Pakistan coach refuses to slam his skipper’s repeated poor shot selection in crunch moments.
By Soumitra Bose in ColomboWaqar Younis was at his diplomatic best at Saturday night’s media conference after Pakistan consigned Australia to their first defeat in 35 World Cup matches by four wickets. Waqar was facing the media after skipper Shahid Afridi ducked the post-match chat, probably aware that he would surely be asked questions about his “doom-doom” batting.
Waqar refused to flay his profligate skipper, who has repeatedly abused his batting position to play poor shots and get out at critical times. The four-wicket Pakistan win on Saturday may look convincing on paper but had Australia had another 30-40 runs in their kitty – the defending world champions made 176 – it could have been another story.
With Pakistan 139 for five in the 32nd over, Afridi walked in at No. 7 to partner a confident Umar Akmal. The Aussie quickies were on fire and the situation demanded a calm and calculated approach as Pakistan needed all of 38 runs to win. But then composure has never been Afridi’s trademark. The 31-year-old seldom looks to carry the wisdom of batting in 299 ODI innings. His fire and brimstone demeanor can certainly be counterproductive as it almost did on Saturday night.
In the fourth ball that Afridi faced, he lofted off-spinner Jason Krejza only to find Brett Lee at long-on. He scored just 2 runs, but Afridi’s exit certainly pressed the panic buttons in the Pakistan dressing room. Waqar, however, was not prepared to chastise his skipper.
“That’s the way he bats. If the ball had crossed the ropes, you would have said it was a brilliant stroke. Afridi is a striker of the ball and loves his strokes, but one can say the situation wasn’t right today. Probably he backed himself and didn’t get it right,” explained Waqar, almost certainly masquerading his genuine thoughts, with panache.
Afridi’s exit left the door ajar for Abdul Razzaq to leave his stamp as a quality all-rounder in a big game. Razzaq did this with great confidence and even on a wicket that had dual bounce, he timed the ball well. He closed the game with two back-to-back boundaries off Krejza, the first slapped through mid-wicket and the winning stroke smacked past extra-cover. Razzaq’s unbeaten 20 off 24 balls were decisive and if Pakistan sailed through, it was because of him.
Razzaq was certainly a contender for the Man of the Match award that finally went to Umar Akmal for his fluent and unbeaten 44 under pressure. On Saturday afternoon, Razzaq used the old ball well. He came in to bowl at No. 5 and broke at least one burgeoning partnership with some intelligent use of line and length. He bowled Michael Clarke for 34 and then caught the edge of Mitchell Johnson’s dangerous bat with a ball that cut off the seam.
This time, Waqar’s thoughts looked genuine. “His experience showed, especially when he bowled. Razzaq took two wickets and I thing those were important moments where the game changed in our favour,” the former speed-king and skipper said.
A win has a great impact on Pakistani cricket that has passed through a lot of lows in recent times. More importantly, a victory against Australia is always unique, especially when it comes almost after 12 years. The team savoured Saturday’s win into the wee hours of Sunday at the Hilton. Watching the India versus West Indies in Chennai is next on the team’s cards.
