Pakistan is the Master of its Destiny

In another unconvincing batting display, Pakistan only managed 253 against a Holland bowling attack that should have been clubbed right from the start. I am inclined to say however that this kind of batting will suffice against India & Zimbabwe. It will however not be enough if we play well enough to make it to the super six stage. The formula is simple. Win every game that is left and you are in. There should be no other formula or permutation that we talk about. Just win every game. It is do or die. There was no fire in the lads in the game against the lowly Dutch today. I would not blame them if the case was that we had won every game before this one but since we are in trouble it needs to be understood that every session of play is important. There needs to be a goal for every session. We did not achieve many goals today and there is still doubt about batting & selection a few days before the huge encounter with India.

Holland won the toss and put Pakistan in. Dean Jones thought the wicket was a batting wicket and should be good to play positive cricket on. He was right. Pakistan shuffled the side around. I do not necessarily agree with the selection but what I do want is some consistency. So stick with this team now & do not change much apart from maybe one position. Let’s talk about that at the end. Taufeeq & Saeed were asked to open today. The bowling was easy and the wicket was playing true. There was really no reason why the two should not have just gone after the bowling. They were unsure and very sedate. It showed me that Taufeeq does not have many shots and is a very limited batsman. He is technically correct most of the time and so he will be a good test player but he needs to develop a lot before becoming a good one-day bat. Saeed really did not have any bite to his shots although he played reasonably well before playing half-heartedly at a wide ball to be caught at point. Pakistan had a little over 50 at the time at over 4 an over. Razzaq was sent one down. He played positively. Most of the shots hit the middle of the blade. He looked in good touch. It was heartening to see that. The partnership was developing nicely and just when they should have started to capitalize, Taufeeq called for a non-existent single after a bowler’s back drive and was run out. It showed his immaturity but also the lack of basics. Running between the wickets was awful. The non-striker was never backing up when the bowlers had delivered. Calling was not confident. They looked tentative. After Tuafeeq’s dismissal Inzi walked in. It was imperative that he spend time at the crease and this was a perfect opportunity. He came in lethargically and did not have the right body language. On the second ball that he faced Umpire Venkat got him! He played defensively to a straight ball, which hit his bat and then his pad. Before the bowler even started appealing the finger was half way up. It was stupendous! I am not sure if this was bias or just plain pathetic judgment but over the years Shepherd, Venkat & Hair have made god awful decisions against Pakistan. I am totally against having any of these three officiating any of our games. Venkat took away Inzi’s chance of getting back into form before the two big do or die games.

The commentators were really ragging on Pakistan by now and it made me angry that Ramiz was not defending the Pakistanis. I agree with the fact that we did not run well or that we were not as confident with the bat like we should have been but this was match practice for God’s sake. It was a cakewalk. Even after doing everything wrong in this game we beat the Dutch by a better margin than most other teams beat them. Youhana came in after Inzi and started playing fluently. Razzaq and him were doing very well and looked all set for a big partnership. Razzaq however got a beauty of a leg spinner and was out caught behind. Pakistan was 143/4 and a huge score was out of the question. Elahi walked in at this stage. Here my point of having a 6th bowler (allrounder) as opposed to a 6th batsman comes into play. This was a total waste. Why have Elahi, who is a top order bat, come in at this stage? He soon gave his wicket away to an easy full toss by hitting it straight to cover. No discipline but also bad selection. I would have played an allrounder and have Elahi open. Anyway, Rashid came in for a run a ball inning of 24 to make the score more respectable. Youhana carried on. When Rashid got out Pakistan were 6/192 and there was still a chance that Wasim would come and get quick runs. That notion was soon dispelled when Youhana ran him out & Wasim walked back to the pavilion fuming. He later showed his disgust by not even looking at Youhana when he came back to the pavilion. It was Youhana’s fault. However, Shoaib who was rightly promoted in the order played well and got some lusty hits in the last few overs. Pakistan scraped to a total of 253 & Youhana got a good fifty. The only two good things that happened for Pakistan during their batting were that Razzaq & Youhana seem to be back in form.

The bowling has never been a question mark for the Pakistan team. Wasim soon removed Statham to get his 500th one-day victim. It was a great achievement. The man is a legend & the best bowler ever to play this game in my opinion. The smile on his face and his reaction after getting this wicket was the same as it was when he got his first. Joy! Every member of the team hugged him. It was a great moment and I hope that inspires him and the team to bigger & better things in this world cup. Although the Dutch batted with gusto, there wasn’t much to talk about in this inning. Wasim got 3 wickets to increase his tally to 12 in the tournament and Shoaib got 3 as well. Razzaq & Saqlain were given a lot of overs to get them into some rhythm, which was the right idea. Saeed had a bowl too and it seems as if he maybe asked to do some bowling if we play the same team against India & a 6th bowler is needed. I do not think that is a good idea.

I would for the game against India bring Afridi back in place of Taufeeq. Let Elahi & Saeed open, Razzaq come one down, Inzi at 4, Youhana at 5 & Afridi at 6. I still believe that a 6th bowler will be needed. Taufeeq does not have enough shots in the repertoire to open right now although he plays straight. Elahi was wasted at number 6 today, as he is a top order bat. Razzaq can be the pinch hitter or blocker up top depending on the situation. Inzi will come back into form some day. If he is dropped, Younis Khan can play in his place. Youhana seems to be getting his touch back. Afridi, Rashid & Wasim can handle the lower order requirements adequately. In the bowling department we will be balanced with 6 bowlers…4 quicks and two spinners. Poor Afridi, he missed out on both the easy games and did not get any batting practice. If he is shoved into another pressure cooker against India, it will be hard for him to come down the order and do something to contribute. However, I believe that he will. I have always claimed that he will win us every 5th game he plays. He played two in SA before playing two in this world cup. He has not won us outright any of those so it is time. Like I said before and this may sound surprising to a lot of folks, I am not too worried about the India game. I believe we match well against them. I think the law of averages will catch up with India. They have beaten us 3-0 in world cup encounters. I am worried about our game with Zimbabwe. I think they are a good side & have balance. Winning the toss is vitally important for Pakistan in the last two games. However, the body language when you lose the toss should not convey anything one-way or the other. We need to hide our inner feelings and play positive cricket. There should be fire in the lads’ eyes and there should be energy from the first ball to the last. A war against India is the perfect platform to motivate us. We should bring out our best. If we are to go down, we should go down fighting. Bring it on!