him to open the innings wasn’t a great idea. Younis has been struggling with the conditions Down Under and should have batted a bit down the order. He has opened a few times in the past without much success.
Umar, too, was bound to drop catches and he did offer a reprieve to Virat Kohli. The Indian star went on to hit a match-winning ton.
Pakistan’s decision to play Yasir Shah also backfired. It was an unwise move considering that the Indians tackle spin well. Kohli and Suresh Raina had a ball facing Yasir on a run-filled Adelaide wicket and made full use of the shorter boundaries. Pakistan should have played one more pacer.
Just like Waqar and Moin, Mushtaq was also a failure considering that the Indians took the match away from Pakistan by milking their two main spinners – Yasir and Shahid Afridi. The spin duo bowled eight overs apiece and gave away 60 and 50 runs respectively without taking a single wicket. That’s a 110 runs from 16 mostly middle overs. In comparison the Indian duo of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja bowled 18 overs and picked a wicket each after giving away a total of 97 runs.
Both Waqar and Moin are shrewd, modern-day cricketers which is why such faulty decision-making that has been coming out of the Pakistani dressing room is bound to raise eyebrows.
Pakistan need to rebound, fast.
Their next game is against a largely depleted West Indian side in Christchurch next Saturday. Pakistan cannot afford to misfire against the Caribbean outfit because another loss in a pool game will make their job of reaching the quarters unnecessarily tricky. Then there is the issue of where we finish in our group. A third or fourth place in the pool is likely to place Pakistan against either of the two co-hosts Australia and New Zealand in the quarters. That would be tantamount to an early flight back home which is why Pakistan should keep pushing for a top-two finish in their group which will most likely pit them against either England or Sri Lanka.
But to get there, Pakistan will have to get over their Adelaide heartbreak and focus on the task ahead. They have to find answers to their batting woes especially at the top of the order. Their bowling, too, was largely unimpressive and needs to find sharper teeth. The onus is now on Misbah and his men. They can sink or they swim. Their World Cup has started on the wrong foot but there is still a long way to go.