Pakistan v Canada: match analysis – ICC World Cup 2011
Pakistan squeaked past Canada by 46 runs in a group ‘A’ encounter of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 at the R. Premadasa, Colombo.
Although the green shirts were able to avoid the embarrassment of an upset, it was a little too close for Pakistan’s liking. Many cricket fans were expecting a repeat of 2007 when Pakistan was eliminated in the very first round of the tournament after they
got beaten by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ireland-c751 in a group match but thankfully for Afridi and company, it did not happen here.
Pakistan’s top order batsmen performed well against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 in their previous game but they looked shaky against an inexperienced bowling attack today. Ahmed Shehzad seems to be getting into the habit of playing some delightful shots before throwing his
wicket away and the same is the case with his opening partner, Mohammad Hafeez.
Both of them are lucky that they are getting an extended run at the international level to prove their worth. In past, many openers have come and gone without an appropriate chance to showcase their talent. So these two should make the most of it before
it gets too late and the selectors have to try another pair. The likes of Nasir Jamshed, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Khalid-Latif-c71261, Imran Nazir and many more are desperately waiting for an opportunity.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482 might have thrown away his wicket once again today but he bowled like a champion and made sure that Canada did not get close to the target. He proved once again that he holds the position in the side of a specialist bowler, who can bat at the
death overs, so that there is no pressure on him to perform with the bat. Without Afridi’s heroics with the ball, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 might have struggled to avoid an upset. He was rightly awarded the Player of the Match.
He was spot on when he pointed out during the presentation ceremony that it is a wakeup call for the green shirts and also criticized the shot selection of his batsmen.
He said that, "batting first was a good decision but the shot selections weren't good. It is a good wake-up call for us. Coach Waqar Younis and I will speak to the team. It wasn't good shot selection. We won't repeat this kind of performance
again. These are perfect conditions for bowling, for spin and fast bowlers.”
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Canada-c748 on the other will be very disappointed as they had the Pakistanis on the mat halfway through the match. It was a great opportunity for the Canadians to announce themselves in international cricket but they failed to grab their
chance because of some ordinary batting performances. Batting has been Canada’s concern since the warm up matches and it led to their downfall once again.
"Very very disappointing loss for us. We did a great job after losing one of our better bowlers. Our batting worries continue. We disappointed ourselves. Fighting is one thing but taking it over the line is another level. We fell
short. Just not this one, our batting has been a worry in the last few weeks. We might get a new faces in for the other games. It was great to get some support from the crowd," skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ashish-Bagai-c46284 expressed after the match.
This close game against the minnows could be a blessing in disguise for Pakistan as they will not be complacent again in the tournament. Afridi and company need to be consistent with the bat if they are to do well in the tournament
otherwise it will get very hard for them in the knockout stage.
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