Pakistan cricket team would be crestfallen with their performance against Afghanistan. Aakash Chopra stated that Pakistan looked scratchy throughout the contest and lacked the intent & character in a crucial match. Aakash Chopra heaped praise on the opening pair of Rahmanullah Gurbaz & Ibrahim Zadran.
Afghanistan fans would be over the moon as this is the first time that they have won 2 matches in the ODI WC as in the 2015 edition, they had defeated the challenging Scotland cricket side. Afghanistan have shown that why they are a team to beat on any surface and on any ground.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz & Ibrahim Zadran had an opening partnership of more than 100 runs- Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra was seen speaking on his YouTube channel. Aakash Chopra was quite sure that Pakistan would defend the target in the 2nd innings and stated that the openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz & Ibrahim Zadran don’t have a promising track record while chasing the target. Aakash Chopra pointed out that Pakistan’s weakness came to the fore which is basically their bowling.
“I will be honest, when the second innings started, I thought Pakistan would win but Rahmanullah Gurbaz – subhanallah Gurbaz, and Ibrahim Zadran was there alongside him. He also batted well and they had an opening partnership of more than 100,” said Aakash Chopra.
“The three fours in an over from Haris Rauf through the off-side, four in total, were sumptuous. We spoke about Abdullah Shafique, and Ibrahim Zadran also plays like that. This kid is a classy player. When the openers got out, Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi, and the job was finished,” he stated.
“Pakistan’s weakness came to the fore, which is basically the bowling. With due respect, they are not bowling well. The English language has taught us that whichever sentence is started with ‘with due respect’, it means less respect is being given,” he added.
“Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran are two batters whose numbers are good in the first innings but they don’t score runs when they chase. We were assuming that Afghanistan had a greater chance of winning if they set a target on a turning and slowish pitch. We thought they would get stuck if they are asked to chase,” he concluded.