ISLAMABAD: It could have been the most suitable thing for Pakistan cricket. A number one spot in the ICC ODI rankings could have given Pakistan an opportunity to demand respect and recognition from the cricket world. Pakistan could have decried the snub by India on not coming to their country for the Asia Cup. Had Pakistan boycotted the World Cup it would have taken the gloss off the mega event.
But it did not happen. Pakistan needed to sweep New Zealand 5-0 to remain at the top of the rankings. But it was not to be. Pakistan team can be execrated for complacency after being 4-1. It was evident in the fifth and final ODI. After the 47-run defeat, Pakistan have now been pushed back to third behind Australia and India. Their number one status, achieved after victory in the fourth match on May 5, lasted for just 48 hours — the shortest period on number one.
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam still put up a smiling face at the end of the series. “I think we are in a positive position for the World Cup,” said Babar. “I think any number of matches we play before the World Cup will be good. We played with different combinations and tried our bench strength to see where we stood. We now know which player is better on what spot, and we also experienced in and out with our fast bowlers.
“We wanted to go with a 5-0 win, but unfortunately, we couldn’t do that because we lost early wickets in the last match but having touched the number one spot in ODI rankings is pleasing and proved that we can achieve our goals.”
The positives from the series were that Pakistan checked its bench strength. The huge dependence on the top three in the batting department was once again evident as Pakistan won the first match by five and the second by seven wickets — both in Rawalpindi. It was Fakhar Zaman who stole the limelight with two hundred and adding his century against the same opponents in January this year made him the 12th batter to hit three hundreds in consecutive ODIs. With Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar has formed a formidable opening pair and followed by Babar makes one of the strongest top three in the world.
Babar Azam also established his world number-one status in the ICC ODI rankings for the batters. He dethroned Indian great Virat Kohli two years ago and since then, scored three consecutive hundreds ( two against Australia and one against the West Indies). He also knocked a hundred, two fifties and 49 against New Zealand but unfortunately could not make his 100th ODI memorable, failing with a score of just one.
Babar has also shown signs of improvement in captaincy. The New Zealand series was Pakistan’s sixth series win out of eight under Babar. He led Pakistan to the semi-final of 2021 T20 World Cup, final of the Asia Cup 2022 and again played the final of last year’s T20 World Cup.
That leaves us to wish Babar leads Pakistan to World Cup glory in 2023, that too in INDIA.
But the batting spots are still a bone of contention. Mohammad Rizwan stuck his neck out by proclaiming that he wanted to bat on the fourth spot, not five. But contrary to his wishes he proved a good finisher on five, helping Pakistan win the first two matches with 42 and 54 not outs. He could not achieve the desired results when he came at number four in the last two matches.
Pakistan struggled in the bowling department conceding big totals in T20Is and ODIs. Naseem Shah looked in fine fettle and was frugal in his economy. The rest looked like they were vitiating their venom due to excessive T20 cricket. It will be tough for Pakistan to keep bowlers fit and effective for ODIs. Haris Rauf was the highest wicket-taker in both the T20Is and ODIs and was impressed with his wicket-taking ability. Usama Mir has given a real tough competition to Shadab Khan. Usama took four wickets in the fourth match when Shadab sat out with a twisted ankle. It would be lovely to see him giving Shadab a run for his spot in the World Cup. Shaheen Shah Afridi has been on a comeback trail ever since his knee operation last year and looked out of sorts until he took a four-wicket haul in the T20Is. But he came back strongly, taking eight wickets in the four ODIs he played.
Shan Masood and Abdullah Shafique showed an inclination to come good and then suddenly lose their momentum. Shan managed just one in the first match he played before injuring his finger to lose his spot to Abdullah, who also failed miserably. On his return in the fourth match, Shan looked solid in scoring 44 but then scrapped through to seven in the final match. One of them may get a spot in Pakistan’s 15 for the World Cup.
Agha Salman hit two fifties and looked like cementing his place. He is a handy bowler and an excellent fielder, so his place is certain. Iftikhar Ahmed was not in the ODI squad at the outset but was later drafted following Haris Sohail’s injury. Iftikhar showed why he deserved a place in the World Cup with a whirlwind 94 not out in the final game. All he needs to learn is to finish the game, a trait that he missed in a T20I and ODIs.
New Zealand had embarked on the tour with very little hope. Eight of their top players, including the regular limited-over skipper Kane Williamson, earned huge money in the Indian Premier League, so they were not on national duty. It left the Black Caps hugely depleted. Tom Latham was asked to lead the side in anticipation to check their bench strength and get attuned to the conditions, similar to India, where they have to play the World Cup.
The ODI series started in the backdrop of a 2-2 stalemate in the Twenty20I series. There too, Pakistan let their opponents off the hook. The Black Caps wisely adjusted their techniques to the slow and low bounce pitches and pulled the third T20I to threaten a series win. Much to their chagrin, the fourth match was washed out due to a hailstorm in Rawalpindi, but they did not lose the grip and took the final match by a comprehensive margin of six wickets, chasing down a stiff 194-run target.
The series ended on a bitter note for Imam-ul-Haq as he took to Twitter to show his displeasure over being left out in the last two matches.
“Life is an unexpected journey so never expect anything from anyone”. Be patient, Allah is watching!,” was what Imam wrote on social media. But Babar was quick to play down the hype over it.
“I don’t know what he has tweeted but I can tell you that our unity is good and it’s like a family so the trust level is good. ”
The series win was Pakistan’s first over New Zealand since 2011. Before this series, the last six series saw NZ winning five with one drawn.
