Once again Pakistani batsmen failed to post a challenging total, Salman Butt and Younis Khan proved once again that they are just flat track bullies, they always fail on pitches which assist the bowlers, I have no doubt in my mind that Misbah’s sell by date has expired. Pakistan desperately needed a boost in their batting to win this match and to keep the series alive, they should have played Fawad Alam in place of Misbah but Younis Khan openly stated that he was not going to drop any senior due to political reasons.
If we look at this series it was not that the it was one sided all the matches were quite close, Pakistan needed a bit of out of the box thinking by their captain and a bit of leadership from the front, he failed in both, he mismanaged the power plays the batting power plays were kept for the tail enders in almost all the matches, he has failed to encourage the players and give them confidence, at times in the field he has looked listless and too defensive, in todays match he should have kept an aggressive field on the bowling of Afridi and Ajmal and should have blocked the singles but he kept 5 players on the boundary and left too many gaps in the field which took the pressure off from the Australians.
Younis was handed over the captaincy on the pretext that he will be aggressive and he will show some authority in his leadership it was also said that since he is a better player he will lead by example. Malik was criticized because his win ratio against top teams was not great but this is the second series Younis is going to lose.
All the assumptions of his supporters were wrong, he has completely failed as a player in this series, the worst thing he has displayed as a captain is his failure to support young players and his blind support for underperforming and out of form senior players, he failed to motivate his batsmen and failed to demand performance from his players he failed to give confidence to his batsmen, in the four matches Pakistan played so far the batting has struggled because the batsmen had no plan to pace the innings. The batsmen showed no footwork against the spinners and no positive intent against the pace bowlers at times it seemed as if the players were batting too selfishly and were un necessarily bogged down.
The Australians gave a disciplined performance but at no time in any match they completely dominated, the difference between the two teams was of leadership and mental toughness, this Australian bowling line up in my opinion is at best average nothing exceptional in it, our batsmen made it look like a world class bowling attack.
Pakistan’s current pace attack seemed toothless and one dimensional they struggled to move the ball both ways through out the series however the spinners did a great job. PCB should bring back the ICL players the introduction of Imran Nazir, Mohammad Yousaf, Rana Naveed and Razzak will not only strengthen the batting but will also strengthen the batting.
Saeed Ajmal has emerged as a world class bowler in this series, although he has been reported for illegal action but I am sure he will clear the Bio mechanic test as his action is cleaner than some other international bowlers.
Australia has won the series, I am sure Pakistan will win the last match. Australia are favorites to win the T20.
As I predicted after the fourth match Pakistan won the last match to finish the series 3-2.
People say Pakistan is an un predictable side, their unpredictability has made them favorites for the book makers, but for me the performance pattern of some of the senior players is quite predictable.
I am not impressed with todays win, I knew after the third match that Australia will this series 3-2.
For Younis Khan I will only say what goes around comes around, he shouldn’t be surprised by the sudden display of form by Misbah and Akmal afterall this is what he was doing to Malik when he was captain performing when it didn’t mattered.
As I predicted all the out of form middle order batsmen will find form in this match to retain their place in the team. Looking at Misbah batting today it seems a completely different batsmen batting out there the fluency in his innings and the range of shots he has played was no where seen in the first four matches. How a batsman can suddenly regain form is beyond comprehension.
Ahmed Shezad is wasting too many deliveries, I think he is more of a test player than a limited overs cricketer, he does not have too many shots. Younis khan Gone! Out! trying to play a big shot but went straight to the fielder on the boundary.
Kamran Akmal comes in a head of out of form Misbah and Malik. Shezad should rotate the strike regularly otherwise he will put his partners under pressure. An opener should have the skill to take the attack back to the opposition but it seems this guy doesnot have the skill.
I think Pakistan should bring back Imran Nazir and Nasir Jamshed.
Ahmed Shezad has been put out of his misery 19 off 52 balls. The Guy can’t play spin, is too defensive against the pace bowlers, in my opinion he is too raw to play at this level.
Fawad Alam was again not played, Afridi who was injured in the last match surprisingly recovered and understandably was included in todays match, Misbah and Salman Butt again got a place in the team despite their poor form, the team management lost a perfect opportunity to test the youngster against a good team, it seems that the senior player’s Mafia is so strong that neither the team management nor the selectors can do anything against their wishes, the big question is why these players have so much power and why the administration is so weak against them?
Umar Gul and Shoaib Aktar bowled nicely in their second spell, Gul bowled a beauty to get rid of Clarke but failed to bowl on the same line afterwards. Shoaib Akhtar bowled his second spell in 140′s but could not swing the ball effectively. Yasir who had a good last match was completely unimpressive in this match. Saeed Ajmal after being reported seems to be reluctant to bowl his doosra regularly although he bowled well but without the doosra he seems to be just another off spinner and a bit tooth less. Afridi after the first match has been consistently bowling on the pads, in the first match he was attacking the middle and off stump line and mixing his googlies and legies quite effectively this is the line where he picks his wickets, when he bowls on the pads not only he gives away easy runs but he also do not pick any wickets. But so far from the Pakistani side his performance in almost all the matches has been good.
250 is not a big total if Younis Khan, Butt and Misbah decide to stay on the wicket and do not lose their wicket to stupid shots. It would be disappointing for the fans if Pakistan lost this match.
The stadium was empty today, Pakistan team has lost their fans and supporters in Dubai, this series loss will have financial repurcussions also for PCB it will be hard for them to find sponsors and fill the stadiums.
Australia batting first have scored 250, its a big score for this Pakistani batting line up considering their performance in the first four matches, Pakistan bowled well but feilding was pathetic, most of the players in this Pakistan team are too old to play International cricket they don’t have the agility and stamina any more to play at this level.
Pakistan has always performed well in dead rubbers all the players who under perform through out the series all of a sudden find form in order to retain their place in the team, even if Misbah, Butt, and Younis Score today I will not be impressed they should be axed from the team.
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They can play spin better than what they displayed but the senior players showed no intent and the Juniors were too cautious in their approach wasting too many deliveries and just trying to get their place in the team. Afridi played better but as a batsman he is still struggling and I didn’t liked the way he bowled in the last match too many balls on the pads with no close fielders on the leg side.
Misbah is out of form and needs to be axed, I think Pakistan lost the third match just because of Malik he is doing what Younis and Afridi did with him. He was in good form with the bat before the series this sudden dip in form is strange and the way he has been batting is also un characteristic of him he normally scores his runs quickly.
Younis khan has done nothing new he is still persisting with the same old Inzamam legacy patronizing and protecting certain core group of players regard less of their current form and discouraging the introduction of young players in the team. His management of the power plays was horrible, his team selection was also questionable, why Umar Gul was rested in the last match nobody knows, why Fawad Alam was not played despite the fact that Pakistan desperately needed to boost their batting?
In two matches his field placement was questionable, it seems whenever we lose our captains follow a template, leave too many gaps in the field and allow the partnerships to flourish.
Younis should have taken close in fielders when Ajmal and Afridi were bowling but for some strange reason he allowed easy singles to the Aussies and applied no pressure.
Pakistan needs to hire a new bowling coach they need someone like Akram or Waqar to polish the skills of some of the youngsters, the current crop of young fast bowlers is too flat and single dimensional.
Anyways even though Pakistan lost the series but the matches were too close which makes me believe that with a few changes Pakistan team can make a come back at the top level.
i am particularly disappointing by younis and misbah…
having got the team he want i expected better leadership from him…he could not inspire team either with captaincy or with bat…need to seriously think about his approach…
and what can be said about misbah…he seems to be one of those pak batsmen who only do good against india (pun intended)…on serious not…i too was expecting better show from him as i saw in him the next (and better) captain of pak…he seems to be playing just for his avg…
the sole positive from pak point of view is afridi…with ball as well as bat…which is bit surprising given his fragile attitude…
and what happend to pak…can’t they play spin better…?