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Follow UsToo slow at the start?
Let’s go in chronological order because Pakistan have done a lot of things wrong in the 2023 World Cup. They have made numerous mistakes, and the problem starts at the top, with Imam-ul-Haq and Abdullah Shafique not being aggressive enough in the powerplay.
Pakistan have the fourth-worst scoring rate (5.1) and second-worst boundary percentage (58.04%) in the first 10 overs. Despite not losing enough wickets, Pakistan haven’t really put enough pressure on the opposition’s bowling attack early in the innings.
South Africa have operated at a lesser scoring rate (4.9), but they have a fearsome middle order that has been dismantling bowling attacks for fun, something Pakistan can’t brag about.
Amongst openers who have faced at least 100 deliveries in the powerplay, Imam (7.8) and Shafique (7.7) have the worst balls/boundary ratio. Not once have Pakistan touched the 60-run mark in the powerplay in this event. The two haven’t set the stage on fire, but they are still not Pakistan’s biggest worry.
Babar not firing has hurt them
Many predicted the Pakistan skipper to be one of the leading run-scorers in the competition, but all he has managed so far is 157 runs at a mediocre average of 31.40 and a strike rate of 79.69. The top-ranked ODI batter has two fifties in five innings but hasn’t really been able to stamp his authority in the tournament.
As expected, Babar Azam has struggled big time against spin. The right-hander has operated at an average of 38 and a strike rate of 118.75 against pace, but those numbers fall to 27 and 60.9, respectively, against spin.
Babar has got out to spin three times in this World Cup, and the opponents have had little trouble planning against him. If you want to know how dismal those numbers are, Babar has the second-worst strike rate and worst balls/boundary (33.3) against spin in this World Cup - a minimum of 100 balls faced.
Even in the last game against Afghanistan, Babar scored 74 off 92 but had a strike rate of just 72.29 against spin. His not doing well has put a lot of pressure on Mohammad Rizwan, who has been Pakistan’s best batter in the tournament.
For Pakistan to have any chance of qualifying for the semis, Babar will have to return back to his absolute best in the remaining games.
Afridi not taking wickets with the new ball
Despite Babar’s mediocre form, Pakistan haven’t done too badly in the batting department. It’s actually their bowling that’s costing them games. The likes of Sri Lanka, England and Bangladesh are the only teams with worse bowling numbers than Pakistan.
When Naseem Shah was ruled out of the World Cup, everyone knew there would be a bit of extra pressure on Shaheen Shah Afridi. The left-arm seamer has claimed 10 wickets @ 25.10 and an economy of 5.97 but hasn’t really done his job with the new ball.
Shaheen has terrible numbers in the powerplay, having taken just one wicket at an average of 112 and an economy of 5.6. As a result, Pakistan have the worst average (81.5) and second-worst economy (6.5) in the first 10 overs. The next worst average is Bangladesh - 63.8.
What’s worse is that the batters are no longer afraid of his new-ball bowling and have gone after him early in the innings. Pakistan’s spinners were always going to struggle in the World Cup, and Afridi not doing well with the new ball has made their lives even more difficult.
Rauf being shown no respect
Haris Rauf has been treated with utmost disrespect in the last four games. The tearaway quick started his campaign with figures of 3/43 against the Netherlands but since then, has only managed five wickets in four innings at an average of 48.6 and an economy of 7.6.
That’s not it; in three games that Pakistan have lost, Rauf has bowled four overs in the powerplay and leaked runs at an economy of 13.8. Amongst bowlers who have bowled at least 40 overs in the tournament, Rauf has the second-worst economy (6.97).
No other bowler has conceded more sixes (11) than him in the event. The second-worst is Hasan Ali (9), and that tells you how poor Pakistan’s seamers have been. Rauf has tried to bounce out every batter, but the likes of Rohit Sharma, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Kusal Mendis have made him pay.
Toothless spin attack
Pakistan spinners were always going to have a hard time at the World Cup, and this is exactly what’s happening. Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir and Iftikhar Ahmed have picked up just six wickets between them and have operated at an average of 101 and a strike rate of 96.5.
Not a single Pakistan spinner has an average of less than 90 in this competition. All four of them are amongst the worst spinners in this event. These numbers should be enough to tell you about the inferior quality of the Pakistan spin unit.
Therefore, in four out of five innings, the Men in Green have conceded 280-plus totals. In the remaining encounter, India chased down a target of 192 with almost 20 overs remaining.
Fielding and tactical blunders
Do we really need to tell you how bad Pakistan have been in the fielding department? They have dropped seven catches and conceded around 30 runs extra through their misfielding. They have a catching efficiency of 77.4% - one of the worst in this tournament.
The captaincy also hasn’t been up to the mark. For someone with the best economy (5.1) in the side, Iftikhar has surely been underbowled (20 overs in five games). In the match against Australia, there was a nine-over period in which Iftikhar and Nawaz gave away only 33 runs, but Babar didn’t complete their full quota of overs. The fast bowlers were brought back, and Australia ended up amassing 367.
Defending 282 against Afghanistan, Hasan Ali had just dismissed Ibrahim Zadran, and Pakistan still had around 100 runs to play with. Still, instead of bringing back Afridi or Rauf, Babar started bowling spin and that made things easier for Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi. There was a hint of reverse swing on offer, but Babar was more worried about finishing some overs of his spinners.
To put it bluntly, Babar’s captaincy has been very defensive.
