Another defeat

Yet one more defeat — and once more fairly humiliating at that. Having been outclassed by India in Ahmedabad on October 14, Crew Pakistan misplaced to Australia in Bangalore on Friday, with the margin of defeat fairly wholesome, 62 runs. Pakistan’s much-vaunted bowling line, comprising speedsters Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf, had no reply to the fireworks set off by Australian openers David Warner and Mitchell Marsh, who scored 163 off 124 balls and 128 off 108 balls respectively, and delivered a 259-run opening stand to assist their crew amass 367 for 9 within the allotted 50 overs. And the goal proved an excessive amount of for the Babar Azam males who had been bundled for 305 in 45.3 overs. The goal did appear inside attain until the 39^th over when Crew Pakistan wanted 99 runs in 11 overs with six wickets in hand. However then the collapse — and the defeat.

Positioned at 5^th on the factors desk with 2 wins from 4 video games, the Inexperienced Shirts are nonetheless in competition for the title. The crew, nonetheless, stands bruised, with neither the batting nor the bowling clicking. The 2 victories achieved thus far have come in opposition to the Netherlands, which isn’t but a full ICC member, and Sri Lanka which has no victories from their three video games within the ongoing competitors. With 5 extra video games to go, there may be want for the tour administration to do some severe dissection of the crew efficiency thus far and provide you with a unique mixture — one thing like getting Muhammad Rizwan to open the innings with Imam-ul Haq or selling Mohammad Nawaz or Iftikhar Ahmed within the batting order for a cameo. With leg spinner Usama Mir failing to impress, conceding 82 runs in 9 overs for a single wicket in opposition to Australia, there isn’t any different choice however to carry again Shadab Khan, as Crew Pakistan is braced for the Afghan problem in Chennai tomorrow.

New Zealand and India, in the meantime, prime the desk — every profitable all of their 4 matches performed thus far — and are undisputed sizzling favourites for the title.

Printed in The Specific Tribune, October 22^nd, 2023.

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