Pakistan vs. New Zealand, 4th ODI, Napier, preview
The third ODI between Pakistan and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 team is capable of when playing to its true potential.
Muhammad Hafeez at last broke the curse and brought up his maiden century. It was a top-class innings and was duly appreciated by the captain as an innings of a maturing batsman.
The series is levelled at 1-1 and the fourth game is going to take place on the 1st of February at Napier.
The fast bowlers had some help with the new ball on the greenish pitch of Christchurch but the small boundaries and windy conditions saw the Pakistani batsmen wreaking havoc as the bowlers struggled to hit their line and length.
The Kiwi bowlers in the last game erred on a consistent basis especially in the death overs.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482 should be given due credit for his brilliant innings, but the fact can’t be ignored that he was presented with good length and short pitch deliveries, when the target should have been his toes. Also, he was given room to play with, which is
a big no-no for bowlers, especially when facing batsmen, who are aggressive.
The venue for the next match is considered a batting paradise and a bowling graveyard. If it holds true to its reputation we surely have a high-scoring game on our hands. Both the sides are well equipped with power-hitters.
The Akmals brothers, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Taylor-c92915, Guptill and McCullum in the Kiwi team could make the match an absolute nightmare for bowlers.
The role of Ahmed Shehzad as an opener in the Pakistani batting line-up is apparent from his approach in the game. His job to make full use of the bowling power play backfired in the last match as he returned to the pavilion after edging a wide ball from
Southee into the slips. Kamran Akmal also fell early.
Consequently, they got off to a slow start. The good thing though was the launching pad the middle-order was able to provide to the lower order, as Hafeez played the anchor role. The slow start and the build up for the later overs was co-incidental rather
than intentional.
The ideal strategy or plan A for Afridi’s men seems to attack upfront, consolidate in the middle and attack again at the end, while keeping wickets in hand.
With http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Misbah-ul-Haq-c1972 and Younis Khan in the middle, the case for consolidation becomes stronger but blocking is not the answer. One has to keep the scoreboard ticking and that’s what these batsmen have failed to do consistently in the past, which puts added
pressure on the batsmen coming down the order.
Also, the opening pair is not settled and more often than not, one of the openers throws their wicket away.
Daniel Vettori is well aware of the shortcomings of the Pakistani batsmen and is hopeful that he could exploit the inconsistent tendencies of the opponents in the next game to take a lead.
The Black Caps were well short of their potential best team in the last game as the rotation policy and experimentation continued before the world cup. Two of the key players, Jesse Ryder, and Daniel Vettori, are set to play in the next venture. Jacob Oram,
Kyle http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Luke-Woodcock-c1860, will most likely be rested.
There might be another change in the middle order as Jamie How is expected to play alongside, Kane Williamson, in the middle-order making way for Jesse Ryder to return to his opening position.
Statistics suggest that the toss is going to be important. If the side batting first is able to put a decent total on the board, chasing a target is not going to be a piece of cake, far from it, the sides batting second in the past have only chased down
scores in three games out of 10 at this venue.
Chances of rain are next to none and the weather is forecasted to be perfect for an exciting game of cricket.
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