[o_ahsan99]

Imam is young and inexperienced and has done well in the few games he has played but he might find it difficult to perform against better teams until he works on his strike rotation. I have noticed a pattern in his innings so far. He plays a lot of dot balls, then charges down the wicket and tries to hit over the top. This tactic worked against weaker teams like Zimbabwe, but will not work in the long run against stronger opposition. Good bowlers will not allow you to step out and swing over the top, specially against the new ball. Plus Imam's game is not based on power. He should work on strike rotation and play technically tights shots if he is to succeed at this level. However, as I said, he is young and certainly can improve his game and overcome his weaknesses.