I mean seriesly. Lost to India by batting first in the last match and making the same mistake again? India is so good in chasing scores and you are giving them what they want? Seriesly, I was a big supporter of Sarfaraz but not anymore.
The toss decision wasn't Sarfraz's alone, therefore he shouldn't be singled out. You want to know the reason? Now I am serious -
It's because of absoultely wrong planning & squad selection. To cover all bases, for a tournament, you need to spend time on your tactics & strategy to visualize the combination in different context - which is not the strength of your CS. Guy carried a Test to day 5 for 20 minutes, despite 80% thunderstorm threat, because PAK Captain didn't know the 30 minutes extension rule - a playing condition that he must have signed as Captain prior to the tour.
I explain it from Indian perspectives - If you look at IND, they are crystal clear about their strategy, combination & tactics. And, despite not playing there for over a decade they summed-up the Dubai wicket like their palm. Between 2 venues, Dubai is far better for chasing because of the smaller boundary size (you can loft for six to cover RR), and because of dew, as well as better, bouncier wicket. Abu Dhabi also has dew, but the boundary is far, far larger while out field is slow and wicket is absolute dead - still only for dew, as we are heading in to winter, it's becoming easier to chase. PAK did it last time, AFGs almost did it today. Same target of 250, the wicket & condition SRL chased last week unfortunately, it would have been walk over for AFG & BD in last 2 games.
Now, IND's strategy is simple - they have 2 gun openers, and all their games are at Dubai - so their plan is to chase and restrict teams to a reasonable target bowling their spinners, when the condition is dry. Any target below 270 at Dubai, their openers simply will bat through the innings and finish 70% job (today did 100%, barring that run-out). And, since most teams will bat first in such condition, it's almost certain that regardless of toss, IND'll bat 2nd almost always.
BUT, they have checked the other box as well - if someone puts them in or on a belter if they win the toss and opt to bat? This time, again formula is simple, which they did against HK - attack the new ball when it's coming on to bat as new ball doesn't do anything in Dubai, get a head start with top order, then stroll around with the middle order to play out 50 overs and put a goodish total, if not match winning. Now, chasing 275+, regardless of whatever top order do, against a very good fielding unit, at one point chasing side will reach a stage of 7+ asking - then the choking of single starts by MS, using spinners taking pace out of the ball. No matter how many wickets at hand, it's not easy when you are drained of boundary and literally have to live with 5-6 singles every over or inch by inch pressure builds, until it explodes to result couple of wickets - a pair of new batsmen, and the cat & mouse game starts, when most times MS will win.
Come to PAK - can't go for that explosive start because of Banja and Babar; while hack Fakhar has been studied to perfection about his range of shots. You can't, simply can't play ODI cricket with Imam & Babar at top 3 - can't, shouldn't and PAK also won't have done so if there wasn't an issue of blood - apna khoon always thicker than water.
- can't use spinners in middle overs, because these spinners won't get settled batsmen out - if PAK bowls first, often you'll see a 140-150 runs partnership for one of the top 3 wickets, which sets the platform for a 300+ target. Spinners, not for the sake of slow bowling - spinners for the sake of getting set batsman out, which Shadab might do to some extent, that's it; IND has 3, and then they blew PAK Middle order with Jadav guy.
- can't choke teams with 3-4 pacers on these wickets - one selective hit, and you can manage an asking of <6 easily. Ul Haq hasn't given them any spinner, who can bowl tight for 6-7 overs according to field & plan - Shadab is certainly not one, h bowls too many Googly, and south Asian batsmen read leggis from air, not after pitching. Today, Mahmudullah categorically stuck Rashid for 2-3 boundaries & six by slog sweep with the Googly, on a 85 metre ground.
- this "choking" mantra for Sarfraz is to put 5 men on line of inner circle and scream at "soft" targets - why there is a single? This guy looks far better because he replaced Azhar, and because of the teams he had led against. Obviously, milking CT win in UK with 3 pacers at their best won't last long til Asia Cup on a completely different surface.
So, only option left for PAK is to bat first, play "conventional" cricket to put a 270+ score and expect new ball pair take out at least one Indian opener, if not both. Then, somehow reverse swing starts to happen and PAK blows Indian bottom half, larke lenge estyle. This mantra was used in 1956, sorry 1996 and this might be the case in 2056 as well.
Disclaimer: This post is valid for today, 23 SEP 2018. Next time PAK wins again, preferably against BD in 3 days time, I'll write again parsing Sarfraz & Ul Haq - how dynamic & visionary they are.
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