Well Pitched - a cricket blog

The World Cup is here Again!

2023-09-28T14:19:00.002+04:00

It is here again!

The time to - wear your greens, calculate your if and but scenarios, go through high level thrills and some heartbreaks, build your fantasy teams, place your bets, tune into your favorite sports channel, follow The Pavilion religiously, participate on numerous forums on whatsapp and all other social media, wave your flags, and support team Pakistan - is here again!

This time comes every 4 years and it is here again.

It is time for the ICC ODI Cricket World Cup!

It seems like yesterday that a few of us were gearing up to fly down to London to follow Pakistan at the World Cup. The 4 years since have flown by.

There have been two T20 World Cups between the last edition in 2019 and this ODI World Cup.

But this time that comes every 4 years is when the cricket frenzy reaches its peak.

Pakistan's cricketers landed in Hyderabad last night and received a very heartwarming welcome with fans out in big numbers cheering them from the airport all the way to the hotel.

Pakistan's campaign starts tomorrow with a warm up match against New Zealand, followed by another warm up game against Australia next week.

A week from now is when the actual World Cup starts with a repeat of the World Cup 2019 Final.

Whatever has happened over the past 4 years is now irrelevant. All teams have done their preparations and they all now start off with a clean slate.

It doesn't matter who is ranked #1, who was ranked #1, who won what when, nothing really matters.

All that matters is the performance on the day and Pakistan is ready for the challenge.

I reckon this is Pakistan's strongest World Cup team since 1999.

This century has not been too good for Pakistan in ODI World Cups with only one semi final appearance out of 5 World Cups. In 2019 they missed out narrowly due to Net Run Rate.

I know I said that all the past is irrelevant and nothing really matters now, but one thing that I and many other Pakistan fans continue to relate to is 1992 - the only time Pakistan won an ODI World Cup.

It has been over 30 years now, but those memories are still fresh in my mind.

Every World Cup campaign a number of similarities are floated around by Pakistan fans comparing the now to what happened in 1992.

Already there are a few regarding the 2023 World Cup!

So since no one has really dared to initiate this list, here goes ...

1. Babar Azam is the first unmarried captain to lead Pakistan at a World Cup, since Imran Khan in 1992.

2. 1992 was Imran Khan's third World Cup as captain, following 1983 and 1987. This is also Babar Azam's third World Cup as captain, following T20 World Cups in 2021 and 2022.

3. In 1992, Pakistan's premier right arm fast bowler - Waqar Younis - got injured and had to miss the entire tournament. In 2023, Pakistan's premier right arm fast bowler - Naseem Shah - is injured and has to miss the entire tournament.

4. Pakistan entered the 1992 World Cup as the #2 ranked ODI team. Pakistan are entering the 2023 World Cup as the #2 ranked ODI team.

5. In 1992, the host nation - Australia, was the #1 ranked ODI team and tournament favorites. In 2023, the host nation - India, is the #1 ranked ODI team and tournament favorites.

What else?

Feel free to add to the list ...

Because, 1992 me bhi ...

PAKISTAAAAAAAAAAN ZINDABAAAAAAD !!!

Cricket Footwear

2023-02-20T09:50:00.008+04:00

It’s important to find the best cricket shoe for your specific needs. Batsmen and fielders will want a lightweight and comfortable cricket spike that is suitable for spending hours in the field and is going to give them a spring in their step when they need to react.

Whereas bowlers are going to need a specialist bowling boot that can handle the rigours of the bowling movement and provide traction whilst preventing injury. That is why cricket bowling shoes typically have a strap across the ankle to keep the foot locked in as it goes through the bowling motion at the crease. Bowling spikes also feature reinforced toe caps with extra internal padding to protect the big toe with cushioning as with fast bowlers it is very heavily planted and has to withstand considerable force. Jofra Archer can bowl pacers up to 150kph and the feet positioning is integral to generating such speed. A reliable bowling shoe is therefore crucial in being able to aid this and Archer currently relies on the Adidas Adipower Vector.

All-Rounders may favour having one pair of cricket shoes that they can use for both slower speed spin bowling, that can provide suitable traction. As well as being light enough for the quick, explosive moments required when batting. Something like New Balance’s CK10 spike as worn by England white ball captain Jos Buttler.

When it comes to choosing which style of cricket shoes is down to personal preference. One of the most popular cricket footwear brands is Puma, as it is worn and endorsed by the iconic Virat Kohli , and their eye-catching colours are popular in the IPL. The wide-fitting Puma 22.2 bowling spike is very popular in its current white, orange and blue colourways.

It's also worth considering the Australian brand Kookaburra for their large selection. A cheaper alternative to bigger brands such as Adidas and New Balance, yet still offering great value for money with their running shoes styled cricket footwear. The Kookaburra KC 3.0 Taron Spike is a brand new style for their design featuring a padded tongue and is a consistent bestseller famed for its comfort and is available in junior sizes.

You might also want to consider a pair of rubber cricket shoes especially for winter nets, if you’re training indoors on astroturf or hard wickets. Cricket “Rubbers” feature small, spiked pimples on the sole, which provide enhanced grip and traction when training compared to wearing regular trainers. Two of the most popular cricket rubbers are the New Balance CK4020 turf shoe and the Adidas 22YDS Boost which features a modern boa tightening system.

The cricket footwear marketplace is uber competitive and it’s worth seeing what other specialist suppliers such as Gunn & Moore and Gray Nicolls offer, or newcomers DSC, to see if they have a pair that meets your requirements and tastes.

Azhar Ali Deserves your Respect

2022-11-28T14:36:00.002+04:00

Azhar Ali is probably the most under rated batsman ever to play Test Cricket for Pakistan. I am not too sure why he does not get the respect that a batsman like him deserves.

More than 7,000 test runs; a 40+ average; 19 test centuries; a triple hundred; a double hundred.

The only Pakistan batsmen ahead of him are the greats Javed Miandad, Inzamam Ul Haq, Mohammad Yousuf, and Younis Khan.

I get that he can't be classified as a test great given that his average is quite far from the coveted 50 mark, but he has been the mainstay of Pakistan's test batting line up for the past decade.

He is also the best test number 3 that Pakistan has had, barring the great Younis Khan.

As soon as Pakistan's 18-man squad for the Test Series against England was announced, there were a number of fans questioning the presence of Azhar Ali.

WHY!??

Maybe it has something to do with him not playing ODIs and T20Is, and the fans forget the value Azhar brings to the test side?

Maybe some fans don't fully understand the requirements of a batsman like Azhar Ali in a test batting line up?

I am really not sure what it is.

Especially considering he scored a 185 against Australia in the last home series that Pakistan played; in a game where no batsman from Australia got to a 100!

Some fans pointed out that Azhar has been living of past achievements and does not deserve to be in the team based on recent performance.

WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?

Here is a list of the top 20 run scorers in Test Cricket over the period 2020-22.

I see only two Pakistanis in the list.

And I can name a few big names from other countries, as well as, those from the "Fab 4" who are not in this list. Yet they continue to feature in Test Cricket.

Only our fans can have issues with such stars of the game.

I have another stat for you all.

Azhar bats at number 3, which is one of the most crucial positions in a batting line up. Especially in Test Cricket. It is also one of the most difficult positions to bat in.

Here are the best performing number 3s in Test Cricket over the period 2020-22.

I really wonder what these fan critics are on.

And it also does not make sense to drop someone who has been performing consistently!

Here is a summary of his performance in Pakistan's recent Test Series.

2022

vs Sri Lanka (in Sri Lanka): Played 1 Test, scored 3 and 6.

vs Australia (in Pakistan): Scored 300 runs in 5 innings at an average of 60, including a 185 and a 78.

2021

vs Bangladesh (in Bangladesh): 0, 24*, and 56

vs West Indies (in West Indies): 17, 23, 0, and 22

vs Zimbabwe (in Zimbabwe): 36 and 126

vs South Africa (in Pakistan): 51, 31*, 0, and 33

2020

vs New Zealand (in New Zealand): 5, 38, 93, and 37

vs England (in England): 0, 18, 20, 141*, and 31

So where is the failure?

The only series where he failed was against West Indies.

A player is allowed 1 bad series in 3 years; or do Pakistan fans not have the patience for that either?

He has scored runs in every series, against all opposition, in all conditions home and away!

I will never understand the criticism against him.

Azhar is the mainstay of Pakistan's test batting line up, one of the best test batsmen produced by Pakistan.

I hope the fans will leave him alone, give him some respect, and let him play for as long as he keeps scoring valuable runs for the team.

Pakistan is into the T20 World Cup FINAL !!!

2022-11-10T16:14:00.001+04:00

Can you believe it?

Rewind to a week ago and no one thought that in a week's time, Pakistan would be on the verge of a second T20 World Cup win. It still feels unbelievable that we are there, Pakistan's first T20 World Cup Final since 2009, but we are!

I have so many thoughts about this World Cup that I am not really sure where to start. I may end up rambling. Let me try to break it down.

THE WORLD CUP OVERALL

It has been one hell of a ride for the past month, no less than a high thrill rollercoaster. It all started for me with the qualifiers when Namibia upset Sri Lanka on day 1!

I haven't missed a single match out of the 44 that have been played so far. I have woken up at odd hours, I have had sleepless nights, but I have been glued to the TV since 16th October. Matches missed due to office hours, I watched later in the day. I watched every single episode of The Pavilion too.

The cricket has been so damn good in this World Cup. Every single game from the qualifying stages was total paisa vasool entertainment.

I have witnessed some amazing cricket, surprising upsets, nail biting wins, heartbreaking losses, some great batting, a lot of great bowling, and simply awesome competition between bat and ball.

I don't remember a World Cup, especially a T20 one, where the fight between bat and ball has been this close, with neither form clearly dominating the other. With the exception of England's onslaught against India.

I guess this has a lot to do with Australian pitches and conditions. If it were not for odd timings of matches for us, I would want every World Cup to be played in Australia.

After Pakistan's shocking loss to Zimbabwe and a World Cup ouster in sight, I maintained that if one keeps emotions aside, this has been a rocking World Cup. Many unexpected results, very closely matched teams with most games ending in the final over, and just edge of the seat cricket!

That kept me hooked to all the matches even after Pakistan's losses in their first two matches.

PAKISTAN'S PERFORMANCE

They are a blockbuster team, aren't they? The drama that unfolds with Pakistan cricket at world tournaments is more thrilling and entertaining than any mega blockbuster movie.

We have all witnessed it over the past 30 years. Yes since 1992.

You all would have seen the similarities with the 1992 campaign that have been circulating on social media.

Sure there are similarities, but more than that I feel that tournaments where Pakistan reaches the knock out stage from a hopeless situation, are the ones that they go on to win.

EXHIBITS: 1992, 2009, 2017

And tournaments where they dominate the group stages, are the ones where they fumble in the knock outs.

EXHIBITS: 1996, 1999, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2021

Nasser Hussain and Harsha Bhogle put it aptly - "When Pakistan are tagged favorites and their fans' hopes are high, they always disappoint. And when you write them off, that is when they come back to play their best cricket!"

In the last three matches against South Africa, Bangladesh, and New Zealand, Pakistan definitely played some of their best cricket.

The two matches they lost were off the final ball. Such a fine margin. Both matches could have gone Pakistan's way so easily.

Pakistan are an amazing team, one of the best T20 teams in the world as records suggest, they played their 6th T20 World Cup semi final - more times than any other team, they are going to play their third T20 World Cup Final - also the most by any team (albeit jointly), they are truly Box Office!

THE EMOTIONS OF A PAKISTAN FAN

These are uncontrollable.

I guess it is the passion, or maybe a lack of faith in leadership, which is borne out of many other issues with the country, or a genuine lack of understanding, or maybe they have short memories and lack patience.

It could also be a combination of all of the above, but one thing is clear - no other cricket fan is sent into a thrilling ride with so many twists and turns than a Pakistan cricket fan.

As I said, Box Office Blockbuster.

There was heartbreak and a lot of disappointment after the loss to India in Pakistan's first match of the T20 World Cup. I know many people who stopped following the World Cup after that match.

It was disappointing to lose undoubtedly, but I felt at the time that the boys played one hell of a game.

A game they should not have lost, but a game that was taken away from them by the best batsman of our generation who played the best knock of his T20 career!

I felt that the boys gave it their all in the match, and I feared that because of the result they may not turn up fully switched on for the next match. It was a physically and mentally draining game, and to bounce back from something like that is nothing short of a miracle.

I had no idea how the team would pick themselves up for the next match.

What I feared came true as Pakistan imploded against Zimbabwe. That result sent the entire nation into shock and all the fans into an emotional frenzy.

I heard all sorts of crazy statements.

"Pakistan do not deserve to play the world cup", "Babar is not a good captain", "Babar and Rizwan should not open, they are wasting the powerplay", and so on.

For the more optimistic fans, the ifs and buts scenarios started.

Pakistan needed to win all of its remaining matches, and then hope for other results to go their way. Some results were likely, others quite unlikely.

After South Africa beat India, the door seemed shut on Pakistan. Everyone I know had lost all hope.

I also felt that Pakistan's campaign was over, but I maintained that let the team play and win its games, and if its meant to happen, things will fall into place.

On the eve of the last day of the Super 12s, I had a very strong feeling that I shared with most of my friends.

Some laughed, some hoped, some promised me all sorts of things.

I truly felt it as I went to sleep earlier than ever to wake up at 4AM to watch South Africa vs Netherlands.

That Sunday, magic happened!

Yet, the critics remained.

"PAKISTAN DONT DESERVE TO PLAY THE SEMIFINALS"

Yes it was a "backdoor" and unbelievable entry into the semifinal for Pakistan, but at the end of the day the two best teams from the group qualified.

For those saying South Africa deserved it more makes no sense at all to me given that Pakistan thrashed South Africa.

For all those saying South Africa would have qualified had their match against Zimbabwe not been washed out - please go look at the NRR. Even if South Africa won that match, Pakistan would have gone ahead with a superior NRR.

Yes the two best teams qualified. Doesn't matter who won the earlier matches and who won the later ones.

When it mattered, Pakistan won!

"BABAR IS NOT A GOOD CAPTAIN"

I have always maintained that Babar Azam is Pakistan's true leader. The way Babar has backed his players, motivated them, and kept the team spirit alive, is unlike any other Pakistan team I have seen in the past 2 decades.

Babar is a phenomenal leader.

His biggest criticism has been his tactics, especially the bowling changes in some crucial matches. But then that can go either way. Some work, some don't.

In my view, he may not be the most tactically sound captain, but he is the kind of leader that the Pakistan team needs. He should be at the helm for as long as he plays, and Pakistan will do wonders.

Under Babar, Pakistan have risen as an ODI team, played the semifinal of a T20 World Cup (2021) after a decade, played an Asia Cup final (2022) after a decade, and now will play a T20 World Cup Final after 13 years!

Tactics aside, he has the results to back him. He has the players that back him. He has a board and management that back him.

All criticism is a load of BS in my opinion.

"BABAR AND RIZWAN SHOULD NOT OPEN"

This has been going on for a while, and largely it is do with their strike rates.

Babar just could not get going in any of the five Super 12 matches. Rizwan still had a couple of scratchy innings in two matches. But they both were far from their best and quite out of form.

The attacking stroke play in display from the bat of Mohammad Haris, brought in at the last minute due to an injury to Fakhar Zaman, escalated the voices demanding a change in Pakistan's top order.

Now here is the thing.

Babar and Rizwan are not only the best opening pair in Pakistan, they are the best opening pair in the world.

Do you break something up that has worked for you for two years on the basis of 5 innings? Do you change your plans overnight because your two best batsmen are not in form?

No, definitely not.

On Haris, yes he played two magnificent knocks in the Super 12s. A 28 off 11 when he batted in the powerplay and a 31 off 18 when he batted in the middle overs.

On the basis of that sample size how do you make a judgement to make Haris open instead of either of Babar or Rizwan?

Senseless really.

Babar and Rizwan came out to open in the semifinal and they batted as if nothing had ever changed.

Both knocked fifties and ensured Pakistan's march into the final on the back of a successful chase that Pakistan's openers are experts at.

Yes I am aware that Babar and Rizwan do not go all out attack in the powerplay and that their strike rates are lower than most T20 openers

Is the way well marketed by the likes of England, India, and Australia, the only way to play?

Surely not, as Babar and Rizwan are the only openers who have successfully chased scores in excess of 190 on multiple occasions. You cannot say that about the Buttlers, Warners, Finchs, Rahuls, Sharmas of the world.

There is a method to their madness, which they believe in. Majority Pakistan fans and critics will keep harping on about strike rates, while Babar and Rizwan will keep winning you games.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

To the final ofcourse!

To hell with all the criticism, Pakistan is going to play their third T20 World Cup Final!

Yes it is like 1992! It is Pakistan vs England in the Final of a World Cup at the MCG!

Despite all these similarities with 1992, there are some parallels that can be drawn with the World T20 in 2009 as well.

Back then, I had arranged a viewing party for Pakistan's semifinal and final at Time Cafe at Ramee Royal Hotel. There was a lot of coordination, a lot of requests made to the cafe, and about 25-30 of us witnessed Pakistan's World T20 win together.

This time around, there is another venue, but the same arrangements and coordination has been taking place. A good bunch got together to watch Pakistan's semifinal, and an even bigger lot will be there on Sunday to witness the T20 World Cup Final!

In this World Cup, Pakistan has peaked at the right time and I can't believe that we are one match away from becoming World Champions one more time!

COME ON PAKISTAAAAAAN !!

A very Pakistani Win, But still so many Questions

2022-09-26T11:56:00.001+04:00

Last night in Karachi, Pakistan levelled the 7-match T20I series against England, in a win that was completely Pakistani in nature.

Defending a middling 166, Hasnain got Pakistan to just the start they needed, as he had England reeling at 14-3 in 2 overs.

When England's new white ball stars - Ben Duckett and Harry Brook - built a partnership and got going, it seemed England will canter to a win. Even after Duckett got out, Moeen Ali continued the charge and England were well on their way.

But the two Mohammads - Nawaz and Wasim - struck in the space of 6 deliveries to dismiss both Moeen and Brook.

England were 6 down and still 54 runs away from the target with 34 deliveries left.

Pakistan were in the driver's seat and they remained there till the end of 17 overs when England needed 33 off 18 with only 3 wickets left.

Just when all looked good, Hasnain, who had made Pakistan's defense possible to start with, was targeted by Liam Dawson.

Dawson smashed Hasnain, who had so far given only 16 runs in his 3 overs, for 24 runs and it seemed all was lost for Pakistan with England needing only 9 runs off the final 12 deliveries with Dawson in fine form.

Enter Haris Rauf to bowl the 19th over of the innings.

6 deliveries. 5 runs. 2 wickets!

Haris, with his 150 kmh+ thunderbolts, brought Pakistan right back into it.

England who had stumbled, and then were cruising, before stumbling and cruising again, were left to get 4 runs off the final over with their final pair at the crease.

A run out, which was caused due to the panic that Haris Rauf had created in the penultimate over, meant that Pakistan had just snatched victory form the jaws of defeat!

It was a magical win. One that only Pakistan can produce, out of no where. Pakistan lost its grip on the match twice during England's chase, yet somehow still managed to pull off a thrilling victory when Cricinfo's predictor had them at 1.5% chance of a win!

Only Pakistan can do the impossible.

Only Pakistan can create such drama and entertainment in a cricket match.

And to steal a line shared by a friend:

"Only Pakistan can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, and victory from the jaws of defeat, in a matter of minutes"

That truly is Pakistan for you.

There was another meme that I just loved.

Poor Bhuvi thought, a trusted death bowler at one time, he is just having a horrid time at the death lately.

But it is ok, we can all laugh a little at India's expense, especially when Pakistan has provided some heroics.

Haris Rauf was truly exceptional.

It really was a great win, and all Pakistan fans were back to cheering the greens on, just 1.5 hours after they had volleyed wide range of abuse on the batsmen who slugged their way to a middling 166.

The criticism, even though harsh, was not unjustified.

Babar and Rizwan, as always, had provided Pakistan a great start, having put on 53 in the powerplay.

The next 4 overs produced only 29 runs, and the critics were out with swords!

82-0 after 10 overs is a score I will happily take every single game. It was a solid platform that had been laid by the best batsmen in the business, who do this more often then not.

What happened after that is the problem.

From 82-0, a score of 180 should be no problem at all.

Yet, Pakistan ended on only 166, that too due to Asif Ali's two 6s in the final over.

When Babar fell trying to up the tempo in the 12th over, Shan Masood walked out with 8 overs still remaining.

Pakistan could have been more flexible by sending in a Nawaz or Asif Ali at that point, but given how Shan had batted in the 3rd T20I, it was a fair call in my opinion.

But Shan could not middle a single delivery during his stay at the crease. It was a painful innings from the "saviour" of Pakistan's middle order.

Rizwan also seemed to have lost his touch after Babar's departure.

Shan fell with 9 deliveries left in the innings.

Khushdil Shah, who has been the worst of the lot among Pakistan's middle order of rabbits, walked out and I was shocked!

Only 9 deliveries to go and you don't send out Asif Ali???

WHY!?

Why does Khushdil keep getting game after game?

How is he higher in the pecking order than Asif Ali?

It makes no sense to me.

Why is Pakistan's management not showing more flexibility? Where is the think tank that sent Nawaz up the order against India, and Shadab up the order against Afghanistan, during the Asia Cup?

That flexibility gave Pakistan the desired results, so why not do more of it?

Iftikhar bowled a great spell last night. Why doesn't he bowl more often? There have been previous games where Pakistan could have used additional overs of spin, so why wasn't Iftikhar used?

Despite this great win by Pakistan, there are still a number of questions to ponder on.

One can only hope that in future games Pakistan will be more flexible with their batting options, they will stop relying on Khushdil Shah, and they will utilize more spin.

It is about time!

Babar & Rizwan: The Undisputed Champions of T20 Cricket

2022-09-23T14:54:00.001+04:00

Two weeks ago, I had asked "so what if Pakistan does not have a middle order?".

Last night, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan gave the world the answer to that question.

Exactly that.

SO WHAT!?

The two stalwarts of Pakistan's T20 team did not leave anything for Pakistan's unreliable middle order batsmen and completed a record chase of 200, against England in the second T20 International, all by themselves.

They completely destroyed England's bowling attack and romped home with a thumping 10 wicket victory, unlike any other in all T20 cricket.

When Babar and Rizwan bat the way they did in Karachi last night, Pakistan don't need a middle order.

Babar and Rizwan shut down all critics questioning their presence as openers for Pakistan, their strike rate, their ability to utilize the powerplay to full potential, the pressure they were placing on the middle order, and all such garbage that was being said by experts and fans.

Last night in Karachi, the two champion batsmen showed the world why they are the best opening pair for Pakistan and why they are the best batsmen in T20 cricket in the world!

During the epic chase, Pakistan, along with Babar and Rizwan, created a number of records.

PAKISTAN CREATE HISTORY

1. Pakistan successfully completed the highest run chase without losing a wicket in the history of all T20 cricket

Yes, the feat has not even been achieved in franchise T20 cricket, let alone internationals.

Pakistan now have two entries in the list of highest scores chased without losing a wicket in T20Is.

2. Pakistan became the first team to successfully chase 200 against England in T20Is.

3. Pakistan also became the first team in T20Is to defeat England by 10 wickets!

BABAR AZAM & MOHAMMAD RIZWAN - SIMPLY THE BEST

Not too long back they were ranked number 1 and number 2 in T20Is. The latest rankings have them at 1 and 4. I think when the rankings are updated next week, they will be number 1 and 2 again.

Undoubtedly, these two are simply the best in the world. What they achieved last night was quite unbelievable.

Having said that, if anyone had asked me before last night about which opening pair was the most likely to chase a score of over 200 without being dismissed in a T20I, I would have named these two!

Their ability to chase big totals in T20Is is quite unparalleled.

1. Their unbroken 203 run partnership is now the second highest partnership in all T20Is.

Babar and Rizwan now hold the record for 2 of the highest 5 partnerships in T20Is.

2. Babar and Rizwan are a part of all of the highest 5 partnerships for Pakistan in T20Is.

The partnership of 203* was their 5th partnership of 150 or more. No other pair in T20Is even comes close to that many 150+ partnerships.

3. Their partnership of 203* is now the highest partnership in T20Is while chasing.

Babar and Rizwan broke their own record of 197, which they had put on against South Africa last year.

4. Babar and Rizwan, during their partnership of 203 last night, over took T20Is most prolific opening partners - Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan.

Babar and Rizwan now have the highest partnership runs, most number of centuries, and the best partnership average in all T20Is.

5. Babar and Rizwan are the best openers in the world in T20Is in terms of Impact.

Yes you heard that right. Anyone who has any reservations about their strike rates or their impact at the top of the innings is only delusional.

Not only do they have the top two averages among openers in T20Is, they also have strike rates as good as other openers around the world.

When measuring their impact, I used an adjusted average metric (Average x Strike Rate / 100) to determine the overall impact made by an opener in T20Is.

The result is here for everyone to see and wonder.

BABAR AZAM: THE UNDISPUTED KING

Anything I say about him will not be enough praise, nor will it do full justice, to the absolute talent that he is as a batsman.

Babar Azam is the best batsman in the world across formats.

Here is what he achieved last night with his epic unbeaten knock of 110.

1. Babar became the only batsman from Pakistan to score two T20I centuries.

2. Babar joined Faf Du Plessis and David Warner as the only three batsmen in this world who have scored a century in each format at the same ground - Karachi, the Wanderers, and Adelaide Oval, respectively.

3. Babar is now level with Rohit Sharma with the most (2) centuries in T20Is as captain.

He also has the third most runs in T20Is as captain; is only behind Virat Kohli in terms of average as captain; and is ahead of everyone else with 16 50s as captain.

4. During his knock last night, Babar raced past 8,000 runs in all T20 cricket, getting there faster than all batsmen, barring one.

He got there in only 218 innings, 5 more than the Universe Boss - Chris Gayle.

5. Babar's 110* last night was his 10th century as captain of Pakistan across formats, beating the legendary Inzamam Ul Haq's record of 9 centuries as Pakistan captain.

6. Babar Azam won his 30th T20I last night, beating Sarfraz Ahmed's record of 29 T20I victories as captain of Pakistan.

I am still in awe of what Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan achieved last night.

And I am still in shock at experts and fans who have been harping on about how Pakistan needs to change their opening combination.

Last night was a good reminder about previous chases of 208, 201, and 189. Of previous wins set up by Babar and Rizwan. Of the so many platforms that these two have provided this team.

It is not their fault that the middle order is not good enough. It is surely their fault that the middle order does not get enough chances to bat, but certainly not their fault if the middle order can't finish games.

Babar and Rizwan will not always do what they did against England in the second T20I of the 7 match series.

They can't be expected to set up a platform as well as finish games. At times they will do both, at times they will just do their part and leave it to the rest to finish, at times they will fail.

Pakistan has two champions at the top of their order who need to be cherished by one and all. Such batsmen are produced once in generations. Savor their performances!

What is Babar's Aversion with Utilizing Spin?

2022-09-21T15:56:00.004+04:00

It has now happened way too many times for it to be a lapse of judgement.

Babar Azam has some aversion to fully utilizing his spin resources in T20Is, especially after the 14th over an innings.

EXHIBIT 1: Pakistan vs Australia, T20 World Cup 2021 Semi Final

The first time I noticed it was in the Semi Final of the T20 World Cup in 2021.

Pakistan had imposed a challenging 176 and had Australia in a precarious situation at 103-5 in 13 overs. 7 overs to go with 74 runs to get.

Imad Wasim had bowled his 3rd and the innings' 12th over giving away only 3 runs. Shadab bowled the final over of his spell and the innings' 13th over, where he gave away 8 runs and picked up a wicket.

Imad should have bowled the next over, i.e. the 14th, and finished off his spell. Especially considering a new batsman on the crease and Imad's previous 3-run over.

However, Babar turned to pace and handed the ball to Haris Rauf. It was a decent over and went for only 6 runs.

Still time to bring Imad back to finish off his spell.

But no, Babar went to Shaheen. Still a decent over with only 6 runs conceded.

Continue with Haris would be the wise choice, or even Imad; but Babar handed the ball to Hasan and that opened the flood gates.

Each of the next overs was a double figure one and Australia raced home with an over to spare.

Why didn't Imad complete his spell?

EXHIBIT 2: Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, Asia Cup 2022 Final

In the Asia Cup Final, Babar brought on Shadab and Iftikhar right after the Power Play, as they bowled the 7th and 8th overs of the innings.

The reason he went with Iftikhar, and not Nawaz, was because the left handed Rajapaksa was at the crease.

Fair.

Both Shadab and Iftikhar bowled beautifully and had Sri Lanka by the throat on 62-5 after 9 overs.

At the end of 12 overs, Sri Lanka were 85-5, and Shadab and Iftikhar had bowled 3 overs each, giving away less than 7 runs an over.

For the 13th over, Babar went back to pace, and Hasnain leaked 14 runs!

Shadab bowled the 14th over for 7 runs and completed his spell.

The 15th was bowled by Haris and it went for 11 runs.

Why not let Iftikhar finish his 4 overs?

Instead of letting Iftikhar complete his spell, Babar turned to Nawaz for the 16th over, whom he had not bowled at all till now due to Rajapaksa's presence. Yet he still brought him on while Rajapaksa was smashing it around.

Nawaz gave only 3 runs in his over.

Now, with 4 overs left in the innings, Babar had the option to bowl Iftikhar for 1 over, and Nawaz for another 2!

But no!

He went with pace and in the next 4 overs, Rajapaksa and Sri Lanka raced away and smashed 50 runs!!!

Why Babar Why?

Where is it written that your pacers need to complete their 4 overs? Where is it written that you cannot utilize spin in the death overs?

Clearly the Lankans were liking the pace and the spinners had kept them quiet.

Could Babar not read the game the way we did?

EXHIBIT 3: Pakistan vs England, first T20I

Pakistan's pacers bowled 11.2 overs and gave away 102 runs at a run rate of 9 runs per over.

Pakistan's spinners bowled 8 overs and gave away 56 runs at a run rate of 7 runs per over.

England's required rate at the start of the innings was 8 runs an over.

It was clear that England's batsmen were comfortable against pace, but struggled a bit against spin.

A few more overs of spin from Iftikhar or Khushdil could have pushed the asking rate a bit higher making it a difficult chase for England.

But no, Babar will never think of spin to win.

I find it really strange why he keeps repeating the same mistake in every match.

Has the coaching team not advised him on this?

Is there no one in the whole Pakistan set up that sees this?

Pakistan has world class spinners that can win them games...

... but why doesn't Babar utilize them more?

Why Shan Masood Batted at 4

2022-09-21T10:35:00.000+04:00

We all know Shan Masood the opener as that is what he has been for the most part of his career.

Even the international cricket he has played for Pakistan has been as an opener in Tests and in ODIs.

An average of 29 in Tests and 22 in ODIs suggests that he has been mediocre in international cricket, despite turning it on in domestic cricket for the past few years.

He was never regarded as a T20 batsman. So much so that he did not even make it to the XI at times for his PSL franchise, the Multan Sultans.

However, in 2022, Shan Masood transformed his game. He has had a fine year in T20 cricket in 2022 and he has credited Mickey Arthur for this success.

In yesterday's first T20I between Pakistan and England, Shan Masood walked out to bat at 4 and the commentators, particularly Wasim Akram and Urooj Mumtaz, went on about how Shan is an opener and that he would find it difficult to adjust to batting at number 4.

I wondered why both commentators were so clueless when making those statements. I also wondered why no one in the combox corrected them.

The thing is that Shan Masood has not only transformed his game to become an attacking batsman suited to all formats of the game, he has also shifted to playing at number 4 in T20 cricket.

I believe he made this switch considering that Pakistan currently possess solid opening pairs in all three formats. With no opening position up for grabs in the Pakistan team, Shan likely wanted to create his space in the middle order.

And this is how he did it.

In the just completed National T20 Cup, Pakistan's domestic T20 competition, Shan Masood played 9 matches for Balochistan, and he batted at number 4 in all of those 9 matches.

In these 9 innings, he scored 215 runs at an average of 31 and a strike rate of 128.

Decent returns that definitely made a case for his presence in Pakistan's abysmal middle order.

Here's a breakdown of his 9 innings at number 4 for Balochistan in the National T20 Cup:

54 off 36 vs Central Punjab

8 off 8 vs Southern Punjab

53* off 39 vs Sindh

45* off 29 vs Northern

10 off 14 vs KPK

0 off 1 vs Central Punjab

9 off 7 vs Southern Punjab

25 off 23 vs Sindh

11 off 11 vs Northern

So no, Shan Masood was not new to batting at 4, nor did the Pakistan team management make it difficult for him by making him bat at an unfamiliar position.

Shan Masood batted at 4 in the Pakistan's T20 competition with some success, which resulted in his selection for Pakistan, who were looking to shore up their middle order after the consistent failures in the Asia Cup.

Shan Masood batted for Pakistan in the same position that he batted in Pakistan's most recent T20 competition.

Would be good if the commentators had a bit more knowledge.

Anyhow, not that it makes any difference to Pakistan's middle order though - they are all damn rabbits!

Pakistan doesn't have a Middle Order - So what?

2022-09-12T16:50:00.005+04:00

Leading up to the Asia Cup, there was an article about how Pakistan's middle order was not getting enough time in the middle to showcase their ability. The prolific form of the top order was the culprit, who were facing too many deliveries and scoring at less than an ideal strike rate.

Now that the Asia Cup is over, one can look back and see that Pakistan's middle order got ample chances and they failed miserably. Every. Single. Game.

Babar Azam was not at his best. I would say grossly unlucky rather than woefully out of form, but considering he was back in the pavilion within the powerplay every game (barring one), the likes of Fakhar, Iftikhar, Khushdil, and Asif got plenty of chances.

And they all collectively showed the world how useless they are.

FAKHAR ZAMAN

Asia Cup Scores: 10, 15, 5, 13, 0. Yes, I am not counting the 50 odd against Hong Kong.

Even leading up to the Asia Cup, Fakhar had scores of 10, 10, 12, 0.

Add to that the fact that he dropped Kohli second ball, and that his misfields gave India 8 valuable extra runs. He is lucky Pakistan chased down 180 odd and didn't lose by 5 runs or so.

It is time Pakistan move on from Fakhar the T20 batsman.

IFTIKHAR AHMED

I am sorry but we do not need batsmen who score run a ball 30 odds. What is the point?

In a team that has openers that are accumulators, you don't need another batsman who does the same.

Please look elsewhere.

KHUSHDIL SHAH

Why is he even in the T20 team?

In 18 T20I innings, he has a highest score of 36. Against Zimbabwe.

His next highest is 35. Against Hong Kong.

He also has a 34. Against Bangladesh.

In the remaining 15 innings he has not crossed 20.

Why is he in the team?

ASIF ALI

He is way too over rated.

He has played 45 T20 Internationals now, and the only game that he has actually won for Pakistan is the one against Afghanistan at the T20 World Cup last year.

Besides that, if all what you want is 16 off 8, your bowlers can get you that. You do not need Asif Ali.

Haris Rauf - 13* off 7 vs India

Shahnawaz Dahani - 16 off 6 vs India

Naseem Shah - 14* off 4 vs Afghanistan

These are actually better returns than Asif.

Please move on from this over rated slogger.

Is blaming the top order fair?

Now that it is established that Pakistan does not have a middle order, I feel the blame given to the top order for not giving other batsmen enough chances was unfounded.

Pakistan's T20I top order gave us successful chases of 208/3 vs WI, 205/1 vs SA, and 189/6 vs SA in the last 12 months.

Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, despite their "below par" strike rates and low risk approach in the powerplay led Pakistan to 3 record chases in 12 months.

Not to mention all the other chases of scores between 120 and 170.

It has worked in the past. It will work again in the future.

Unfortunately Babar did not score this Asia Cup. If he did, it may have been a different story.

What do we do about the middle order then?

I don't see any replacements to be honest.

Yes there is Haider Ali, who was in the Asia Cup squad, but did not get a single game.

In my view, he is better than the 4 batsmen mentioned above.

Shan Masood has been in the runs in domestic and county cricket. He has a strong case for inclusion in this side.

Even if you bring in these two, Pakistan will be left with two passengers.

And honestly, I do not think it will make a difference.

Whether you have Fakhar, Iftikhar, Khushdil, Asif or you have Shan, Haider, Khushdil, Asif. Whether you bring in Shoaib Malik. Or even if you bring in Javed Miandad.

It will make no difference whatsoever. You can play rabbits in the middle order for all I care.

Pakistan's T20 success has been achieved on the back of great knocks by Babar and Rizwan, and some outstanding pace and spin bowling.

That is your team right there - Babar, Rizwan, Shadab, Nawaz, and any 3 out of Shaheen, Naseem, Haris, Hasnain, Dhahani, Waseem Jr.

The middle order is just a formality. Whoever is there, however they play. Unless Babar Azam scores, Pakistan will not win consistently in my view.

T20 World Cup Squad

With the 15-man squad for the T20 World Cup to be announced by 15 September, it seems unlikely that there will be any major changes.

You can't go into a World Cup with inexperienced players, and the current crop are the ones Pakistan has banked on for the past year.

Perhaps Shan Masood may get a look in. Any of Fakhar, Iftikhar, Khushdil, and Asif can be dropped for Shan really.

Haider should find a place in the constantly failing middle order. I don't get why he wasn't given a chance especially considering that he has scores of 45, 68, and 31 in his last three T20Is.

Having said all this, I would also like everyone to note that this Pakistan team under Babar is a very good team.

They reached the semi finals of the T20 World Cup in 2021, after not qualifying for the knock outs in 2014 and 2016.

They reached the final of the Asia Cup 2022, which they did not qualify for in 2018 and 2016.

So something is right about this team. They are moving in the right direction.

With some tweaks, they will win a tournament too, in the not so distant future.

This is what I think Pakistan's 15-man squad will look like:

Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Khushdil Shah, Haider Ali, Shan Masood, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Waseem, Mohammad Hasnain, Shahnawaz Dahani

And Pakistan's first XI should be:

1. Babar Azam 2. Mohd. Rizwan 3. Shan Masood 4. Haider Ali 5. Mohd. Nawaz 6. Shadab Khan 7. Asif Ali 8. Haris Rauf 9. Mohd. Waseem 10. Naseem Shah 11. Shaheen Afridi

A strong bowling line up with 4 pacers and 2 spinners will be ideal for Australia I believe.

And there is enough batting there for 20 overs.

After all, Pakistan only need Babar Azam and Rizwan!

The Asia Cup Confusion ...

2022-08-25T16:11:00.000+04:00

The Asia Cup 2022, scheduled to kick-off on 27th August in Dubai, was originally to be hosted in Sri Lanka. However, due to the many issues in the island, the Sri Lanka Cricket Board decided to host it in the UAE.

While it was being speculated for a while that the tournament will take place in the UAE, the official announcement came on 28 July.

Soon after, the ACC released the following schedule.

Everyone's focus was on 28 August! Pakistan and India to meet again in Dubai, the same venue where Pakistan romped to a 10 wicket demolition job less than a year ago during the T20 World Cup.

Those who paid a little more attention realized that the match on 4 September would also be Pakistan vs India, barring the littlest of chances that a qualifier, who we now know is Hong Kong, goes ahead to the Super Fours, instead of Pakistan or India.

The wait for the tickets was a never ending one.

There was no news anywhere about when the tickets would launch. Everyone had an idea that they would launch on Platinum List, but no idea when.

The launch of hospitality packages by Dnata and some other tour and travel operators threw some people off and news of tickets being launched spread like wildfire.

But no, match tickets were not available. Only travel packages (flight and hotel) with tickets were.

On 11 August, Platinum List posted the following on their Instagram page.

The tickets were coming soon, but still there was no date announced!

On 13 August, Khaleej Times broke the news that the ACC has announced that Asia Cup tickets will be released on 15 August!

Finally the tickets were going on sale, less than 2 weeks before the Asia Cup!

But there was still no announcement from Platinum List who had asked everyone to follow their Instagram page to know when tickets go on sale.

As the clock hit midnight and the date changed to 15 August on Sunday night, Whatsapp groups went frantic with the news that Platinum List had launched the tickets and that there was a massive queue online.

We all logged on to Platinum List and found ourselves in a queue with a wait time of more than an hour.

Once the wait time ended, nothing happened, and the site crashed.

There were no tickets.

Just millions of fans in the UAE and the subcontinent logging on to Platinum List looking for tickets that had not been launched.

Come Monday afternoon on 15 August, and Platinum List posted this on their Instagram page.

6:00PM! Everyone was ready!

At 6PM began the usual practice of queues, wait times, errors when making payments, payment not going through, to finally payments going through and tickets being purchased successfully.

We managed to get the tickets we wanted.

But there was one problem that was bugging me.

For the 7th September match between A2 and B2, Platinum List was selling tickets for Sharjah.

The original schedule released by ACC (scroll up) had that match scheduled in Dubai.

I checked cricket's most trusted website, cricinfo, and even their schedule showed the match was to be played in Dubai.

I checked ACC's website, and there it showed Dubai also.

Check these sites now and you will see the same now as well. Dubai.

Clearly the organizers, i.e. SLC / ACC, told Platinum List that the 7th September match is scheduled for Sharjah but no one seemed to communicate this to other platforms.

And I am not really sure why the other platforms have not changed this in their schedules despite the information being out there since 15 August.

Now I was under another dilemma.

The tournament format said the top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super Four stage where each team will play the other three.

With the 7 September Super Four game between A2 and B2 scheduled for Sharjah, does this mean that the A1, A2, B1, B2 seedings were predetermined?

Only for the simple reason that India does not play in Sharjah.

Which meant that India cannot be A2 under any circumstance.

To me this meant that no matter in which position India qualified to the Super Four, they would be A1 and the other team, i.e. Pakistan, would be A2.

But this information was no where.

Not on the ACC website. Not on Cricinfo. Not on any cricket website or forum. I kept searching, I kept asking, but no one gave me a satisfactory answer.

Except for one senior editor at Cricinfo, who agreed that A1, A2, etc. were pre determined.

It made sense also as this practice is decades old and used in World Cups where there have been Super 6 ad Super 8 rounds.

But still there was no clarity on why no platform was reporting that the 7 September match was in Sharjah and why there was no information on A1, A2, B1, B2.

Till this morning!

Finally, the ACC released a schedule that showed that the 7 September match was to be played in Sharjah, and also explained which teams would be A1 and B1.

Here you go.

Finally, some official clarity!

Why did it take so long to get this out, I don't know.

For some of us, it was clear when the tickets launched on Platinum List, given the prices of the tickets.

But such information should be made public as soon as tickets go on sale to make it clearer for fans and ticket buyers.

Despite this confirmation, websites are still reporting that on 7 September there is an Asia Cup match in Dubai, and one can't find this clarity regarding India being A1 anywhere else.

A Meeting of the Kings

2022-08-25T10:05:00.004+04:00

Babar Azam and Virat Kohli sent the media into a frenzy yesterday as they shook hands during the teams' practice session yesterday at the ICC Academy.

The BCCI's official Twitter account posted a 35 second video showing the team's first practice session in Dubai.

Within that clip was the handshake, which has since become viral across social media!

The Asia Cup 2022 gets underway in Dubai on Saturday, 27th August, with the hosts Sri Lanka taking on Afghanistan.

But it is the following day, Sunday 28 August, that everyone seems to be waiting for.

That is the day of Pakistan vs India. The teams will be meeting for the first time since Pakistan's 10 wicket romp at the same venue a year ago.

We are certainly ready for the Asia Cup!

Are you?

See you at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

The Curious Cases of Azhar Ali, Fawad Alam, Shan Masood, and Agha Salman

2022-07-21T15:46:00.007+04:00

Even though Pakistan won the first test against Sri Lanka, there are a number of questions that remain unanswered. Surely the captain and the team management can provide more insight on these queries, but no one has spoken about them yet.

Why is Azhar Ali still in the team?

Why was Fawad Alam dropped?

Why isn't Shan Masood getting a game?

Why was Agha Salman preferred over Fawad Alam?

Babar Azam, Saqlain Mushtaq, and Mohammad Yousuf are surely more adept at selecting the playing XI and they probably know the right answers to the above, but I will attempt answering them anyway.

AZHAR ALI

In both innings of the first test, he looked out of sorts, with scores of 3 off 41 deliveries and 6 off 32 deliveries.

Pakistan fans generally have very short memories. Their daggers were out immediately after Azhar's two sluggish failures, and no one remembered that in Pakistan's last test series, against Australia, he amassed 300 runs in 5 innings, including a solid knock of 185.

"oh but that was scored at home, he does nothing away from home"

Hellooo, who scored a double ton at the MCG? Surely the fans have forgotten that too.

Azhar has been one of Pakistan's most dependable test batters in the past decade. 19 test centuries is no joke, neither are 7,000 test runs. The only Pakistan batters who have got more are the big 4 - Younis Khan, Javed Miandad, Inzamam Ul Haq, and Mohammad Yousuf.

He is not in the same league as the big 4 but his test average is at par with the likes of Misbah, Saeed Anwar, Hanif Mohammad, Saleem Malik, and Zaheer Abbas.

For those who think that he scores only on flat UAE decks need a reminder that Azhar has scored a test century in every country he has played except for New Zealand and South Africa. And he has scored a test ton against all opposition except for South Africa.

Azhar may not be a test great, but he has given his fair share of great test knocks, and totally deserves his place in the side.

FAWAD ALAM

What the current and past team managements think of him will forever remain a mystery. Despite being the most prolific first class batter in Pakistan he was kept out of the side for 10 years. That too after scoring a debut test century.

When he eventually made a come back in 2020, he showed what Pakistan was missing by hitting test hundreds against New Zealand, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and the West Indies.

In 12 tests since his comeback, he scored 703 runs at an average of 50. In this period, he had more centuries than anyone else from Pakistan, was one of the only three batters to average 50, and was one of the mainstays of their batting line up.

Then he had one bad series against Australia and found himself on the bench for the first test against Sri Lanka.

Why?

I have no answer for this, and I hope someone can explain this with some level of reasoning.

SHAN MASOOD

For the past 5 years, Shan Masood has been plundering runs in domestic cricket in Pakistan. This year, he did the same in county cricket, which is why there have been many a cry from fans to include him in the playing XI.

Shan has had a start-stop career with Pakistan. Having made his test debut in 2013, he has played test matches every year for Pakistan since then, with the last one in January 2021.

After 25 tests, he has an average under 30. Despite scoring some match winning centuries, he is too inconsistent for Pakistan as an opener.

The last time he was dropped from the team it was after scores of 0,1, 4, 18, 10, 0, 0, 0 across 5 test matches. That is 4 ducks in 8 innings for an opener.

He has had his fair share of international cricket and shown that he is not consistent enough to be a regular Pakistan test opener.

Even when he had a record domestic season in 2018-19 in List A cricket, he was given a run in Pakistan's ODI team and in 5 consecutive ODIs he managed only 111 runs at an average of 22.

While a prolific domestic runs scorer, I am afraid he cannot replace Pakistan's current top order in any format.

AGHA SALMAN

How does someone with a first class average of 37 make it to Pakistan's test squad in the first place is beyond me. How he makes it to a starting XI ahead of the likes of Fawad Alam (Test Ave 41, FC Ave 55) and Saud Shakeel (FC Ave 50) is just mind boggling.

The only reason I could think of was that he bowls handy off spin, which would be beneficial against the left handers in Sri Lanka's line up.

But to sacrifice proper test batters for that, I am not too sure.

Are there no good off spinners in Pakistan that they could have, and probably should have, included in the squad?

Or play Nauman Ali instead of one of the pacers. Surely you don't require 3 pacers at Galle.

NEXT TEST

Yes, Pakistan won the test, but the team selection was far from ideal.

With the next test also in Galle, I think Pakistan should put things right and bring back Fawad Alam in place of Agha Salman, and also bring in Nauman Ali in place of either one of the three pacers that played the first test.

Babar Azam - Great Batter, Greater Captain

2022-07-21T09:52:00.008+04:00

There is no doubt that Babar Azam is the best white ball batter in the world currently. He is ranked 1 in both ODIs and T20Is.

There is also no doubt that Babar is also the best batter in the world across formats. He is the only batter ranked in the top 4 of each format.

I have no doubt that Babar Azam will become the first batter in the world to be ranked 1 in each of the three formats at the same time!

Virat Kohli, Ricky Ponting, and Matthew Hayden are the only ones who have achieved the number 1 ranking in each format; however none of them have held that ranking at the same time.

Babar soon will. You wait and watch.

Besides being a great batsman, Babar is also an impeccable captain. He has grown in stature with every game over the past two years, and he is fast becoming one of the best captains in the game.

Under Babar, Pakistan currently have a win percentage of over 60% in each of the three formats. They have pulled off some amazing victories during this time in T20Is, in ODIs, and even in Tests. The team has a new found belief under him and one can only imagine the great heights this team can reach.

TEST MATCHES

Among the current crop of Test captains, Babar has the second best W:L ratio, behind only Pat Cummins. And his win percentage of 66.7% is behind only that of Ben Stokes and Dean Elgar.

Babar is also one of the only two Test captains in the past 2 years who are averaging over 50 with the bat.

ONE DAY INTERNATIONALS

In ODIs, Babar sits second on the list of captains with the best W:L ratio and win percentage, behind Rohit Sharma.

As a batter, Babar has been phenomenal in ODIs. He has the most runs, highest average, highest strike rate, and most centuries as captain in ODIs since the start of 2020.

His average of 83.3 as captain is miles ahead of the next best.

That strike rate of 101.7 is a slap on so many faces, I can't even begin to count.

T20 INTERNATIONALS

Even in T20Is, Babar sits second in the list behind Rohit Sharma in terms of W:L ratio.

As a captain in T20Is, Babar also dominates the T20I runs tally over the past 3 years with almost 300 more runs than the next best - Aaron Finch. He also has the second best average among captains, behind Kohli, and has the most number of 50s as captain - more than double of the next best.

A true white ball maestro, Babar's career is moving rapidly towards greatness. He is ruling in all three formats as a captain and as a batter. To think that he has at least another decade of cricket left in him, one can't even begin to imagine where he will end up if he keeps continuing in the same vein.

We have not had a Pakistan team in a while that has been in the running for all three ICC trophies - the WTC, T20 WC, and the ODI WC.

At least one of those will be in Pakistan's hands before the end of 2023.

If anyone can make it happen, it is the current best cricketer in the world - the one Babar Azam!

Abdullah Shafique is the Real Deal

2022-07-20T14:40:00.012+04:00

He is only 22 years old and has played only 6 Test Matches, yet today he produced one of the finest test innings of all time.

Abdullah Shafique's unbeaten 160 off 408 deliveries was a monumental effort that led Pakistan to their second highest run chase ever in Test cricket.

His 160* in a successful chase in the 4th innings of a test is:

- The eighth highest score by a batter.

- The third highest in Asia.

- The third highest by an opener.

- The second highest by a Pakistan batter.

- The second highest against Sri Lanka.

- The highest at Galle.

- The highest by a Pakistan opener.

In his short test career, Shafique has already played two epic fourth innings knocks:

- The 96 off 305 deliveries in Karachi that helped Pakistan save the test against Australia.

- Today's 160* to secure a historic win for Pakistan.

Shafique also became only the 5th batter in the history of test cricket to face over 400 deliveries in the fourth innings of a Test. He faced a total of 408 deliveries, which is the second highest number of deliveries faced in the 4th innings during a successful run chase.

And the first ever batter in the history of test cricket to bat for over 500 minutes in the 4th innings of a test in a successful run chase! He batted for 524 minutes, which is also the third longest innings by minutes in the 4th innings of a test.

His current test batting average of 80.00 is behind only Sir Donald Bradman's average.

He has accumulated 720 runs in his first 6 Tests. Only Sunil Gavaskar, Sir Don Bradman, and George Headley scored more than this in their first 6 Tests.

It has been a while since Pakistan had a consistent opener in Test cricket so about time we have found the Real Deal in Abdullah Shafique.

May he have a long and prosperous career and break many more records!

This Pakistan Team is Different!

2022-07-20T13:37:00.001+04:00

This is a different Pakistan team under Babar Azam.

They have turned a corner and have the kind of belief in themselves that past Pakistan teams have not had.

For three decades Pakistan fans have been scarred by many a chase in Tests and ODIs where they have looked like winning the match, only to falter during the final lap.

Not this Pakistan team!

While the team seems to have moved forward from the scars of the past; for Pakistan fans it will take time for these scars to heal. We are probably the most nervous cricket fans in the world. Anyone will favor the team that requires 50 odd runs to win with 6 wickets in hand. Not Pakistani fans though!

I think it is time for us fans to start believing in this team as well. Us fan should also have the kind of belief that Babar has instilled in his players.

Babar's overall record as captain across formats is extremely impressive. He has a win percentage of over 60% in all three formats.

What is even more impressive is Pakistan's record under Babar while chasing totals. No other Pakistan team has looked as comfortable as this one while chasing totals.

Yes there have been impressive run chases in the past, especially the ones in Tests against Sri Lanka in 2014 and 2015, which were Pakistan's only two successful run chases of targets above 300.

But those were one-off.

Babar Azam's team has pulled off record run chases in each of the three formats in the past 1 year!

T20 Internationals

It all started in April 2021 when Pakistan chased down 188 against South Africa in Johannesburg. It was their highest successful chase in T20Is.

That record remained intact for just 3 days as Pakistan easily chased down a record target of 204 in only 18 overs, while losing only 1 wicket, against South Africa at Centurion.

8 months later, Pakistan were at it again successfully chasing down 208 against the West Indies in Karachi; again easily winning by 7 wickets with 7 deliveries to spare.

Pakistan created 3 T20I records within a year!

One Day Internationals

In March of this year, Pakistan broke the record of their highest ever successful chase in ODIs when they chased down Australia's 348 and won the match by 6 wickets with an over to spare.

Test Matches

Today, Pakistan completed a successful chase of their second highest total in Tests - 342. This is the highest ever total chased at Galle, the fourth highest ever chased in Sri Lanka and the second highest ever chased against Sri Lanka.

This Pakistan team has been breaking record after record, and it is just starting off. We are only in the second year of Babar Azam's captaincy and his team has reached unprecedented heights.

The best part about these chases is that they have been completed confidently, without many stutters. There haven't been nervy last wicket scrapes. Just pure confident batting, pure confident chasing.

Babar has grown in stature with every passing day.

From being the best white ball batsman in the world, he is today the best batsman in the world across formats, and well on his way to being the best cricket captain in the world too!

Under Babar, Pakistan is a force to reckon with.

I do not even remember the last time Pakistan were this consistent across formats.

And I hope that soon there comes a time where I remember only this Pakistan. The world beating Pakistan!

Babar Azam - The World's Best Batsman

2022-07-18T12:16:00.003+04:00

There is no comparable to Babar Azam in the world currently.

Across formats, red ball or white ball, home soil or foreign, Babar is the only batsman in the world who is consistently dominating all formats of the game.

The way he batted yesterday in Pakistan's first innings of the first test against Sri Lanka is what legends are made of.

Holding together Pakistan's batting, farming the strike while batting with the tail, and absorbing all the pressure there was out there showed what a great test batsman he is.

Anyone with a weaker mind would have started to hit out while batting with the tail.

Not Babar.

He shepherded the tail like a true master and knocked his 7th test century without playing a single false stroke.

He added 82 runs to his score in the company of numbers 9, 10, and 11.

That was a really special innings.

There aren't many batsmen in this world who have masterfully farmed the strike while batting with the tail for as long as Babar did. Greats like Steve Waugh and Inzamam Ul Haq come to mind when thinking of holding batting line ups together while batting with tailenders; not many others.

Babar's innings was right up there with the best test knocks.

BABAR in TEST CRICKET

In the past three years, from July 2019 to July 2022, Babar has been the best in the world when it comes to Test Cricket. While he has the 6th most runs in test cricket in this period, he has the highest average in this format. If Pakistan got to play as many Tests as England, India, or Australia, you know where he would be in this list.

Nevertheless, that average of 62 is right up there and unmatched at the moment, and whether there is a Fab 4 or a Fab 5 or a Fab anything, Babar is right at the top of that Fab list!

BABAR in ODI CRICKET

There is no doubt about Babar being the best ODI batsman in the world. He is the second highest run scorer in ODIs in this three year period, and his average of 82 shows how far above and beyond he is than the rest of the pack. No one has scored as many ODI tons as Babar has in this time, and the next best average is 27 runs away!

Is there a Fab list in ODIs or is he the only Fab ONE?

BABAR in T20I CRICKET

In T20Is, there is no one who has been as consistent as Babar has, barring Virat Kohli over the years and Mohammad Rizwan last year. In this 3 year period, Babar is the second highest run scorer, has the third best average, and the most number of 50s.

He is by far the best white ball batsman at the moment. No wonder the ICC also ranks him at the top in both formats.

BABAR in INTERNATIONAL CRICKET

Whether it is number of runs, average, strike rate (that slaps a lot of faces), centuries, or fifties, Babar is at the top of every list across formats in international cricket over the past 3 years.

I think we can safely put away any Fab lists, because Babar is in a league of his own.

He is the only batsman in the world who is ranked in the top 5 for each format. He tops the list for two of those formats.

Babar also has the most runs and highest average with the most number of centuries and fifties in all international cricket in the past 3 years. And in what is a big slap across some faces, Babar also has the best strike rate among the leading run scorers over this period.

Babar Azam is indeed the best in the world. And he is many years younger than most of the others on the list, which means he has much longer than the rest to dominate the cricket world!

Kill ODI Cricket; Let Tests and T20 Cricket Rule the World

2022-07-14T13:18:00.002+04:00

Growing up in the 80s and 90s the cricket staple used to consist of multination tri-series, quadrangular tournaments, and even six-nation tournaments. Ofcourse there were World Cups every 4 years and bilateral tours consisting of Tests and ODIs, but these multination tournaments used to generate a lot of buzz.

They were like mini world cups. Pakistan and India did not tour each other back then either. But they would frequently play in Sharjah as part of an AustralAsia Cup, a Rothmans Trophy, a Sharjah Cup, a Sharjah Champions Trophy.

Besides the two multination ODI series in Sharjah every year, there was also the annual World Series of Cricket played in Australia (aka Carlton & United Series, CB Series, VB series, etc.), which involved three teams compete for the trophy.

Besides Australia, the likes of Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, South Africa, and England also hosted multination ODI tournaments in that era.

Even unlikely venues like Toronto, Singapore, Malaysia, and Kenya hosted multination ODI tournaments in the 90s.

Those were the best days of ODI cricket!

That is when ODI cricket was exciting. In between world cups, we got to watch the big teams play mini tournaments. ODIs had some context.

With the advent of T20 cricket, the significance of ODIs has diminished significantly.

Let alone the fact that T20 leagues take up most of the cricket calendar; the biggest problem is the fanbase. ODI cricket is not exciting any more.

When you can watch a more exciting brand of cricket that produces a result in three and a half hours, why would you sit in front of the TV for 8 hours?

I am a cricket nut. I used to watch every single delivery of an ODI. I still do when it is the World Cup or the Champions Trophy. But bilateral ODI cricket, I just cannot watch.

I prefer a T20 match, league or international, over an ODI any day.

And that is really the future.

ODI cricket is dying in my view.

Unless multination ODI tournaments are brought back, ODI cricket will be in the grave very soon.

I see the future with only two formats: Tests and T20s.

Test cricket is still very exciting and creates some very interesting battles over 5 days. However, when it comes to limited overs cricket, the T20 format is killing ODIs.

And that is ok in my view.

We all need to evolve.

Cricket is no different.

Year round T20 leagues, a T20 World Cup every two years, bilateral test tours, and a World Test Championship every two years sounds like a great future for cricket.

With the amount of talent available in some nations, and the ability of others to develop talent pools, I will not be surprised if the T20 and Test calendars ran simultaneously.

Nations can develop two very different talent pools - one for test cricket and the other for T20 cricket.

Teams like England and India are already doing this where their red ball and white ball teams are involved in international tours at the same time.

Let each country have their T20 league. Let T20 cricketers participate in whatever league they want. Limit bilateral tours for T20 cricket. Maybe have 1 or 2 of them just before the T20 World Cup to fine tune the national teams.

Let Test cricket run in parallel.

T20 cricket is the way forward for associate nations also. The likes of Afghanistan, Ireland, Scotland, Netherlands, UAE, and even frontier markets where cricket wants to expand like the USA and China have greater potential to compete in the T20 format, relative to ODIs or Tests.

Let cricket expand through T20 leagues and T20 World Cups.

I have not seen the exact numbers, but I believe the number of ODIs played every year has reduced drastically every year over the past decade.

South Africa have already cancelled an ODI tour to Australia in January 2023 due to it clashing with their new T20 league!

Who even watches bilateral ODIs now?

I think the 2023 ODI World Cup should be the last one. Let ODIs die and let cricket live through T20s and Tests.

It will ease scheduling concerns as well.

We literally have a T20 league running 365 days a year.

The BBL, UAE T20 and the new SA league in January, the PSL in February-March, the IPL in April - May, ECB's League and The 100 in June-July, the CPL in August, and back to the BBL and UAE T20 in December.

If these leagues want the best white ball players available, then where will they find the time to play ODIs?

Players should not be put in this difficult position at all.

The September-October-November window with no T20 leagues should be left for nations to play a couple of bilateral international T20 series, followed by the T20 World Cup.

This gives you a year-round T20 Cricket calendar, which sounds extremely exciting!

At the same time, test tours can continue simultaneously since the test teams will be built around completely different talent pools.

In my mind and on paper, this all sounds like a fabulous way forward for cricket.

Now over to the ICC and the cricket boards to implement it!

Kohli may no longer be King, but he is still a Champion!

2022-07-06T10:08:00.001+04:00

Less than a year ago, Virat Kohli was leading India across all three formats. He was the best batsman in the world too. The best in tests, the best in ODIs, and the best in T20Is.

Virat Kohli was the king.

If you follow Indian media (TV channels, newspapers, websites, commentators, and all other keyboard warriors), they will have you believe that Virat Kohli is finished. He is done.

I believe it is more media hype than anything else really.

Yes he is no longer the India Cricket Captain. But who is?

Rohit Sharma? He has barely played any cricket since being announced India's all format captain.

KL Rahul? Where has he been?

Hardik Pandya? Surely a current favorite following his team's IPL triumph.

Rishabh Pant? Yes, they handed him the captaincy too!

Shikhar Dhawan? He has found it tough to find a place in India's first XI, but he too captained on a tour.

Ajinkya Rahane? He was Kohli's deputy some time ago, but now finds himself on the bench.

Jasprit Bumrah? He's leading in the current test against England, while the above mentioned (barring Pant) are absent.

That is 8 captains including Kohli in the last 1 year! Absurd.

Ok so Kohli is no longer captain and he is no longer the #1 ranked batsman either in ODIs, nor in T20Is.

But is he really finished?

There is no doubt that Kohli's performance has gone down several levels over the past two years.

The level he was at for almost a decade across formats is a level that no other batsman has ever been at. He will likely never be at that same level again.

But he is also not over and done with the way Indian journalists will have you believe.

Look at his performance in T20 Internationals over the past two and a half years. No one from India comes even close to his level of consistency.

He is a clear 5 runs ahead in average than the next best batsman; and a good 10 runs ahead of everyone else from India!

You can take a look at all batsmen in T20 Internationals, and you will realize that only Mohammad Rizwan and Jos Buttler average more than Kohli does in the format during this period.

In ODIs, his performance has dipped a bit more. He is averaging 20 runs less than his career average during this 2.5 year period, yet he is still the third highest run scorer for India in this time.

Yes, he hasn't scored any ODI hundreds during these 2.5 years, but no other Indian batsman has also scored as many fifties as Kohli has.

The fact that he has played more ODIs than any other Indian batsmen during this period goes to show his level of fitness, dedication, and commitment, which in my view is unmatchable.

The Sharmas and Rahuls are not even close, nor will they ever be, to what Kohli has done for Indian cricket, and continues to do.

Test cricket is where the real problem is. Kohli's form in tests has really deteriorated over the past two years. His test average during this period is below 30 and for the first time in almost a decade his career test average has dipped below 50.

But has anyone taken a look at the other Indian batsmen around him?

Barring Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant, no India batsman averages above 40 in tests in the past 2.5 years.

I guess playing and touring in bubbles has taken its toll on everyone, not only Kohli.

Yes, an average of 27 is not what you expect from a world class batsman like Kohli, but don't only target him when talking about failures. Talk about the entire Indian brittle batting line up, which is being constantly saved by the likes of Pant and Jadeja.

There is also this hype about 120 odd innings across formats without scoring a 100.

What a heap of bullshit!

What 120 innings?

Leave aside the T20 format where no one scores 100s consistently (unless you are Jos Buttler), the last time Kohli scored a 100 in an ODI was 21 innings ago, and the last time he did it in tests was 32 innings ago.

Yes 52 innings / 2 years is a long time to go without scoring a century, especially when you are Virat Kohli who the world saw knock a century every other day. But Kohli is not alone.

Steve Smith hasn't scored a 100 in a while. It has been quite some time for Kane Williamson too. I don't see the media down under shredding them to pieces!

Kohli has been a champion batsman for way too long, and in white ball cricket he still is. He definitely does not deserve the criticism coming his way at the moment.

So what if Babar Azam is currently better than him in ODIs and T20Is? So what if Joe Root is now scoring like the run machine Kohli once was in Tests? So what if Kohli is no longer captaining India?

He is still one of the best in the business. Definitely the fittest batsman in world cricket. And more dedicated and committed than any other cricketer you will find in India.

Kohli may no longer be King, but he still is a Champion!

Pakistan need to top this white ball form with a World Cup Trophy!

2022-07-05T09:36:00.000+04:00

Pakistan are currently ranked 3 in ICC's ODI Cricket Rankings. They are number 3 in T20Is too. Not only that, but the top two batting rankings in both white ball formats are occupied by Pakistan's batsmen!

Babar Azam is ranked 1 in both ODIs and T20Is, while the second ranked batsmen are Imam Ul Haq and Mohammad Rizwan, respectively.

Shaheen Afridi is also up there ranked at 3 in the ODI Bowler Rankings.

I do not remember the last time Pakistan dominated white ball cricket in this manner.

They have been one of the best T20 teams for a while now, even leading the rankings for some time not too long ago. But in ODIs, they have been languishing in the bottom half of the table for almost a decade.

Till now that is.

Pakistan's ODI form is so strong that out of the 6 completed ODI series since the ICC World Cup 2019, they have won 5!

They have beaten Sri Lanka (2-0), Zimbabwe (2-1), South Africa (2-1), Australia (2-1), and West Indies (3-0) during this period. And only lost to the World Champions, England (3-0).

During this ODI reign, Pakistan became the only Asian side to win two ODI series in South Africa, and they achieved their highest ever successful chase in ODIs, against Australia.

The ODI team has surely touched some great heights in this period.

Come to think of it, the resurgence began during the 2019 World Cup itself when they won 4 games in a row, but were unlucky to miss the semi finals due to net run rate.

They arguably were one of the best teams on show; and the only team who beat both the finalists during the group stages!

But a repeat of 1992 was not meant to be.

At the T20 World Cup in 2021, Pakistan were definitely the best team on show. They were the only team to reach the semi finals unbeaten.

Unfortunately though they were met by an Australian resurgence, which without fail happens at every World Cup.

Two ICC trophies have been denied, yet Pakistan has continued its vein of form.

Since that World Cup in 2019, Pakistan have a W:L ratio of 2.2 in ODIs; the second best among the full nations.

Even in T20 Internationals during this period, they have the second best W:L ratio among the full nations.

Pakistan's batsmen have been in tremendous form in both white ball formats during this period, especially Babar Azam, the world's best batsman currently.

Babar is the second highest run scorer in ODIs in this period, and his average is miles ahead of the rest. He has also knocked 7 ODI centuries in this time, more than any other batsman. Imam is also among the top 10 run scorers in this period.

Babar has dominated in T20 Internationals too during this period, but it is his opening partner who takes the batting honors with the most T20I runs and by far the best average in this format.

Babar and Rizwan are also two of the three batsmen who have scored a T20I hundred in this period.

What has worked for Pakistan is that these batsmen have batted well in pairs. Its rarely a one man show and always a spectacle when you have Babar & Imam batting together in ODIs or Babar & Rizwan putting on a show in T20Is.

Look at Babar and Imam's partnership average in ODIs over the past 3 years!

And look at the number of century stands Babar and Rizwan have put on in T20 Internationals in this period!

Pakistan's rise in ODIs and T20Is could not have been better timed given the three upcoming white ball World Cups over the next three years.

The T20 World Cup gets underway in 3 months.

There is an ODI World Cup in 2023.

And another T20 World Cup in 2024.

Sure the Pakistan fans would like to see them win all three World Cups, but then lets be realistic; it is Pakistan we are talking about, not Australia!

But I tell you what. At least one of those trophies has Pakistan written on it.

If Pakistan does not win at least one of these World Cups, then all this white ball form, the team rankings, the batsmen rankings, the partnership runs, this unparalleled success will all mean for nothing.

This resurgence needs to be topped with an ICC Trophy (or two) in the next 2 years.

It is not beyond reach, and if any Pakistan can do it, it is Babar Azam's Pakistan!

Babar and Imam are Unstoppable

2022-04-04T14:00:00.002+04:00

After Pakistan's record chase in the second ODI against Australia, I was all praise for Babar Azam and Imam Ul Haq, who combined to create history for Pakistan and also achieved some individual accolades.

In the third ODI of the series, both Babar and Imam continued their march of top form. So naturally, I am going to continue their praise from where I left it the other day.

These two batsman have been operating at another level. The number of runs, their averages, their contributions to victories, their centuries, have all been at unprecedented levels.

Highest Batting Average in ODIs

Babar's and Imam's batting averages are among the highest 5 averages in the history of ODI cricket (among all batsmen with a minimum of 1,000 runs).

Babar now is ahead of Kohli by more than a whole run, while Imam has gone past ODI legends like Bevan, ABD, and Root.

If one considers batsmen with more than 2,000 ODI runs, then Babar sits at the top of the list of highest averages, with Imam at number 3.

Highest Batting Average in ODI Wins

Babar's and Imam's contributions in ODI wins are unprecedented. Both these batsmen raise their averages by at least 20 runs in ODI victories, as compared to their career averages.

Among all batsmen with at least 1,000 runs in ODI wins, Babar has the highest average in the history of ODIs, and Imam has the third highest ever.

This shows the importance of the runs these two score. They are the cornerstone of Pakistan's ODI batting line up and their contributions, more often than not, lead Pakistan to a win.

Highest Batting Average in ODIs and in ODI Wins as an Opener

Imam Ul Haq is one of the most consistent openers Pakistan has ever had in ODIs. In fact, one of the most consistent in the world.

He currently has the third best average among openers in ODIs.

He also has the third best average among openers in ODI wins.

Babar Azam as ODI Captain

When Babar was appointed ODI captain, a large section of the public, including former players and experts, felt that it was a mistake.

They felt that Pakistan's best batsman should not be burdened with the captaincy. They felt the added responsibility will hamper his batting. They felt he would not be able to cope with the pressure.

But nothing of that sort has happened.

Captaincy, in fact, has resulted in Babar elevating his game by a few notches.

This is evident from his ODI batting average as captain, which is currently 90.2 after 12 matches in charge.

Yes it is still early days and there is a long road ahead for Babar as ODI captain, but the way he has started this stint is an indication of what the future holds.

Babar has shone brightly as Pakistan's all format captain.

His ODI batting average and strike rate as captain are both significantly higher than his career's.

He recently played the test innings of his life to save a test for Pakistan.

His exploits as T20 captain are well documented.

Pakistan's two highest chases in T20Is, record chase in ODIs, and record save in Tests have all come under Babar's captaincy, and have all been possible due to Babar's batting!

Babar has taken the opportunity to lead Pakistan head on and he has enhanced his batting form significantly since taking charge.

He is the only batsman in the world at the moment who ranks among the Top 5 in all three formats of the game; and he ranks NUMBER ONE in both white ball formats.

There is no batsman like him.

Arguably, he is the best batsman ever produced by not only Pakistan, but the World!

Babar & Imam - Pakistan's Best!

2022-04-01T12:50:00.002+04:00

Pakistan registered their highest ever successful chase in ODIs last night. It was also the highest total ever chased in an ODI in Pakistan, the first time Pakistan chased a total of above 300 against Australia, the 6th highest chase against Australia, and the 10th highest chase ever in ODIs.

It was a record breaking spectacle at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore with two of Pakistan's best ODI batsmen at the forefront of this epic chase.

For too long now keyboard warriors in Pakistan, as well as, some renowned experts on TV and social media, have been labeling Babar Azam and Imam Ul Haq as selfish players. The kind who only care about personal glory rather than team victory.

These voices need to be laid to rest. These are the kind of people who are never satisfied with anything in life. There is no rational thought behind their statements, and absolutely zero critical thinking behind their judgments.

Despite Imam being at the center of this record chase, there were people complaining about how he did not finish the chase and blamed him for being selfish given he got out after scoring a century.

Seriously!? Were you even watching the chase?

For over 10 overs, Imam repeatedly attempted to hit a 6 or 4 off the first ball of the over. He did it successfully. He started taking these risks well before he got to his personal landmark. He did no different on the delivery on which he was caught at the boundary.

Imam played his part; the finishers had to play theirs. In the history of ODI cricket, have you ever seen an opener be there at the end in a chase of 350? Maybe you can count 2 instances out of a 1,000+ ODIs.

Imam, and Pakistan's captain Babar Azam, scripted Pakistan's win last night. These two are once in a generation type players and Pakistan needs to cherish them.

BABAR & IMAM - TWO BIG MATCH WINNERS

I just fail to understand how anyone can discount their match winning abilities.

Babar Azam has the highest batting average in ODIs among all batsmen in ODI wins. His average is a clear 13 runs per innings ahead of Virat Kohli's.

Imam is 6th on this list with a phenomenal average of 69.47.

Babar and Imam have contributed to wins with 11 and 6 centuries respectively; and 8 and 7 fifties respectively.

They are two of the biggest ODI match winners produced by Pakistan!

BABAR & IMAM - ODI SUPERSTARS

Both Babar and Imam are among the few batsmen in ODIs that average above 50 in the format. There are only 11 such batsmen, and these two Pakistanis are among this elite list.

Babar has the 4th highest average and Imam has the 7th highest average in the history of ODI cricket.

BABAR AZAM - KING OF ODIS

Babar is at another level altogether.

He is undoubtedly the best to ever play for Pakistan. Arguably the best ever in the world too. Among the current lot for sure; among all time players, we shall find out. He has a long way to go.

With his 15th ODI century yesterday, he got to the landmark faster than any other batsman in the world. And he reached 4,000 ODI runs faster than all other batsmen, barring Hashim Amla.

With 15 ODI centuries he now has the second most ODI centuries for Pakistan; level with Mohammad Yousuf and only behind Saeed Anwar. And he has not even played a 100 ODIs yet!

Look at that strike rate. Quite an eye opener who feel he plays too selfishly and slowly.

Imam Ul Haq is in the list too, just one behind his legendary uncle who is to blame for the unfair label given to him by critics.

Out of Babar's 15 ODI centuries, 11 have resulted in wins, placing him third on the list of Pakistani batsmen with most centuries in ODI wins.

Guess who else makes this list. Yep, Imam Ul Haq!

Selfish players?

Yesterday was Babar's only 11th ODI as captain of Pakistan, and he notched up a 4th ODI hundred as captain, which is the most by a Pakistan ODI captain ever.

Considering that this 27 year old is just in the initial part of his career. He has a long long way to go, and I am sure he will be breaking and creating a number of batting records as he goes along.

* * *

Babar and Imam are Pakistan's most consistent performers in ODIs. They have been for the past 5 years, which is why it shocks me no end that they keep receiving criticism from fans.

Failures of Pakistan's middle and lower orders have resulted in many a defeat for Pakistan in ODIs; yet the ones to cop the blame are the top three, who more often than not play their part perfectly.

Babar and Imam will continue to achieve new heights, and I am pretty sure their detractors will continue to find new ways to criticize them.

I really hope these critics can stay quiet now, especially after last night's victory, but I have my doubts.

Why do Pakistanis love to hate Imam Ul Haq?

2022-03-30T12:33:00.000+04:00

For the past couple of weeks, I have had several discussions over Whatsapp and Facebook on multiple groups regarding Imam Ul Haq.

All discussions have been the same. Majority of the fans do not like Imam's presence in Pakistan's XI, and I fail to understand why.

Despite his twin hundreds in the first test against Australia at Rawal Pindi, Imam was heavily criticized after twin failures in the second test. That continued after the first innings of the third test.

It is not difficult to understand why Imam Ul Haq opened for Pakistan in the three tests against Australia.

He last played test cricket for Pakistan in 2019. He was dropped from the test team due to indifferent form. While he kept piling on the runs in ODIs, his test performance was not good enough for him to retain a place in the team.

Then, during this season's Quaid-e-Azam trophy, Pakistan's premier First Class competition, Imam was the best performing opener.

He scored 531 runs in 7 innings at an average of 106.20 with the help of 2 centuries and 2 fifties and a best score of 202*.

That domestic performance influenced the selectors to include him in the test squad for the first time in three years for the series against Bangladesh in November 2021.

He didn't play a test in that series as Pakistan preferred to open with Abid Ali and Abdullah Shafique.

Imam got his chance against Australia in place of the unfit Abid Ali. There should have been no question about the inclusion of a batsman who has averaged above 100 during the domestic first class season. Absolutely none!

Imam went on to justify his inclusion also when he became only the 10th Pakistani batsman to score centuries in both innings of a test match.

Yet, when he failed in the second test, the ever so critical fans were out for blood once again!

Do you really have no patience for someone who just scored hundreds in the first test? Or someone who had a stellar domestic season?

Why are you so fickle?

What bewildered me even more was the flak Imam received from these critics after Pakistan's loss in the first ODI against Australia.

I just do not understand the logic behind blaming the only batsman who performed in the match.

Imam was the only batsman on Pakistan's side that played his part. Fakhar, Rizwan, Khushdil, Iftikhar, and even Babar, who failed to convert his start, failed.

Yet it was Imam who was called "Useless", "Why is he in the team", among other things.

On one end you have a batsman who scored 103 runs in 16 overs at a run rate of 6.44 in a match where the asking rate was 6.28. On the other end, you have 10 other batsmen who combined to score 122 runs in 29.2 overs at a run rate of 4.18.

And people do not understand why that batsman who scored 103 is in the team.

SHOCKING !!

I will never understand Pakistani fans I feel. Be passionate, we all are. Be critical too when the team loses. But don't blame the poor kid, the only kid, who gave his best.

What amuses me even more is that Imam has faced these critics throughout his career, despite performing consistently in ODI cricket.

Since making his debut in October 2017, Imam is among the leading run scorers in ODIs.

He is among the handful number of batsmen that average above 50 in the format, and no one from Pakistan has scored more ODI 100s in this period than Imam. Not even Babar!

When compared with other ODI openers during this period, Imam is right up there among the best!

He is 6th on the runs tally, has the 3rd best average, and the 3rd most number of centuries among ODI openers over the past 5 years.

What more can you ask for from a consistent opener?

He may have been drafted into the team in 2017 due to his famous and influential uncle, but he has surely remained a part of Pakistan's ODI set up due to consistent performances.

You cannot, just cannot, criticize or replace someone who has been one of Pakistan's (and the world's) best performer in ODIs

How can you?

Imam, along with Babar, is Pakistan's most reliable batsman in ODIs. I have no doubts that he will become just as reliable and consistent in test cricket also.

He is one the mainstays of the batting line up, and yet you guys want him out of the team?

Why do you all love to hate Imam Ul Haq?

For the first time in Pakistan's ODI cricket history, the team has an opening pair where both of them average above 40!

And one of them, averages over 50, but you want him out of the team!???

Wah re Pakistanio ...

Who is the GOAT of T20 cricket?

2022-03-28T16:18:00.001+04:00

The plethora of T20 leagues being played around the world, coupled with bilateral T20 internationals leading up to the T20 World Cup taking place every other year, have resulted in T20 cricket becoming the most popular format of the game.

T20 cricket has created a whole new lot of attacking batsmen and really smart bowlers that have elevated the game to another level.

Established international players have left their mark in T20 leagues around the world, and on the flip side T20 leagues have been feeders into the international stage with a long list of cricketers that have become household names due to their exploits in T20 leagues like the IPL, PSL, and the Big Bash.

With the 15th season of IPL kicking off recently, some legends of the game sat down to discuss who they think is greatest T20 player ever.

Take a look at the video where Betway asks Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bishop, Akash Chopra, Rassie van der Dussen, and Lungi Ngidi about the GOAT of T20 cricket.

In the video, these legends of the game discuss the most destructive batsmen, the most lethal death bowlers, the smartest mystery spinners, and the most agile fielders.

Who in your opinion fits the bill in the above mentioned categories? Do your choices match those of Pietersen and the rest?

Rest assured, KP, Chopra, Bishop, VD Dussen, and Ngidi have taken the same names that we all have on our minds.

With the IPL underway, you will definitely catch some of these T20 legends in action.

Betway's IPL betting odds have Mumbai Indians as the favorites to win the title. No surprise there given the franchise has won more IPL titles than any other team in the league's history.

But I tell you what - any one of the names, mentioned in the video above, can take the match away from any team single handedly on their day.

And if that day is the Final, then we can all expect a new IPL champion this season!

Pakistan's and Babar Azam's Monumental Effort in Karachi!

2022-03-16T18:01:00.004+04:00

Pakistan have just done the unthinkable!

No one thought that the test match could be saved. No team in the history of 5-day test cricket has batted 172 overs to save a test match!

That is over a 1,000 deliveries on days 4 and 5 of a test match on a deteriorating subcontinent pitch.

The sheer epicness of this is just mind boggling. Especially when one considers the way Pakistan batted in their first innings.

It was a monumental effort led from the front by their supreme leader, Babar Azam, with magnificent support from Mohammad Rizwan and Abdullah Shafique.

Babar created a number of records during his match saving epic innings of 196, which I will get to in a minute.

Before that, let this sink in.

I believe that facing 172 overs, the most any team has faced to save a test match in the history of 5-day test cricket, is the proudest moment in Pakistan's test history!

Coming back to Babar's history making 196.

This is what Babar achieved today:

1. The highest score by a Test Captain in the 4th innings of a test match.

2. The highest score by a Pakistan batsman in the 4th innings of a test match, and the 7th highest score in the 4th innings in the history of test cricket.

3. Babar faced 425 deliveries during his epic knock - the 4th most balls faced by a batsman in the 4th innings of a test. The highest is Micheal Atherton's 492. It is the first time any batsman has faced over 400 balls in the 4th innings since 1995!

4. Babar batted for 603 minutes (10 HOURS!) - the 2nd highest number of minutes spent at the crease in the 4th innings of a test match, behind only Atherton's 643 minutes.

Babar wasn't alone in this monumental knock. He was ably supported, first by Abdullah Shafique and then by Mohammad Rizwan.

Babar and Shafique put on 228 runs for the third wicket, which laid the platform for Pakistan's rearguard action.

This is what they achieved today:

1. Pakistan's 2nd highest partnership in the 4th innings of a test match.

2. The 8th highest partnership in the 4th innings of a test match.

3. They faced 520 deliveries, more than half of the 1,032 deliveries the entire team faced. This is the most number of deliveries ever faced by a pair in the 4th innings of a test match!

What Pakistan achieved today will go down in history as arguably the best effort ever to save a test match.

It will take a few days to sink in for all of us.

And we will surely remember it for a long time to come.

This Pakistan team under Babar Azam is truly special. They exceeded a lot of expectations during the T20 World Cup last year, and today they went above and beyond at a time when no one really thought it was possible.

Babar, the white ball batsman, is hands down the best batsman in the world. He has played memorable knocks in both ODIs and T20Is for us to remember him forever.

Despite that, Babar the captain and Babar the test batsman, were still criticized.

After this Karachi Test, Babar has shunned all those critics away too. He is growing in stature as a captain with every match, and after today's 196, Babar the Test Batsman has well and truly arrived!

In my view, the sheer magnitude of this epic 196 is greater than all those white ball innings combined.

It will not be long before we all see Babar at the top of the batting charts in Test cricket too.

And it will not be long before we all see Pakistan dominate across all formats of cricket!

Who can Challenge Mumbai and Chennai in IPL 2022?

2022-03-14T10:11:00.003+04:00

The IPL this year will be bigger and better than previous editions with the addition of two new franchises - The Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants.

But can any team really challenge the Mumbai Indians or the Chennai Super Kings?

In the 14 editions of the IPL, these two franchises have won the title a collective 9 times!

Mumbai is leading the race with 5 IPL wins, while Chennai are the reigning champions.

Will these two teams dominate the proceedings once again?

Both these champion teams have a great rivalry too, which will be reignited once again when the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League kicks off.

If you want a dig at an IPL prediction, you would definitely go with one of these two champion teams.

A team that can emerge as a strong contender in 2022, however, is Mumbai's traditional rivals the Delhi Capitals.

They beat Mumbai both times during the 2021 edition, and this year have a number of players among their ranks that can take away matches single handedly.

Starting with their captain Rishabh Pant to their foreign contingent of David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, and Tim Seifert.

The new franchise, Lucknow Super Giants, also look like a very strong team who can pose a threat to the Mumbai and Chennai.

Lucknow have installed KL Rahul as their captain. KL Rahul has been one of the leading run scorers in the last two editions of the IPL.

Even though it is Lucknow's first ever IPL this year, they are a strong outfit.

Players like Evin Lewis, Quinton de Kock, Jason Holder, Marcus Stoinis, and Krunal Pandya are T20 stalwarts and can take the game away from anyone on their day.

The other new franchise, Gujarat Titans, can also be a surprise package.

They surprised everyone when they announced Hardik Pandya as their captain. Hardik Panday has never led any side in any format ever before, and this IPL 2022 will be his first stint leading a team.

Pandya is one of the most confident cricketers around and he will surely instill the same in his team. I believe. they will be a force to reckon with in this IPL.

IPL is undoubtedly one of the most exciting T20 leagues around and we can anticipate some thrilling contests when it kicks off at the end of this month.