Pakistan crashed to a shocking 5-wicket defeat under the DLS method where rain interrupted proceedings three times when they were batting. West Indies played as a unit and deserved the win in the end while Pakistan never got going especially with the bat in hand. There were starts and failures for them and there were reasons for their loss. We will list out three reasons why they lost out to West Indies.
Babar Azam’s form a concern for Pakistan
Babar Azam’s form is a concern for Pakistan. He has been without a hundred for 411 innings and despite looking decent in the first game scoring 47, a big score has eluded him. In the second ODI he could manage a duck and got out third ball. Babar is the key batter for Pakistan and the Men in Green are overdependent on him a lot. It’s important he gets runs and converts them into big scores. When he fails, the batting tends to go awry.
Add to Babar’s failure was Rizwan as well failing to get going and it was double the problem for Pakistan as he got out for 16. Saim Ayub got a start but failed to get going. This was the whole story for Pakistan yesterday. Getting starts and not going through. But with Babar failing and Rizwan as well as these two are the pillars of the batting, it meant that Pakistan were up against it big time.
Babar needs to get back into form in ODIs soon as this was the format he used to excel. But his century drought has increased manifold and he will want to prove a point in the last ODI. The batting as a whole flattered to deceive but all will be solved if Babar gets back amongst the runs and Rizwan as well as both these batters are the backbone of batting in ODI cricket.
Dropped catch of Sherfane Rutherford costs Pakistan dear
Pakistan had gotten early wickets while trying to defend this score. Sherfane Rutherford is a key player for West Indies in the middle order and he needs to be dismissed before he gets set. Pakistan had that opportunity in the 16th over. Salman Ali Agha was the bowler and Rutherford looked to defend and got an inside edge onto his front pad before going to Rizwan who put it down. Rutherford was batting on 4.
Rutherford made Pakistan pay as he took on Afridi in the next over and he was then on a roll. He then hit Salman for 20 runs in the over after taking Afridi for 17. Abrar also dropped Rutherford when he was batting on 42. Rutherford soon fell for 45 but that dropped chance by Rizwan proved costly. Not only did it cost 41 more runs, but it allowed a partnership to build for West Indies which went a long way in winning the game in the end.
Catches win matches as is always the cliche in cricket and Pakistan were guilty in dropping catches especially of Rutherford. One cannot give a dangerous player so many lives and it proved very costly in the end. Pakistan going forward to the decider needs to iron out their fielding flaws and come back stronger in the next game. They can and have the team to bounce back.
Shaheen Afridi’s Wicketless Day and 5th bowler going for plenty handicaps Pakistan
With the ball, Pakistan were decent as Hasan Ali playing this game got wickets and so did Mohammad Nawaz and Abrar Ahmed as they did a fine job but one name who did not get a single wicket was Shaheen Afridi. Afridi picked up 4 wickets in the first game and went a long way in Pakistan doing well there. But in this game, he was wicketless. Shaheen is a strike bowler for Pakistan and the Men in Green expects wickets from him. When he goes wicketless, it creates a bit of problem for the captain and others concerned.
Add to that, the 5th bowling quota went for plenty of runs. Saim Ayub went for 33 runs in 4 overs while Salman Ali Agha went for 33 runs in 3 overs. The combined bowling figures read 66 runs in 7 overs for the 5th bowler quota. This meant that West Indies could have it easy against the main bowlers. Afridi went for 35 in 6 overs. They could play out the others and attack Salman and Ayub and the plan worked for West Indies.
Pakistan needs to iron out these issues soon as it is quick turnaround for the decisive game on Tuesday. Plus, they need to play the right team as Naseem Shah and Sufiyan Muqeem were left in the bench for this game. Pakistan have the team and it is about the right personnel clicking at the right time will be so important for them going forward.
What Lies Ahead
So, West Indies have levelled the series 1-1 with a game to spare. The decider will be held at the same venue on Tuesday 12th August at 7PM IST. Both teams are evenly-matched and it is tough to call a winner at the start of the day.
Will West Indies go through with momentum in hand and win the series? Or will Pakistan bounce back and win the series themselves? Both teams will be desperate for a series win as they have not won anything for a while. Let’s see how the deciding third game unfolds in Tarouba.
Also Read: WI VS PAK: Hasan Nawaz’s Match Winning Knock Stuns West Indies