Pakistan in Search of their First Win in World Cup 2015

After facing a heavy defeat against India by 76 runs, Pakistan in search of their first win in World Cup 2015 will move to Christchurch on February 21^st. they once again started the campaign poorly and put their self into a pressure cooker situation. First defeat against India would have always put this side at the back seat. Expectations from the fans is always like they can lose the world cup but they should not lose to India. And to the fate of Pakistan they lost their first match of this edition to the hands of Team India which puts them on a dark road to glory.

Pakistan is seems to be struggling in all three departments of the game.  Bowlers’ giving away so many runs, fielders dropping catches and batsmen getting out cheaply is the story so far for Pakistan. Eight of their team members were fined before the first match due to late arrival at the hotel. There are reports of a rift between three senior members of the team with the fielding coach Grant Luden during a practice session after the first match defeat. Nothing seems to be at place before Pakistan taking on West Indies in their second game and that scenario raises more concerns on the performance of this team for the remaining tournament.

If Pakistan’s bowling is to be discussed then we see lot of lope holes in this department. Their bowling performance in the first game was below par apart from the few death overs by Sohail Khan and Wahab Riaz. Fast bowlers lack the consistency in line and length and offering so many lose deliveries which resulted in high economy rate for every bowler. Muhammad Irfan bowled nicely in patches but he is not looking 100% fit for the task. Pakistan bowling depend lot on Irfan and he getting fully fit is essential for Pakistan if they have to move further in this edition.

Sohail Khan’s attitude and aggression is commendable and they need to play him more to give him the confidence to perform during the big stage of this world cup. Shahid Afridi has to play a big role in spin bowling department which was not the case in the first game. Afridi has to come strong and focused in the second game. Yasir Shah who has been rated very high by likes of Shane Warne would have been very successful if he attacks. He is attacking and aggressive by nature but what it seems like that he only sticks to the role that was given to him by the captain and team management to contain runs. Going against natural ability is always a problem for a player to be successful and that is what exactly happened in the case of Yasir.

Fielding is always being the weakest link for Pakistan. Dropping catches and giving away easy runs through bad fielding efforts is being a trademark for them. Team with this reputation playing a make shift wicket keeper is a crime. Umar Akmal dropping Virat Kohli in the first match is the price that they had to pay playing him as a keeper. Pakistan has to work hard in the fielding department, grab all the given chances and stop giving easy runs if they want to progress further in this world cup. Pakistan has to miss out on either Younis Khan or Umar Akmal to play Sarfaraz Ahmed as a regular keeper.

Pakistan’s young guns not moving their feet’s properly not coming to front foot is the problem that has been denting Pakistan cricket for some good years in Test cricket and now it has started affecting them in ODI’s also. Players like Ahmed Shahzad, Umar Akmal and Sohiab Maqsood are the prime examples of getting out in that manner. They are seen playing flashy drives on deliveries pitching well outside off stump while standing idol in the crease and throwing away their wickets.

Wasim Akram in giving an interview to one of the Pakistani channels criticized the batsmen and said “You have to be brave enough to come to front foot what if it even hits you; it’s just a ball not a bullet”.

Misbah-ul-Haq is the only Pakistani batsman who is playing with a sound technique. He plays all the shots in the book with rather ease and bowlers not managing to trouble him at any point. If few of Pakistani batsmen will play around him, beating teams and chasing good scores would not be a problem for them in this world cup.

Pakistan is all set to play their second match of the campaign but the things are not looking for good for them as they have to fight with lot of issues. Fitness is being the biggest concern in this tournament as some of the key players started getting unfit even before the kickoff.  Their batting is denting every time they are playing. They are providing way too many chances to their opposition in the field. And now the favorite scenario of the Pakistani dressing room has started arising that is controversies. First Muhammad Hafeez after being sent back to home due to calf injury said, “Misbah has being side lined by the Head Coach and Team Management”. Players get fined due to unfollowing of rules and then some senior players involving in a verbal fight with the fielding coach Grant Luden. There was also the news that Grant submitted his resignation to PCB on that issue but on Wednesday PCB has its say that everything is figured out and smooth.

Let’s see if Pakistan can focus on the game than other things and can manage to be back on the winning track. It would never be a baby ride for them as they are facing West Indies who are also down and out after their first game and will work to their maximum potential to clinch a win out of this coming game. We expect a very heated and intense contest between two of the most unpredictable teams of the world coming February 21^st.