Sarfraz’s problem against India
Pakistan skipper has no weapon that he can turn to in order to defeat this Indian behemoth
Sarfraz would be hoping for a miracle to beat India. PHOTO: AFP
Come June 4, 930 GMT, the lives of more than 1.5 billion people will come to a standstill.
For almost eight hours, little will matter besides the actions of 22 men — clad in blue and green — at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham.
Nothing in cricket matches a Pakistan-India clash — the pressure, the passion, the bad blood, the mercurial nature of the two sides, the flaring of tempers.
What makes this match all the more intriguing is the way the two sides’ strengths and weaknesses clash. Pakistan — renowned for producing some of the greatest bowlers of all time — facing India’s never-ending conveyer belt of world-class batting talent. The matches, however, were often won and lost by the perceived weaknesses of the two sides — Pakistan’s batting and India’s bowling.
Therein lies the problem faced by Sarfraz Ahmed this time around though. Pakistan’s batting line-up seldom kept bowlers up through the night but the wicketkeeper no longer has the bowlers at his disposal that his counterparts of old had in their ranks. Kohli and co will be quietly confident of negotiating a bowling attack that has in its ranks the unproven Shadab Khan and Fahim Ashraf, the solid but unspectacular Hasan Ali and Imad Wasim, the speedy but oft brainless Wahab Riaz and the still not-at-their-best Junaid Khan and Mohammad Amir.
Even more worrying is that India possess arguably the best bowling attack they have ever had in an ICC tournament. The spin and bounce of Ravichandran Ashwin, the control of Ravindra Jadeja, the swing of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the pace of Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav and the awkwardness of Jasprit Bumrah; Kohli has perhaps an even more potent bowing arsenal at his disposal than Pakistan.
India’s weak link, therefore, is now stronger than Pakistan’s strength. The gulf in the world’s third best side versus its number eight is all too painfully apparent.
There seems to be no set plan that Sarfraz and Pakistan can adhere to if they win the toss. Bat first and they will know that no score under 350 will be safe — even in access of that may not be. Bowl first and India may have won the game at the halfway mark if they score big.
The hesitancy to adapt to modern cricket has perhaps never been more woefully obvious than it is now. If Pakistan go with the opening partnership they chose against Bangladesh — of Azhar Ali and Ahmad Shahzad — then they will be shorn of the attacking firepower all teams now require at the top of the innings. If they go with Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Hafeez at the top, then they leave themselves vulnerable to a slew of quick wickets.
The selection of the 15 by Inzamamul Haq and his team of selectors means Pakistan have only eight specialist batsmen to choose from. If Sarfraz opts to play with four bowlers and get 10 overs out of his part-time bowlers, then he has only eight options to select his seven out of.
Four out of these eight are Haris Sohail, who hasn’t played an international match for more than two years and was only called because Umar Akmal is unfit, Fakhar Zaman, yet to play an ODI for Pakistan, and the woefully slow duo of Shahzad and Azhar, who will be nothing short of liabilities if the game ends up being the high-scoring encounter many expect it to be. Inzamam, a legendary batsman in his day, did little favour to Sarfraz when selecting this group of willow-wielders.
Kohli and Sarfraz both know that anything the Pakistani batsmen can do, the Indian batsmen can do better. The onus of pulling off a miracle — and make no mistake, beating this India side will be nothing short of that — lies on the bowlers.
The bowlers, however, are no longer the match winners that Pakistan once had. Junaid Khan and Mohammad Amir are the only two who have any chance of running through this Indian batting attack; susceptible as the Men in Blue are to late movement. The problem is that neither are anywhere near close to their best.
On paper, there seems to be no chance in hell for this Pakistani side. Luckily for Sarfraz and the 200 million that will be egging on the Men in Green with all their might, matches are decided on the field and not on paper. Miracles do happen and Edgbaston too might witness one.
For almost eight hours, little will matter besides the actions of 22 men — clad in blue and green — at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham.
Nothing in cricket matches a Pakistan-India clash — the pressure, the passion, the bad blood, the mercurial nature of the two sides, the flaring of tempers.
You will see Pakistan fighting against India: Sarfraz
What makes this match all the more intriguing is the way the two sides’ strengths and weaknesses clash. Pakistan — renowned for producing some of the greatest bowlers of all time — facing India’s never-ending conveyer belt of world-class batting talent. The matches, however, were often won and lost by the perceived weaknesses of the two sides — Pakistan’s batting and India’s bowling.
Therein lies the problem faced by Sarfraz Ahmed this time around though. Pakistan’s batting line-up seldom kept bowlers up through the night but the wicketkeeper no longer has the bowlers at his disposal that his counterparts of old had in their ranks. Kohli and co will be quietly confident of negotiating a bowling attack that has in its ranks the unproven Shadab Khan and Fahim Ashraf, the solid but unspectacular Hasan Ali and Imad Wasim, the speedy but oft brainless Wahab Riaz and the still not-at-their-best Junaid Khan and Mohammad Amir.
Pakistan bowlers will have to operate smartly: Aaqib
Even more worrying is that India possess arguably the best bowling attack they have ever had in an ICC tournament. The spin and bounce of Ravichandran Ashwin, the control of Ravindra Jadeja, the swing of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the pace of Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav and the awkwardness of Jasprit Bumrah; Kohli has perhaps an even more potent bowing arsenal at his disposal than Pakistan.
India’s weak link, therefore, is now stronger than Pakistan’s strength. The gulf in the world’s third best side versus its number eight is all too painfully apparent.
There seems to be no set plan that Sarfraz and Pakistan can adhere to if they win the toss. Bat first and they will know that no score under 350 will be safe — even in access of that may not be. Bowl first and India may have won the game at the halfway mark if they score big.
The hesitancy to adapt to modern cricket has perhaps never been more woefully obvious than it is now. If Pakistan go with the opening partnership they chose against Bangladesh — of Azhar Ali and Ahmad Shahzad — then they will be shorn of the attacking firepower all teams now require at the top of the innings. If they go with Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Hafeez at the top, then they leave themselves vulnerable to a slew of quick wickets.
Sarfraz Ahmed pledges to ‘fight hard’ to beat India
The selection of the 15 by Inzamamul Haq and his team of selectors means Pakistan have only eight specialist batsmen to choose from. If Sarfraz opts to play with four bowlers and get 10 overs out of his part-time bowlers, then he has only eight options to select his seven out of.
Four out of these eight are Haris Sohail, who hasn’t played an international match for more than two years and was only called because Umar Akmal is unfit, Fakhar Zaman, yet to play an ODI for Pakistan, and the woefully slow duo of Shahzad and Azhar, who will be nothing short of liabilities if the game ends up being the high-scoring encounter many expect it to be. Inzamam, a legendary batsman in his day, did little favour to Sarfraz when selecting this group of willow-wielders.
Kohli and Sarfraz both know that anything the Pakistani batsmen can do, the Indian batsmen can do better. The onus of pulling off a miracle — and make no mistake, beating this India side will be nothing short of that — lies on the bowlers.
The bowlers, however, are no longer the match winners that Pakistan once had. Junaid Khan and Mohammad Amir are the only two who have any chance of running through this Indian batting attack; susceptible as the Men in Blue are to late movement. The problem is that neither are anywhere near close to their best.
On paper, there seems to be no chance in hell for this Pakistani side. Luckily for Sarfraz and the 200 million that will be egging on the Men in Green with all their might, matches are decided on the field and not on paper. Miracles do happen and Edgbaston too might witness one.