3rd ODI: Pakistan to fight hard against complacency

The men in green need to win the series 3-0 to maintain ranking

LAHORE: Pakistan have gained an unassailable lead in the current ODI series against Zimbabwe, but they can ill-afford any complacency going into the last one-day as a loss on Sunday will lead to a deduction of two rating points in the ICC ODI rankings.

On the other hand, a win would not matter in terms of rankings as Pakistan will remain on the ninth place on the table.

It has been Pakistan’s first-ever ODI series win in the last 17 months after they succumbed to five successive ODI series losses.

Additionally, Azhar Ali became the first Pakistani captain to score a century in a successful ODI run-chase with his ton on Friday.

Pakistan have been unable to bowl out Zimbabwe even once in four outings so far, and when asked if Pakistan is ready for the bigger challenge against Sri Lanka next month, spin consultant Mushtaq Ahmed replied, “We must not forget that they were exceptional as a batting unit in the World Cup. The pitch at the Gaddafi Stadium has been really flat but hopefully we’ll improve in the last match.”

Mushtaq added that the decision to keep Junaid Khan out of the playing 11 in the first two ODIs was made in order to give a proper run to those who are making their comebacks such as Anwar Ali, Hammad Azam and Mohammad Sami.

The former leg-break googly bowler stated that knowing that they will be given time to settle down in the team would help the comeback players to deliver their best.

“If a player knows that he won’t be thrown out after one poor show, he’ll get confidence and his performance will improve,” said Mushtaq. “It will also help the team to settle because we don’t have a settled ODI squad as compared to our Test side, where everyone knows what is required of them and what their role is.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 31^st, 2015.

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