ICC World Cup 2015: Pakistan's Pacers Turn it on!
This article first appeared on DAWN.
Pakistan
entered this World Cup having lost an entire bowling attack. Junaid Khan, Umar
Gul, Saeed Ajmal, and Mohammad Hafeez were all ruled out before Pakistan even
stepped on the field. A bowling attack that had relied on spin for the past 4
years looked entirely transformed as rookies in the form of Sohail Khan, Ehsan
Adil, and Rahat Ali joined the relatively experienced Mohammad Irfan and Wahab
Riaz in pace-heavy attack. Going into this World Cup, this lot of Pakistani
pacers was the most inexperienced pace attack among all test playing nations.
The first
two games of this World Cup further highlighted Pakistan's problems with the
inexperienced pacers as India and West Indies both posted totals in excess of
300. Within a week of the tournament, Pakistan found themselves in an all
familiar situation of having to win every game from thereon to qualify to the
next round.
The first of
their must-win games was against Zimbabwe. The batting, which still remains
sketchy, posted only 235 against a team that had scored over 270 in each of
their previous three matches. A top bowling effort was required to defend the
sub-par total, and Pakistan's pacers turn it on and how! 4 wickets apiece for
Irfan and Wahab and Pakistan romped to victory by 20 runs in a classic old
fashioned come-from-behind win scripted by Pakistan's fast bowlers.
Pakistan's
batsmen took the game away from a weak UAE side and Pakistan had 2 important
wins under its belt going into the all important game against South Africa.
Once again,
Pakistan's batsmen disappointed despite an aggressive start by Sarfraz Ahmed
and a typical Misbah innings. With only 222 on the board, South Africa were
given a DL revised target of 232 in 47 overs. For a team that had posted 400
plus totals in each of its previous two matches, 232 would have seemed like a
walk in the park. It should have been like a walk in the park for AB De Villiers
and his batting army.
It even
looked like a walk in the park as Hashim Amla and Faf Du Plessis dismissed
everything bowled at them to the boundary. At one stage, Amla was batting on 28
and all his runs had come in boundaries! 67-1 after 9 overs and once again it
looked like curtains for Pakistan. However, what followed was pure magic. In
the span of 38 deliveries, which went for 10 runs, Rahat Ali and Wahab Riaz
removed Faf Du Plessis, Amla, Rossouw, and Miller. Wahab's first 2 overs
yielded no runs and 2 wickets. And Pakistan was back! AB De Villiers put on a
lone fight as wickets continued to tumble around him.
Irfan, who
had given Pakistan a breakthrough with the second delivery of South Africa's
innings, Wahab Riaz, who has lifted his game up multiple levels, and Rahat Ali,
who is improving with every game, combined to take 3 South African scalps each.
While Sohail Khan, who had picked up a 5-fer in his first World Cup match
(against India), captured the prized wicket of AB De Villiers who threatened,
albeit briefly, to take the game away single handedly.
Once again,
not many expected Pakistan's bowlers to run through South Africa's mighty
batting line up the way they did. But for the second time in one week
Pakistan's pacers produced performances that Pakistani fans had become
accustomed to in the 90s era of Wasim and Waqar. In the excitement of the win,
not many realized that Pakistan bowled South African out in a mere matter of 33
overs! That included a batting line up of 5 centurions in this World Cup alone.
The most
inexperienced pace attack in this World Cup now stands as the pace attack with
the second most number of wickets in this World Cup.
* Does not
include today's England vs Bangladesh match
The average,
economy, and strike rate are also impressive, even though they are not right up
there with the likes of New Zealand, Australia, and India. The stark
improvement in performance of Pakistan's pacers can be seen by comparing their
collective figures from before the World Cup to their collective figures during
the World Cup.
From
conceding 300 plus totals twice in the first week of the tournament to
defending totals of under 240, twice in one week, is one grand achievement by
Irfan, Wahab, Sohail, and Rahat. One that Waqar Younis and Misbah must be proud
of. One that the fans must be over the moon about.
For
perspective, Pakistan's 235 against Zimbabwe and 231 (DL adjusted) against
South Africa are the two lowest totals that a team has defended in this World
Cup. The only other score below 300 that has been defended successfully in this
World Cup is Bangladesh's 267 against Afghanistan.
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