Alexander the Great is one of the few great conquerors of human history. After winning the battle, Alexander the Great use to walk around the army wearing a plain military uniform that evening. He used to sit outside military tents as an ordinary soldier and took stock of the situation. It used to take him two or three hours to figure out the real situation of all his soldiers fighting under his banner.
Then Alexander used to give a speech to his soldiers to boost their strength and morale. After congratulating his army over the victory, Alexander used to say that though we are the winner, we will not celebrate the victory yet, we will analyze the war, what went wrong, what went well and what could have been improved. From tomorrow, of course, there will be celebrations for two or three days, people eat, drink, have fun, take off fatigue until the next fight.
That night, Alexander used to have a detailed meeting with his military advisers and officers, reviewing every single moment of the battle and analyzing mistakes and shortcomings. The advantage of this exercise was Alexander’s every war would be fought better than before. Because of his ruthless calculations, the young warrior was called Alexander the Great in history. That’s what life is all about, learning from your mistakes and improving your strengths.
The cricket season is on nowadays, the Pakistani nation is dedicated to two great victories in the first two matches. It rarely happens that the Pakistani team gives us such happiness. Usually, our team loses at the start of the tournament and then suddenly bounces back when on the edge of an exit. The bigger our victories, the pattern remained the same. This time, however, we had two extraordinary victories in the first two matches.
Defeating India was the heartfelt desire of all of us and after New Zealand’s embarrassing behaviour, beating them became a kind of moral obligation.
These are happy days for cricket fans. The management and players of the national team will definitely be glad as they deserve it. However, the tournament is also a time of analysis and reckoning.
Famous Australian cricketer Steve Waugh, once after winning the World Cup final was asked how he was feeling. Steven Waugh quietly replied, “We made three mistakes in today’s match that could have been avoided. I’m thinking of them, maybe not in the future. ” To become a champion, you have to adopt such an attitude. Many of our things went very well in these two World Cup matches. In the match against arch-rivals India, it seems that everything went according to plan. In the New Zealand match, however, some things went terribly wrong. Although Pakistan did not lose much and the team won the match, but we were on the tenterhooks as it happened.
There are two or three factors that need to be considered. Hassan Ali has emerged as the weakest link in our bowling line-up at the moment. He has done well in the recent past, but unfortunately, he had been out of form for some time before the World Cup and did not stay in good form even in the domestic T20 tournament. He was the most expensive bowler in the first match and against New Zealand. He managed to run out Williamson, or else his bowling figures would have been worse. The most disturbing thing is the “No ball” problem. Bowling nine balls in a T20 match is a crime. The team management must be working on Hassan Ali to regain rhythm. After Afghanistan, there are relatively two weaker opponents, Scotland and Namibia, which Pakistan has to face. Hassan Ali needs to be trusted instead of being sent out.
Harris Rauf has bowled exceptionally well. He is bowling very fast with a lot of effort and is having the time of his career. It is not easy to run several balls in an over at a speed of 148 km per hour. It has been feard Rauf may become unfit before the important matches. That issue needs to be addressed.
Shaheen Shah is in good form. He also bowls well with the new ball and is playing his role beautifully in death overs as well. Shah is getting furious while throwing. He conceded four runs by an overthrow against India and was seen doing the same against the Kiwis. This needs to be addressed and the management should calm him down.
Pakistani spinners bowled well in both matches. Babar Azam made good use of Imad Wasim against New Zealand. He should complete his four overs in the beginning, as Wasim is economical and helps in blocking the runs. Shadab Khan received three fours in an over, but a few could have been stopped. Overall, Shadab bowled well.
Mohammad Hafeez has a good record bowling against left-handed batters. Hafeez can also prove to be a match-winning bowler in the next matches. However, he looked upset against New Zealand’s spin bowling. This is a matter of concern. Sodhi is a good sniper, but he could have been tackled easily. Rizwan and Fakhar both lost wickets in the same way against Sodhi. Babar also lost his wicket by playing a cross-batted shot against Tim Southee. The ball could have been played with a straight bat on such a pitch, Babar may have made a mistake in speeding up the run rate. As the team relies heavily on Babar, he will have to play very responsibly. Fakhar’s inning was disappointing.
The next match will be a tough competition with Afghan spinners. It is not easy to play Mujeeb-ur-Rehman and Rashid Khan. Muhammad Nabi is also a good sniper. Saqlain Mushtaq and Mathew Hayden will have to work on Pakistani batters. Babar, Rizwan and Fakhar should all deal well with the leg spinners. Asif Ali has his own technical weaknesses, but the performance of the last match must have boosted his confidence.
It was a pleasant moment to see Mohammad Hafeez play in a positive and aggressive manner, hit a six on the first ball as soon as he arrived at the crease, then play a couple of good shots. The ball he got out on was an extraordinary catch, otherwise, Hafeez had put a boundary on his side. It is very important for Hafeez to regain his form. In order to win the World Cup, it is necessary that our middle order also plays its part with the opening batters, otherwise, the match will be lost if the target is bigger and the team gets stuck. The toss can be lost in the next matches and in this case, then the spinners will have to bowl in the dew factor. Bowling with a wet ball will also be a test for Harris Rauf. We have to be fully prepared for this.
At the moment, it seems that the teams of Australia and England will reach the semi-finals from the second group, while Pakistan will reach the eliminator round. The winner of the match between New Zealand India is likely to come forward. Afghanistan cannot be taken lightly, nor can Sri Lanka. This time it is a good opportunity for Pakistan to play in the semi-finals and then the finals. God willing, if everything goes according to plan, the World Cup final can also be won.
