“I’ve got 16 wickets, still no rhythm you think?” smirked Shaheen Afridi, currently the leading wicket-taker in ICC World Cup 2023 to a question about bowling rhythm. It was an answer laced with the attitude of a proud fast bowler, a list Afridi would find a high spot in.
It is one amongst the many questions that have tailed Pakistan all along in the tournament. An attack without the presence of Naseem Shah was deemed to have lost a lot of teeth, including Afridi himself. It wasn’t that he was lacking wickets, for even when he has been worse for against quality batting, Afridi has managed to sneak in wickets at some stage. Against India, he curtailed a rampaging Rohit Sharma, and against Australia he did enough at the death to leave his team with a chance, albeit a small one.
Nevertheless, sneaking in wickets is not what Afridi and Co. had made their name out of. It was about setting the tone. So it did not come as much surprise that, Pakistan’s most complete bowling performance of the tournament came on the day when Afridi struck early, and in trademark style in the first over. Tanzid Hasan had a working over with a few shaping away before one nipped in to trap him LBW. The ‘Afridi eagle’ was out early, and with it calling in all of his partners to join in.
While Bangladesh switched up their batting order to recreate some old magic, Pakistan were now ticking. Usama Mir was inspirational inside the ring, first taking a smart low catch, and then making some good stops. On a pitch that wasn’t pace-friendly, Afridi was standing out with an opening spell of 3-1-2-2. His replacement, Haris Rauf, threatened to release the pressure getting driven for boundaries thrice in his first five balls before getting it right to have Mushfiqur Rahim caught behind. And Pakistan were buzzing.
That it took Pakistan’s bowlers until the seventh match to hit their top mark begets the question of rhythm once again, as a collective if not Afridi’s alone. The pacer admitted that bowling in India needed some adjustments to be made. “Not surprised,” he answered when asked about the new ball not swinging as much. “We’ve seen a lot of IPL matches and in that there wasn’t any swing early on. There’s some difference in the ball as well, it’s not swinging that much. And it is not just for me, even Mitchell Starc, Trent Boult…we’re all trying for it but it’s not swinging that much. I think length is the crucial factor.”
Length, and change of pace were Afridi’s key mantras for Pakistan’s success today on a “slow surface”.
“6-7m if you bowl it’s difficult to hit early on. Our efforts have been towards bowling with variations. Haris has pace, Wasim has pace and our aim was to bowl in partnerships,” explained the pacer who incidentally had become the quickest Pakistan bowler to get 100 ODI wickets. It’s a stat that also serves as an indicator for Afridi’s adaptability, alongside the wicket-taking ability.
If not without the same success, Afridi believes that his team-mates are working towards making adjustments as well for the conditions that have been different in this World Cup.
“Haris [Rauf] has a big role in white-ball cricket for Pakistan. The wickets are slow and you’ll have to bowl according to that. You see [Lockie] Ferguson, he bowls with so much pace and that’s becoming easy to hit. It’s necessary to use variations. Haris is trying to do the same, and still he’s picked 12 wickets and we’ll try to continue that.
Mohammad Wasim Jr, who wrapped up the tail with three quick wickets, also earned the praise of the strike-bowler. “It’s difficult to sit out and watch a few games, but Wasim has proven that he has worked on, he’s put in some work length-wise. He’s got results in the previous game, and now here as well.”
The trio accounted for 8 wickets and were instrumental in getting Bangladesh bowled out for 204, with the spinners providing an adequate supporting act. Pakistan’s batters chased down the total with a vigorous aim towards upping their NRR, which improved from -0.387 to -0.024 eventually. It not only kept alive their hopes of making it to the semifinal but also of restoring some lost pride.
