http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754. The hosts have already sealed the series by winning the first 2 matches convincingly. The visitors have looked out of place and out of sorts; there has been a clear lack of planning. The whole team looks like a collection of individuals who are all playing to cement their own place in the team. Lack of direction and planning indicates that the confidence in the camp is low, and, considering all that the team has gone through in last few months, that is probably understandable but still not acceptable.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482’s decision to go back to his old opening slot does not seem to be working. The captain seems to be looking to take the responsibility at the top. But the timing and the venue of the decision may not be the perfect one. If Pakistan were playing in the subcontinent, where the pitches do not offer such bounce and movement to the new ball, then the captain may have been able to stamp his authority. In New Zealand, however, the moving ball has looked to be too much of a challenge for his free style slogging at the top.
The rest of the batting line up also seems to be in a start-stop mode. As ironic as it may seem, one man that clearly does not belong in the T-20 team is the former world cup winning T-20 captain, Younis Khan. The middle order batsman is clearly not meant to be playing the high paced version of the game. Earlier, his captaincy trades were probably more of a reason to keep him in the team. However, now he looks like more of a liability. Umar Akmal is one player that has promised a lot but is yet to deliver. Muhammad Hafeez seems to be one man who knows what he is doing, and if he had not been sold down the river by Umar Akmal in the last match, Pakistan could have had a better shot at levelling the series.
Ahmad Shehzad, the young right hander certainly has the talent, but is a bit too raw and needs to polish off some sharp ends before he can put his talent to use at the top level. Abdur Razzaq, the all rounder, has not been able to influence either of the 2 games, but, to be honest, he has never been a player who would blaze away in every single match, though he does come to the party once or maybe twice on a tour.
Pakistan’s bowling line up also has not been able to get to terms with the pitches in New Zealand. Shoaib AKhtar, who was quite impressive in the series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 in UAE, is still pitching the ball as if he was bowling in Dubai. As a result, Kiwi batsmen have been dispatching Pakistan’s fastest bowler all around the ground. Umar Gul is probably suffering from the same problem, and has just not been able to find the famous yorker length that he made his name with.
Pakistan would have to take the final T-20 more seriously as it is followed by 2 test matches and 6 ODIs, and getting used to the conditions will be crucial for the important matches ahead as well.
Tags: