Pakistan gain impetus ahead of India clash

Selectors and coaching staff pleased with the performance of the bowlers in the absence of Muhammad Irfan.

Momentum was the buzz word during Waqar Younis’ post-match conference after Pakistan downed England in their second warm-up match at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Waqar sounded pleased with the turnaround in the fortunes of his team ahead of the pulsating clash with arch-rivals India, and claimed that his players were feeling confident after chasing successfully against Bangladesh and England.

Like the win against Bangladesh, the bowlers kept a tight leash on England, pegging them back repeatedly with strikes at regular intervals.



As expected, leg-spinner Yasir Shah flummoxed the English, preying on their perennial weakness against the spinning ball before Misbahul Haq and Umar Akmal combined for a fine match-winning 133-run alliance for the fifth wicket.

The World Cup warm-ups, especially the ones being broadcasted live, remain a tricky business. The competing teams are compelled to play at almost hundred per cent, leaving little room for experimentation.

In recent years, these matches have increased in intensity, only burdening the players further. At the same time, winning warm-ups can improve a team’s morale.

On Wednesday, Pakistan looked sharp sans Muhammad Irfan in their bowling attack. While Yasir took the honours, the death-bowling by Sohail Khan must have pleased the think-tank.

Sohail ‘gate-crashed’ his way to the World Cup squad on the basis of his death-bowling bursts during the Pentangular Cup held in Karachi last month.

The selectors and the coaching staff are pinning their hopes on Sohail to deliver the goods at the backend of the innings, and the strongly-built pacer strangled English batsmen with his yorkers, slower ones and bouncers – leaving the batsmen bewildered.

The 30-year-old has seemingly recovered from the shin injury he suffered in the game against Bangladesh and now seems a certainty along with Yasir for the game against India.

Younus Khan, on the other hand, is hardly a certainty after enduring another failure at Sydney. A painstaking 19 off 40 deliveries must have further dented the batting great’s confidence.

Pakistan needs aggressive and bold decision making and perhaps need to sideline Younus for the opener. Umar Akmal, who kept wickets in both warm-ups, did his chances no harm by playing a brilliant match winning 66-ball 65 and thankfully now seems to be in the right frame of mind.

Sohaib Maqsood, who scored an unbeaten 93 against Bangladesh, needs to bat at number three against India. His presence at the top of the order can propel Pakistan to a big score.

Nasir Jamshed is likely to be given a go against his favourite whipping boys in the opener and the presence of Ahmed Shehzad and Maqsood at the top of the innings can possibly further the momentum that Waqar alluded to repeatedly in his media interaction.

Sarfraz Ahmed is likely to miss the India clash, with Akmal reclaiming his spot behind the wickets. In the longer run, one hopes that the flair of Sarfraz is utilised by the team management as historically, keeping seems to take a toll on Akmal’s batting.

Waqar, meanwhile, also confessed that the team has had to ‘give in’ to their plans in search of the right balance amid the absence of front-line all-rounders in the recent past. Some of the selections have thus left the pundits puzzled, and at times extremely infuriated.

The now hugely experienced head coach claimed that Younus remains an immensely valuable player in the Pakistan line-up and the demanding conditions were the primary reason for his struggles.

The indications are that the usually conservative mindsets of Waqar and Misbah are reluctant on leaving Younus out of the opener. If Younus plays, Maqsood would be the most likely ‘sacrifice’.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 12^th, 2015.

Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.