The picture looks bleak for Pakistan after how they were decimated by West Indies in what was expected to be an evenly-matched contest between two sides having similar characteristics.
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Pakistan have now lost both of their clashes so far and it surely cannot get any worse? In my preview, I had stressed that whichever team committed less mistakes would come out on top and that is exactly what happened.
Pakistan never had the self-belief from the start as after winning the toss, they opted to bowl. The only reason for the call was that the management did not have the self-belief that they could post a match-winning total of around 300.
Their plan was to bowl out West Indies cheaply and chase it down but exactly the opposite happened.
The pacers – Mohammad Irfan and Sohail Khan – started well by troubling the West Indian openers, however Nasir Jamshed’s drop of Dwayne Smith set the tone for whole match and the negativity in Pakistan’s mindset increased further.
It was a case of wickets and catches going down at regular intervals. Once again the regular culprit was Umar Akmal behind the stumps while surprisingly Shahid Afridi also dropped a couple.
Between the Men in Green and Men in Red, it was the latter who made the most of their opportunities and their middle-order had set the platform for the lower-order to come in and launch an assault towards the end.
At most, two or three batsmen form a nucleus of an innings but in West Indies’ case Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Dines Ramdin, Lendl Simmons and Darren Sammy all chipped in with important knocks to keep their team on course to score over 250.
While they were going around their business quietly, Pakistan bowled 15 extra deliveries – 14 wides and one no-ball – which came to haunt them at the end when they conceded 65 runs in the last five overs.
Russell’s onslaught of 42 off 13 balls studded with four sixes and three boundaries blew away Pakistan as West Indies posted a handsome total of 310 for six in their 50 overs. Pakistan’s bowlers, and Misbah, stood exposed and helpless in front of Russell and they ran out of ideas. They were waiting for things to happen rather than making a difference with pro-active approach.
Andre Russell has scored 157 runs in 78 balls with 11 sixes, and been dismissed only once with a SR of 201 in his last 4 inns. #Finisher
— Arjun Ashok (@arj_90) February 21, 2015
The late onslaught really brought Pakistan to their knees and psychologically they lost the match before their own batting had begun.
If the jolt with Russell’s blitz was not enough, the legend Curtly Ambrose delivered a ferocious and loud ‘pep-talk’ to charge up his players. That sent a strong signal to Pakistan’s dressing room that the Pirates of the Caribbean were coming to plunder Pakistan’s weaknesses.
Ramdin & Simmons forming an important partnership for @westindies & this fan is calling for support! #cwc15 #PAKvWI https://t.co/pU6ekDf7qV
— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) February 21, 2015
Nasir, who had set a bad example during Pakistan’s fielding, once again let down his team, playing a pull-shot without any authority and got out in a silly manner. Shortly afterwards, Pakistan were four down for one – a new record in World Cup history as the worst start by any team.
I was strictly against the selection of Nasir because he was out of form, short on confidence and had done nothing important to be considered an automatic choice for the 15-man squad.
But it is really depressing that he was called as cover for Mohammad Hafeez as the touring selection committee won its battle against the selection committee – they are in charge once a team is on tour.
Meanwhile, the mental block was so severe that our batsmen’s feet appeared stuck in concrete and even a senior pro like Younis Khan got out; Younis expected a short ball but was fooled with the fuller delivery.
It was followed by poor shot-selection from Haris Sohail and Ahmed Shahzad and from there on it was just a formality of when Pakistan would be all out.
I believe Misbah should have shown the courage of coming up the order when his team was struggling but he did not do so like other brave leaders do.
There was some hope when Sohaib Maqsood and Umar Akmal scored fifties to keep the scoreboard ticking but once Sohaib departed, there was no one really who could hang around.
Such a heavyweight coaching panel is associated with the team but their input is not reflected in the team’s play and currently the whole system have come down.
For me it was the fielding that led to Pakistan losing the match; before we blame our bowlers and batsmen, we need to get under the skin of those who fielded poorly and made Pakistan look amateurish.
If India wounded us badly with the initial win, West Indies have rubbed salt onto those wounds and it would take great character and courage from Pakistan to make a comeback and qualify for the quarter-finals from here.
