File photo from Pakistan vs Latest Zealand Champions Trophy game.© AFP
Former cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar believes Pakistan’s next matches will shed more light on whether the “intent” of the defending champions is a difficulty or an “inherent ability.” Pakistan left the fans agitated with their lack of intent and laggard approach while pursuing a frightening 321-run goal against Latest Zealand within the Champions Trophy opener in Karachi. On a dry strip stuffed with cracks, a 321-run goal seemed to be chasable if Pakistan batters stuck to a run-a-ball approach. Nonetheless, Pakistan batters’ unrushed approach slowly took them out of the race.
Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan decided to take a defensive route when twiddling with aggression was the necessity of the hour. Pakistan’s premier batter, Babar Azam, surprisingly adopted a cautious approach as Pakistan slowly crawled to 69/3 in 20.5 overs.
When Pakistan’s situation became dire, the onus of briskly piling up runs fell on Babar. The previous skipper opened his arms, holed it to Kane Williamson off Mitchell Santer and returned with 64 runs from 90 deliveries.
Manjrekar checked out Babar and Pakistan’s performance from a broader perspective. He feels the following couple of matches will resolve whether the difficulty lies in intent or Pakistan’s inherent ability.
“Babar Azam clearly showed poor intent in the primary game. But in the following couple of matches we’ll know if intent is a difficulty with Pakistan or inherent ability. If it’s ability then that cannot be easily resolved,” Manjrekar wrote on X.
With the vast majority of Pakistan batters resorting to an overprotective approach, vice-captain Salman Ali Agha and all-rounder Khushdil Shah were more proactive on the pitch.
Salman entertained the group along with his swift 42 from 28 deliveries, while Khushdil went all guns blazing en path to 69(49). Their valiant efforts weren’t enough to take Pakistan past the ending line, with the defending champions succumbing to a 60-run defeat.
Pakistan will now head to Dubai for the blockbuster clash against India on Sunday, a clash which holds the facility to define their title defence.
(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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