Sunday Dec 15, 2024
Sunday Dec 15, 2024
Friday, 9 June 2017 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Shahid Afridi
www.icc.cricket.com: Any team that takes Pakistan lightly takes a massive risk since the Men in Green have this amazing ability of bouncing back from the pits. For the umpteenth time, they have risen, registering a most unexpected win against top-ranked South Africa.
This was surely a different Pakistani team to the one that had turned up against India last Sunday. One could sense from the outset that the players were switched on for the big game that they had to win at all cost to remain in contention for the semi-finals.
I think the conditions at Edgbaston suited Pakistan and the bowlers made full use of a slow wicket where run-making wasn’t a straight forward task. A lot of credit goes to the spin bowling combination of Imad Wasim and Mohammad Hafeez who got the crucial initial breakthroughs to peg back the Proteas. Imad and Hafeez bowled immaculate lines and their lengths were also spot-on.
Pakistan was definitely in the driver’s seat after dismissing Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock and AB de Villiers cheaply. At that stage, young Hassan Ali bowled an inspired spell. Hassan came into the limelight during the first edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) where he represented my franchise Peshawar Zalmi. Hassan’s temperament impressed me greatly and today he bowled a sensational spell, making great use of the old ball, which was reversing considerably.
I don’t recall Pakistan fast bowlers delivering match-winning performances in recent years, hence Hassan’s three-wicket spell made me really happy. He is a mature bowler for his age, has decent pace and the ability of seaming the ball while he can also make the old ball reverse with impeccable control. Hassan’s spell had reduced South Africa to 118 for six and at that juncture I felt that we could have rolled them over well under the 200-run mark.
The eventual score of 219 was in my opinion 20-30 runs more than what Sarfraz would have desired after the kind of start the bowlers had given. But having said that, I would like to appreciate David Miller for his fighting knock for South Africa which took his team past the 200-run mark.
Besides Hassan, the other positive was the batting of debutant Fakhar Zaman. The left-hander batted with a real degree of confidence in his maiden game and played some delightful shots against Wayne Parnell and Kagiso Rabada.
Fakhar has a bright future ahead of him if he can continue to play positively and with an uncluttered mind. Pakistan was jolted by two quick wickets but Hafeez and Babar Azam batted usefully to halt South Africa’s momentum.
Hafeez should have carried on after he had occupied the crease for a long time. Sometimes partnerships of 50-60 runs can go a long way, especially if the team is chasing a small target. Babar and Hafeez did play a vital role by calming the nerves of the dressing room but Hafeez should aim to contribute more significantly with the bat considering his vast experience at this level.
With the rain looming large, Shoaib Malik played a very important cameo which took the team past the DLS target. Malik has been a consistent performer in recent years and his breezy innings was crucial in the context of the game.
This win will surely raise the morale of the boys and I feel Pakistan can make it to the semi-finals if it continues to play positive cricket with an attacking and aggressive game plan against Sri Lanka in its last group match at Cardiff.
It is heartening to see Pakistan play the way it did and I hope it continues its good work and brings smiles on the faces of our passionate cricket fans. I also feel that Pakistan shouldn’t be ruled out of title contention anymore. The win today can make this side do some amazing things in the tournament. Once again write Pakistan off at your own peril!
Shahid Afridi represented Pakistan in 27 Tests, 398 ODIs and 98 T20Is between 1998 and 2016. He scored 1716 runs and took 48 wickets in Tests, scored 8064 runs and bagged 395 wickets in ODIs and scored 1405 runs and claimed 97 wickets in T20Is. He played in five World Cup, six World Twenty and five ICC Champions Trophy tournaments.
By Graeme Smith
www.icc.cricket.com: As frustrating as it was to have yet another game affected by the weather, Pakistan completely outplayed the No.1 ranked team in the world at Edgbaston. Pakistan deserves a huge amount of credit for having dusted itself down after its game against India.
South Africa’s performance today was anything but convincing, having looked reassuringly strong against Sri Lanka in game one. I can’t quite put my finger on what it is, but there just appears to be something missing from our play on this tour so far. It may well be that the squad are slightly underdone in terms of the amount of cricket they’ve played as a unit in recent months, but even so, the loss to Pakistan will be tough for the boys to take.
After having seen the manner of Pakistan’s loss to India, South Africa had an opportunity to take as much pressure off themselves going into the India game as possible with a good performance. Put simply, that didn’t happen, and Pakistan never took its foot off our necks once it had established a foothold in the game.
Its bowlers were excellent all day, and despite South Africa getting away to a satisfactory start, the game changed when the two spinners were brought in to the game.
Where Pakistan was clever was in assessing the conditions quickly, and certainly more effectively than the South Africa batsmen. It realised that the track was a used pitch that was slightly slower than it might have been, adjusting to bowl very straight and offer little width for the South Africa batting line-up to dine out on.
Mohammad Hafeez and Imad Wasim bowled beautifully, and managed to put South Africa’s batsmen under consistent pressure, which Sri Lanka didn’t manage at The Oval. As a batting side under pressure, losing wickets in clusters is something you have to prevent if you’re to have any hope of constructing a challenging total. We just seemed to lose wickets at bad times today and at regular intervals, with Pakistan forcing players to try and use their initiative or play across the line in order to score quickly.
As easy as it is to criticise what was a disappointing South Africa display, Pakistan should be commended on how it approached the game today.
There were some scathing articles about its performance in what is always a big game for it against India, but it showed real character as a team to bowl and field as well as they did today.
Hassan Ali is a hugely impressive bowler. He bowls with pace, and the skill involved to come around the wicket and take the ball away from the left handers is a handy one to possess. He looks to take wickets rather than simply contain, and made a big impact with the ball today.
Micky Arthur and his staff have done a good job in getting this side into the right frame of mind for Wednesday’s game, and you could see that from the very first over. As a team, they were sprinting in to position, getting through between overs and just looking infinitely sharper than they had done against India.
The team fought hard to get into a position where it could control the game, and did well to not relinquish that control. David Miller played a great hand, and the batting performance would have been a lot more exposed without his knock.
South Africa has to reevaluate and ensure it executes its plans far better in Sunday’s game. A positive from my point of view was to see the form Morne Morkel is in with the ball. When he’s in that mood and finds his rhythm, he can be one of the most dangerous strike bowlers in the game. He has that ability to take a game by the scuff of the neck and make something happen.
It wasn’t enough on Wednesday, as Pakistan could afford to be more cautious in its approach when batting, but his form could be key against India’s formidable batting powerhouse. To sum up, it was simply a poor day for South Africa. It’ll know where it needs to improve and has a few days to focus on what is now a hugely important game on Sunday.
Graeme Smith played 117 Tests, 197 ODIs and 33 T20Is between 2002 and 2014, scoring 9265, 6989 and 982 runs respectively. He captained South Africa in 109 Tests, 149 ODIs and 27 T20Is
