Pakistan’s World Cup caravan has moved to Chennai, and at the moment, there are issues aplenty for them to address. Batting collapses, high dot-ball percentage, low percentages of sixes, expensive returns with the new ball, lack of penetration through the middle overs, and fielding lapses to name a few.
While they would hope to find solutions soon enough to these concerns, all they are desperately wishing for now is a couple of positive results. After all, their next two games scheduled to be played in the south Indian city could play a pivotal role in deciding their fate in the competition, given how the tournament is placed at close to the mid-way point.
Babar Azam’s team has come to Chennai on the back of two defeats where they didn’t just lose but were comfortably humbled by India and Australia respectively. The results of those games, and matches happening elsewhere in the tournament, have pushed them outside the top-four on the points table. However, Imam-ul-Haq, the Pakistan opener, has expressed confidence in the team recovering from its current position and ending the Chennai leg of their games with two more wins.
A disappointing feature in both of Pakistan’s losses were the batting collapses. They managed to add only 36 runs for their last eight and five wickets against India and Australia respectively. While Imam admitted that it’s a cause of worry, he also added that it was time to back the players to come good.
“Our start was very good in the last two matches. Our run rate was good in the first 20 to 25 overs. And we suddenly collapsed. We talked about that. It’s just that this is the time to back players. We discussed what we can change and what we can improve.”
First up in the Chennai leg, they will face Afghanistan – who are placed at the bottom of the table but also well-positioned to go above Pakistan in the standings if they manage to register a big win. Given that the match will be played on the same pitch where India and Australia played, spin is expected to play a huge role. It’s an area Pakistan have been struggling in, with both bat and ball.
Pakistani spinners average over 70 – the second worst in the ongoing competition. They are striking at around 73 balls per wicket, allowing the opposition batters to stitch useful partnerships through the middle overs. None of the three frontline options they have are big turners of the ball. Moreover, Shadab Khan who was dropped for the previous game owing to a lengthy patch of poor form could return in place of Usama Mir on a pitch where his faster pace could be more handy.
Despite the struggles, Imam admitted that there is very little scope for improvement during the World Cup. “It’s just that I don’t believe that now we have a chance to do any kind of more practice. It’s just we are on the tournament and it’s just about the top up. We don’t have that much time.. but the thing is it’s just that – yes, this is a spin venue ground and we know that and the guys individually really depends how they practice and it’s just that every individual has their own preparations and we really back them, we really back their ability and it’s just that’s how it is.”
On the contrary, Afghanistan has largely been potent in that phase, and in fact, it’s been their strongest area of operation, courtesy of the trio of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi. However, Imam has brushed aside that threat and is willing to take confidence from Pakistan’s recent performances against their Asian neighbours.
“Of course, there are good spinners in Afghanistan who can bowl well in the middle overs. But we had beaten them in Hambantota 3-0. Even there, the conditions were very spin-friendly. So, we will back that and our ability. In the end you have to play the ball. You don’t have to play the bowler. So, it’s just that you have to back your ability.”
Another key area of concern for Pakistan has been the inability of the pacers to be penetrative enough with the new ball – an area of strength that was the cornerstone of their rise to the top of the ICC rankings. While they have done exceedingly well in the death overs, conceding 51 and 55 runs against Sri Lanka and Australia respectively in the last nine overs, the contest had gone against them even before they could impose themselves and the death-over efforts merely helped to pull back a bit of that lost momentum. Hasan Ali may have done well as a replacement for Naseem Shah, but he doesn’t carry the same potency with the new ball. Similarly, Shaheen Afridi has been a shadow of his previous self, averaging 42.50 in the first 10 overs since returning from injury in April this year.
Imam defended the bowlers and added, “All matches have been very high scoring (in this World Cup). It is not that it is only against our team. If you look at the other teams also, they are scoring 350-360, like yesterday there was a score of 400, so it’s not that only our bowlers are being beaten.The grounds here are small, the wickets are good, and when the batsmen are set, the margin for the bowlers is very low.”
“This is not an excuse, but the conditions are such. And it’s true that sometimes, there are ups and downs for the bowlers but Shaheen, like in the last match, I thought they would score 420 or 430, but our spinners and end bowlers performed very well and controlled them at 360. So, in patches, our bowlers have done very well, Shaheen has also done very well. So, these are a few positives and during the day you only look at the positives, we try to ignore the negatives because it is very important – we have back-to-back matches in this tournament. On the day we are bowling well, we have to back this. I personally don’t feel that this is not happening or that is not happening. Yes, on the day, often bad days come and I think we should back it.”
