By Brian Thomas
At the National Stadium in Karachi, the venue looked a beauty after refurbishment for the great tournament. Security is tight because the host nation Pakistan has experienced sabotage in the past, which I don’t want to revisit, but now it is a brand new era for Pakistan hosting multi tournaments and bilateral series. We hope the public will bear with the organisers for the extra vigilant security. The one flag missing in the flag display roof located above the main Pavilion is that of India. India, for reasons best known only to them, will play this tournament in the UAE.
New Zealand, led by Mitchell Santner, has a better focus level after their loss to Sri Lanka 2 nil , in a bilateral series in Sri Lanka in which they tried too many from the bench but also their batters lacked the skill level to handle quality spin. The black caps reversed all that when they hosted Sri Lanka in their own backyard and beat them 2 ganes to one , however, Kiwis got thumped in the third game. In the tri series in Pakistan, that just concluded the black caps were dominant against the home team Pakistan. This indicates clearly that Pakistan, unless otherwise, addresses their batting issues known for its inconsistency and even the bowling cordon losing the advantage periodically .
These are issues that Mohamed Rizwan phycologicaly as Captain of the Host Nation is burning midnight oil with the seniors on how to minimise mistakes. Pakistan has plenty of experience and can surprise any team , but it depends on what team turns up on the day. Is it a Pakistan focused outfit or a Pakistan out of sort team. Mohaned Rizwan and Barbar Azzan have to click so that Fakhar Zaman, who is a see ball, hit ball type, can get about playing his game freely. Saud Shakeel , Salman Ali Aghar will bat around Babar Azam and Mohd Rizwan whilst the other batters will be expected to play a pivotal role in putting their hand up on very batter friendly pitches. Pakistan produces talented bowling units.
Harris Rauf , Naseem Shah, and Shahem Shah Afridi are world-class seamers, but will the seam department be given a fair opportunity in the flat tracks ? Pakistan has not produced a Shaqlin Mustaq, an Abdul Qadir , Saheed Ajmal, or classy all rounders in the likes of Shahid Afridi , Shohaib Mallik or players in the all round category in Mohamed Hafeez Is this area a missing link in the Pakistani outfit in recent times ? New Zealand, on the other hand, is well knit. Rachin Ravindra has recovered from his head injury. A big headache is who will partner him ?
Devon Conway or Will Young ? Skipper Mitchell Santner is vocal in stiching a good score in the power play overs. Middle order batters Michael Bracewell and Mark Chapman will have to support Black caps star batter Kane Williamson, whilst Darryl Mitchell is an important cog in the lower middle order. Can u imagine a limited over game without Tim Southee , and Trent Boult from a New Zealand outfit who are no strangers to Semi finals places in multi tournaments Tom Lathem is expected to do glove duties, but the leather will not have that vibrant glove work put into hard work by the above-mentioned legends. Hopefully, Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy, can emulate with the help of the par timers. A heavy burden lies for skipper Mitchell Santner to control the spin department. Seamers Matt Henry and Jacob Duffy will need Khyle Jamison to support them with his medium pace , seam up deliveries, and control the run flow .
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