Pakistan must ‘contain’ Abhishek to overcome India: Tauseef

KARACHI: Former Pakistan Test cricketer Tauseef Ahmed has advised the green shirts to devise an effective strategy against the destructive Indian opener Abhishek Sharma if they want to win the final in Dubai on Sunday.

Ahead of the final, India look the clear favourites, given their solid form and the way they outclassed the Men in Green in the group stage and Super Four matches.

While talking to The News on Saturday, Tauseef said that Pakistan have the mettle to overcome India in the all-important contest. “The key will be how early they are able to dismiss the in-form Indian opener Abhishek Sharma, who possesses a staggering strike rate of 197.65,” he said.

“As an aggressive batsman capable of dominating power plays and accelerating the scoring, Abhishek becomes extremely dangerous if allowed to settle. The way he hammered the Pakistani bowlers during his 39-ball 74 in the Super Four match was unreal. Our bowlers were clueless in stopping him,” Tauseef said.

However, apart from Abhishek, the other Indian batters in the form of captain Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill haven’t been in the runs. “The other Indian batters haven’t looked threatening. Hence, if we are able to dismiss Abhishek early, then the Indian batting line can get under pressure.”

The former off-spinner was of the view that the team management must come up with an out-of-the-box plan to tackle the Indian batting line-up.

“The first six overs will be the make-or-break. In order to bring India under pressure, we must send Abhishek early into the hut,” he added.

In the ongoing continental event, Pakistan’s batting line has been brutally exposed. Having dropped Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, the new batting line has miserably failed in all six matches so far. Saim Ayub has four ducks with 23 runs in six innings, while Salman Ali Agha, Fakhar Zaman, and Mohammad Haris haven’t been consistent. “Whether it’s the shot selection, footwork, reading the surface, or game awareness, our batters have failed on all fronts. In fact, Shaheen Afridi has been our stand-out batter.”

Meanwhile, the Men in Green’s opening pair of Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan have failed to post a partnership of 50 in all six innings.

“Our openers have failed to take advantage of the power play. They are neither able to rotate the strike consistently nor are they able to smash boundaries regularly. At least with the rotation of strike, we should try to save wickets and provide liberty to the lower-order batters to score quick runs,” he stressed.

The green shirts’ biggest disappointment has been Saim, who has looked clueless with the bat, whether it’s the approach or the shot selection. “First of all, Saim should try to stay on the wicket, read the pitch, and just rotate the strike. Once he gets set, then he can play his natural game,” Tauseef said.