Pakistan cricket appears to be riding a wave with the success of their Test and limited-overs teams in Sri Lanka. Barring the Twenty20 series which they won 2-0 on Saturday, they faced a stiff challenge in the Test and ODI series before winning 2-1 and 3-2 respectively.
Their Test team has been largely consistent with their displays at ‘home’ in the UAE and on the sub-continent pitches but it was their limited-overs teams’ performances that had been a cause for concern.
The 3-0 reverse suffered in the one-day series in Bangladesh two months ago had led to critics won- dering whether Pakistan will be able to get over the retirements of ODI regulars – former captain and middle-order batsman Misbah-ul Haq and all-rounder Shahid Afridi – after the World Cup in March.
However, Pakistan have not only managed to script a turnaround but importantly find the right men to take them forward.
The refreshing change and positive approach has been brought about by a clutch of all-rounders – veteran Shoaib Malik, Imaad Wasim and Anwar Ali – and lower-order batsman Mohammad Rizwan.
The opening combination of captain Azhar Ali and Ahmed Shehzad finally sports a settled look and Pakistan were assured of a good start whether they were chasing or setting up targets.
In four of the five ODIs in Sri Lanka, the Pakistan openers had four fifty-plus partnerships, which meant the middle-order was under no pressure and totals of 300 was always on the cards.
Experienced campaigners Mohammad Hafeez and Malik stepped up to give solidity to the middle order and the lower order comprising Rizwan, Wasim and Anwar Ali showed they can be relied upon in pressure situations.
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The bowling gained potency with the return of the tall pacer Mohammad Irfan and the spinners – left-armer Wasim and leggie Yasir Shah, in the form of his life – too performed creditably despite the bowling ban on Hafeez mid-way through the series.
A redeeming feature of their success in Sri Lanka was that their batsmen did not panic in tight situations but found a way to battle through it and script victories as evident on Saturday.
The game appeared heading Sri Lanka’s way with half the side in the hut but Twenty20 captain Afridi and Anwar Ali snatched victory with an amazing batting display.
The induction of new players has also taken care of another grey area: fielding. Instances of misfields and dropped catches were far and few in between in Sri Lanka.
They are still a work in progress but the ingredients are there to build a formidable outfit. Also don’t forget left-arm pacer Wahab Riaz missed the entire limited-overs leg in Sri Lanka with a hand injury and his return will strengthen their bowling further.
Their biggest challenge will be in the UAE in October when they run into England for a full series. They start favourites in the Tests as captain Misbah and Younis Khan continue to provide the batting steel but it is the one-dayers and Twenty20 games that will pose a tough examination.
There is not much difference in their one-day and Twenty20 teams with almost 10 players featuring in both the squads so a good display against Eoin Morgan’s side will put them in the right frame and raise their stocks in the upcoming World Twenty20 in India next March.
