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It was a thoroughly professional performance from Australia in the opening one-day international (ODI) against Pakistan as they thrashed the hosts by 88 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Classic Pakistani way of losing
Pakistan played in their signature way where there was batting collapse, resilience, wayward in bowling, poor fielding, and everything which is associated with Pakistan cricket.
With the exception of Haris Rauf and Zahid Mahmood, all Pakistani bowlers struggled — much of which was owed to their needlessly shorter length. On the occasions that the Aussie batters did get beat, the fielders showed their generosity.
Still, 314 was an achievable target but then Pakistani batting unit fell into the trap. Except Babar Azam and Imam-ul-Haq, no other batter stuck around for much longer. The middle-order batter collapses as usual.
Babar’s ‘match-finishing’ ability
In Babar Azam, Pakistan arguably has the most reliable batter in world cricket. He is currently the number one batter in ICC ODI Ranking.
Babar seems well-set even from the start and he is a vital product but unless he finishes the game he would not be called a good finisher. The ability to finish matches has to be there as it is the first sign of being a great player.
Middle-order collapse
Pakistan’s middle-order has been badly exposed in the past few onde-day internationals. In first ODI against Australia, many poor performances went unnoticed because of the batting from Imam and Babar.
There are some reasons behind this crisis. If we look at the appearances of the players in the match, not a single player has given proper time to perform. The management should keep in mind that middle order is not the experimental zone. If you want to win the match avoid experiments.
Plan well-executed by Australia
Credit must also go to Australia. This is not the most powerful Aussie unit the world has seen but when push came to shove, they took care of business.
Every time Pakistan threatened to make a comeback, they were swiftly pegged back. Their two front-line spinners bowled with a plan, laid the trap and saw Pakistani batters take the bait.