Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat first. Was this a good decision overall? This is going to be the toughest match for Pakistan in this World Cup. Babar Azam is expected to deliver a performance akin to Virat Kohli’s tomorrow.
Afghanistan struggles even more than us when it comes to chasing. The Pakistan vs Afghanistan match will be held on the same pitch that was utilized for India’s opening game against Australia. The ground has been strategically chosen to favor Afghan spinners, and unfortunately, we lack effective spin-playing batsmen in the middle order and beyond. I still have faith that we might tough it out, but to be honest, this is going to be a fiercely competitive match.
It seems like this entire World Cup has been pre-planned. It feels more like an Indian Multi-Nation Series. The pitches, venues, and oppositions all seem to be predetermined. When India faces strong spinning teams, they play on flat pitches, and when facing good batting sides, they’re on venues where the ball spins.
Chennai’s pitch and Afghanistan’s spinners
For our match against Afghanistan, they placed us in Chennai, where the ball spins excessively, the same place where India had Australia all out for 200. It feels like there’s a script in play. The only thing India didn’t account for in their script is that they might face a setback, at least once, and that might happen in the Semi-finals.
It feels like India’s time for a setback is approaching. It’s best if it happens in the semi-finals. I wouldn’t want to witness this excessively confident bunch make it to the finals. I’d be thrilled if someone could bring them down a notch, along with their arrogant crowd.
Pakistan is facing immense pressure from fans, PCB, ex-cricketers, and even BCCI (making matters worse with terrible playing conditions). We’re in a really tough spot, man. The Pakistan vs Afghanistan match is one where, regardless of any dissatisfaction with your current playing XI, you simply want your team to thoroughly outperform our north-western neighbors. (I’m suppressing a chuckle as I refrain from using the “salt” word…)
Afghanistan’s victory over England was even more remarkable because they lost the toss. Hats off to Afghanistan for their performance! Whereas, in the previous game, Pakistan struggled to chase against Australia.
Nawaz is out, and Shadab is in
There’s one change: Nawaz isn’t playing today due to illness, and Shadab Khan is back in the playing XI. Pakistan is opting for two leg-spinners. This is a courageous decision. Best of luck!
When I score runs, Pakistan wins 90% of the matches. You will see a different team against Afghanistan. We have chased 350+ runs in the past and we trust our abilities. It’s not about how you do in the powerplay, it’s about winning and losing’ Imam Ul Haq
Pakistan hits a six in the powerplay after 1169 balls! Thanks to Abdullah Shafique, off Naveen-ul-Haq.
we’ve to eat more protein instead of carbs to start hitting some sixes Imam Ul Haq
Pakistan has been dominating so far, scoring 51 runs without losing a wicket after 8 overs.
Pakistani fans are angry at Imam after he gets out to a short ball for the 19788558995th time.
Rizwan has 0 dismissals while playing sweep shots against spin in odis 2023
Rizwan: say no more, here you go Noor! TWO wickets on World Cup debut!
Noor Ahmad, the chinaman.
I knew he would get out soon, playing those sweeps so frequently. How hard is it to play with a straight bat? Just offer your prayers, for God’s sake!
30 Overs Completed! Noor Ahmad (2/16) takes two wickets as Pakistan reach 139/3.
How do you guys assess this pitch? What’s the target score in your opinion, especially given our spinners’ form? Are you counting on the seamers to exploit the new ball and swing it under the lights, much like Australia did?
The early stages with the new ball offer the best opportunity to score runs. As the ball ages, the pitch tends to slow down. Personally, I believe there will be very few deliveries that are truly unplayable here. You can defend all day without losing a wicket, but finding the boundaries won’t be easy either.
Starting with a run rate of 5.25 per over seems like an ideal aim.
Push the game to the 40-over mark, then try to accumulate as many runs as possible.
Was that a shot? The ball is far outside off from the off. It’s like scraping the rice off the pan. The ones below don’t seem to know how to play spin at all. Downfall starts. It’s Babar’s fault as a captain, yes. First, he missed a cut off the first over. And when going to India, they didn’t take Pakistan’s two best spin players from the top.
Malik is the best spinner in your team. Moreover, he’s the only active player with experience playing in India. His track record against India is outstanding. Brother, if a person doesn’t improve after playing for 25 years, it’s futile to expect it. Improvement? Horses for courses. Are they going to Australia, England, or South Africa? No, they’re going to India. Besides, that’s his in-laws’ place anyway.
Poor judgment by Saud. There was already a boundary in this over. He could have gotten at most 2 on this shot. Taking such a risk, especially when a boundary is already scored, is foolishness.
Change the captain
Why should we keep hearing about Babar’s talks every time, especially because of his performance? May Allah SWT safeguard us all from finding ourselves in a situation where Imam ul Haq is attempting to inspire us. La howla wala quwata. In crucial moments, Babar Azam resembles my father on a random Sunday morning, opening up all the electrical boards with no idea how to fix them.
Babar was scoring runs against Aus, NZ, Eng. Fakhar and Shaheen, Haris were bowling well. Naseem’s injury has had a big impact. After that, there’s a lack of discipline. The field placements aren’t right either. And if the bowlers bowled poorly in the first 10 overs, there was no one to go up to them and guide them. There was no moment of attack. We kept the field open from the start. At least we should have tried to take wickets with an attacking field.
A team that performs poorly on the field and with the ball, led by ineffective captaincy, deserves nothing less than humiliation. Good batting, decent bowling, very poor fielding, and absolutely pathetic captaincy. He let 282 runs slip away, despite having a world-class bowling lineup at his disposal, with only 2 players causing the damage. Afghanistan played with great patience, fielded well, and won.
Player of The Match
How innocent Ibrahim Zadran is! He was hoping that maybe the Afghans have bought Pakistan. Whether they indulge in extortion, smuggling, or terrorism here, Pakistan cannot tell them to leave. They had forgotten that when no country in the world accepted the Afghans, it was Pakistan that came to their aid.
Conclusion
Putting Pandya in his place, Shami took five wickets. We played Usama Mir instead of Shadab, whose line and length were even worse than Shadab’s. Besides line and length, he lacked the bowling finesse. Flippers, googlies, etc. were missing.
I was considering replacing Shadab. But if the replacement is like this, then what can we do? Both get dropped towards the end of the tournament. Don’t play Shadab in the next matches, nor Usama Mir, nor Nawaz. Use Iftikhar, Saud, and Agha Salman for 20 overs. They’ll do better. Babar can even try his hand at spin. The T20 team has been selected for ODI. All T20 players. Playing senior players can be fatal. Sarfraz and Malik are there. Both play spin very well.
We have never seen a Pakistani bowling lineup like this. Worst ever. I don’t know what happened, everything was going fine before the World Cup. Fast bowlers are outperforming each other. Neither Shaheen nor Haris are taking wickets. Mohammad Wasim would be a better replacement. If Zaman Khan were here, I would have considered him. At least he brings something different. Imad should have been in the team. I may sound harsh, but I want Shadab and Usama to get injured and be replaced with Imad and Nauman Ali.
