Pakistan had a mixed run in one-dayers heading into the tournament. They had defeated a second-string New Zealand side this summer 4-1 and swept a three-match ODI series against Afghanistan in Sri Lanka in August, only for them to crumble in the Asia Cup after a strong start and miss out on the final.
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The way their 2023 World Cup campaign unfolded too was true to their mercurial nature — where they started off with back-to-back wins that included a record chase against Sri Lanka, lost four games in a row and made a dramatic comeback towards the end of their campaign to nearly sneak through to the knockouts.
As has been the case with this team in major events over the years, they were left praying for ‘Qudrat Ka Nizam’ (law of nature) to take its course and for other results to go their way, rather than make their own destiny the way India, South Africa and Australia have. That, and constant comparisons with their legendary 1992 campaign are what have remained a constant with this team till date.
Babar Azam and Co would have hoped to sign off with a victory against England on Saturday to give themselves as well as their fans something to smile about. Instead, their performance at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens highlighted everything that went wrong in their campaign and why they failed to reach the last-four stage of the quadrennial event for the fifth time in six editions.
Here’s a detailed look at what went wrong with Pakistan’s World Cup campaign along with the few positives:
Babar’s troubles as leader and as a key batter
Few players have faced as much pressure and criticism in this tournament as Pakistan captain Babar. It’s one thing to face criticism as a professional cricketer, and an entirely different thing to get ripped to shreds by former Pakistan cricketers, who are known to be absolutely ruthless in television debates.
It’s not that Babar had a terrible run with the bat. He did collect 320 runs at an average of 40 with four half-centuries. Three of those fifties, however, came in losing causes including a 58-ball 50 against India in Ahmedabad. The inability to convert those starts into match-winning hundreds along with the fact that those knocks did little to put the opposition under pressure, given his strike rate was mostly below 100, is what makes his contributions with the bat a little underwhelming.
The only knock appeared worth its money was his unbeaten 66 in the unbroken 194-run partnership with Fakhar Zaman that helped Pakistan pull off a thrilling win in a rain-affected clash against New Zealand in Bengaluru despite the Black Caps having posted 401 on the board. The skipper had played the perfect foil to Fakhar’s explosive knock and it was that partnership that kept the Pakistanis remain mathematically in contention till their very final match.
As a leader, Babar appeared to show signs of the pressure starting to get the better of him. Barring a couple of games where Pakistan exhibited the kind of determination that is the hallmark of champions, especially against South Africa where they nearly pulled off a miraculous victory, Babar’s body language wasn’t that of a leader who could inspire his team to amazing feats.
Whether it was his off-field drama with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and its chairman Zaka Ashraf that is showing no signs of slowing down and might blow up even further in the coming days, or dissent within the ranks, Babar wasn’t the same individual who led Pakistan into the final of last year’s T20 World Cup after nearly getting eliminated at one stage.
Among other members of the batting department who failed to fire in the tournament was Imam-ul-Haq, who finished with 162 runs at an average of 27 with one half-century. The team leadership persisted with him despite his relatively poor numbers, which translated to shaky starts for the team more often than not, and it was after his scores of 17 and 12 in the defeats against Afghanistan and South Africa that the team finally had enough and decided to bench him in favour of Fakhar Zaman.
Lack of spin threat hurts Pakistan as pacers blow hot and cold
The trio of Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf had played a key role in the team’s rise to the No 1 spot on the ICC ODI rankings, and even though Naseem had been ruled out of the tournament with a shoulder injury that he suffered during the Asia Cup, the Pakistani attack was considered good enough for them to challenge for the title. Especially with spin-bowling all-rounder Shadab Khan complementing the efforts of the pacers.
The Afridi-led bowling unit, however, did not quite live up to their potential in this World Cup and barring a couple of games, didn’t quite boss the opposition the way India’s Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj have been able to match after match.
Afridi, of course finished well ahead of his teammates with 18 wickets with one five-for at an average of 26.72 that has put him at the fourth spot on the leading wicket-takers’ list, above Bumrah. The same, however, cannot be said of the rest of the Pakistan attack. Haris Rauf did collect 16 wickets at 33.31, his economy of 6.74 was suggestive of someone who had been taken to the cleaners more often than not.
Case in point his his haul of 3 for 83 against Australia where he did get wickets, but was smashed all over the Chinnaswamy by Warner, Marsh and the rest of the Aussie batting lineup, conceding 24 runs in his first over itself.
Pakistan also dearly missed an in-form frontline spinner, the presence of which has greatly benefitted teams such as Australia and South Africa and India happen to have two of them. Leg-spinner Shadab finished with just two wickets across the entire campaign and was later beset with fitness issues. Fellow wrist spinner Usama Mir was hardly better while Iftikhar Ahmed and Mohammad Nawaz are mostly used as supporting acts through the main overs, and not as the wicket-taking options.
The leading wicket-taker at present happens to be a spinner (Australia’s Adam Zampa). And four of the five top bowlers with the best economy (and with a minimum of five wickets) happen to be spinners. Shadab’s inability to make an impact, that too in a World Cup hosted in the subcontinent, was always going to make it difficult for Pakistan to challenge for the semi-finals.
Rizwan, Fakhar and Wasim among the standout performers
Pakistan’s campaign did have its moments though. Keeper-bat Mohammad Rizwan had produced one of the greatest knocks in the history of ICC’s showpiece event with an unbeaten 131 in Pakistan’s chase of the improbable 346-run target set by Sri Lanka in Hyderabad.
Rizwan came to Pakistan’s rescue after they had been reduced to 37/2 in reply, and not only put them in the driver’s seat by building solid partnerships with Abdullah Shafique and Saud Shakeel, but fought intense physical discomfort caused by cramps to guide his team home in what turned out to be the highest successful chase in the tournament’s history. Had it not been for Glenn Maxwell’s knock of a lifetime against Afghanistan that took place in even more dramatic circumstances, this could very well have been the most defining innings of the tournament.
Opener Fakhar Zaman too made an emphatic comeback against Bangladesh and New Zealand later in the tournament after being dropped in favour of Shafique following an inconsistent run, which was followed by a knee injury. Fakhar struck whirlwind knocks of 81 and 126 not out in those two games, helping Pakistan pip the Kiwis in a dramatic encounter in Bengaluru. Together with Shafique, who’s impressed in his maiden World Cup, Pakistan appear to have settled on their first-choice opening pair for now.
As for the bowling department, Naseem’s absence allowed fellow pacer from the north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province Mohammad Wasim to make the most of the opportunities handed to him.
Wasim had initially been benched with Pakistan going with Hasan Ali as their third frontline pacer, but would make an instant impact after being drafted into the XI for the match against South Africa where he did his part in helping his team mount a late comeback from out of nowhere with a series of testing overs.
Wasim would finish with 10 wickets from four outings but with a better average (21.50) than any of his teammates. He will be expected to vacate his slot in the attack once Naseem returns to fitness, but has done enough to impress the selectors and ensure a more prolonged run is around the corner.
Pakistan’s results in the 2023 World Cup:
vs Netherlands in Hyderabad: Won by 81 runs
vs Sri Lanka in Hyderabad: Won by 6 wickets
vs India in Ahmedabad: Lost by 7 wickets
vs Australia in Bengaluru: Lost by 62 runs
vs Afghanistan in Chennai: Lost by 8 wickets
vs South Africa in Chennai: Lost by 1 wicket
vs Bangladesh in Kolkata: Won by 7 wickets
vs New Zealand in Bengaluru: Won by 21 runs (DLS method)
vs England in Kolkata: Lost by 93 runs
from Firstpost Sports Latest News https://ift.tt/3RdBfNx
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