JOHANNESBURG: There were doubts over Pakistan’s One-day International form when the team departed for Australia in the final days of October, given that they failed badly in their last assignment in the format at that point; missing out on the semi-finals in the 2023 World Cup.

Fast-forward to Sunday, the side has won three ODI series in a row, beating Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa away from home.

Led by Mohammad Rizwan, who took the team’s charge days before the Australia tour started, Pakistan now look like a well-oiled machine; their composition featuring a blend of experienced players and fresh faces.

The unit announced itself as favourites to win next year’s ICC Champions Trophy at home, and so in style; completing a whitewash over the South Africans with a 36-run win in the third ODI on Sunday.

The match saw opener Saim Ayub hit a century and spinner Sufiyan Muqeem putting the game to bed later on. The contest also featured crucial half-centuries by Rizwan himself and his predecessor Babar Azam.

“… if you look at the last three series, Allah has granted us victories, I believe the youngsters played a key role in this,” Rizwan said in the post-match press conference. “We cannot say that only senior players performed; if you look at the Australia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa [series], both young and senior players are there, and the combination of the two has been effective.”

It was Saim’s second ton of the series and a continuation of his form that seemed to start complimenting his much talked-about natural talent when he scored a match-winning 82 against Australia. The stylish southpaw would go on to hit his maiden ODI century against Zimbabwe and a 98 not out in the second T20 against South Africa before winning the ODI series for Pakistan.

In the second ODI, another domestic cricket high-achiever in Kamran Ghulam hit a 32-ball 63 to take the visitors to a match-winning score. Meanwhile, white-ball vice-captain Salman Ali Agha stood out with impactful performances both with the bat and the ball.

“As far as new players are concerned, there is a lot of potential in Pakistan, and there are many performers,” said Rizwan.

“If you look at the domestic scene, many players have been performing for a long time, and everyone knows that domestic cricket in Pakistan is very tough.

“If our players perform well there, especially the youngsters, it gives us hope that they can perform well at the international level as well.”

Rizwan’s captaincy too received praise from critics and the wicket-keeper put light on his thoughts about making the best of talented youngsters.

“.. the real challenge is knowing where and how to use these players,” he observed. “Not every player suits every condition, and as a captain, you need to figure that out. If a youngster is performing, then you have to figure out the best way to use them.”

The series also saw pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi return to form in the truest sense, looking as lethal as he was known to be before an injury in 2022 affected his place as the Pakistan pace spearhead. The left-armer took seven wickets at an impressive average of 23.28.

Rizwan said himself and his fellow seasoned team-mates, despite having faced heavy criticism over the last couple of years, were not lacking in confidence.

“… if we talk about Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, or Naseem Shah, they have played a lot of cricket and know exactly when and how to perform,” he said. “As for me, I have been playing cricket for a long time; I’ve played with Shaheen, Babar, Naseem, and all other players, so there isn’t much to talk about regarding confidence.”

The captain noted he had a different equation with the youngsters.

“With the senior players, I discuss different things, but with juniors, I try to assess the situation and figure out when they can perform best, whether they are bowlers or batsmen,” said Rizwan.

While Pakistan have thrived in ODIs lately, their T20 form has nosedived. While admitting that the side needed to do better in the shortest format, Rizwan said the T20 results also pointed towards Pakistan’s focus on one-dayers, with their eye on the Champions Trophy.

“Right now, we are focusing more on ODIs because we are trying to experiment with different things in T20,” he said. “You may have seen that senior players are being rested in T20, and we are trying different combinations.

“But when you’re in an experimental mode, you focus on long-term goals, and some compromises may need to be made. As far as ODIs are concerned, our team is focused.” and we have decided to focus on what Allah demands from us.“

Scoreboard

PAKISTAN:

Saim Ayub c Klaasen b Bosch 101

Abdullah Shafique c Markram b Rabada 0

Babar Azam c Miller b Maphaka 52

Muhammad Rizwan c Rabada b Fortuin 53

Kamran Ghulam c Bavuma b Fortuin 0

Salman Ali Agha c van der Dussen b Rabada 48

Tayyab Tahir c&b Jansen 28

Shaheen Afridi c van der Dussen b Rabada 0

Naseem Shah not out 5

Mohammad Hasnain c Miller b Jansen 4

Sufiyan Muqeem not out 0

EXTRAS (B-1 LB-1 W-15) 17

TOTAL (for nine wickets, 47 overs) 309

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-1 (Abdullah), 2-115 (Babar), 3-208 (Saim), 4-209 (Kamran), 5-223 (Rizwan), 6-297 (Salman), 7-297 (Shaheen), 8-298 (Tayyab), 9-302 (Hasnain)

BOWLING: Rabada 10-0-56-3 (1w); Jansen 9-0-58-2 (3w); Maphaka 6-1-50-1 (5w); Bosch 9-0-69-1 (5w); Fortuin 10-0-56-2 (1w); Markram 3-0-17-0

SOUTH AFRICA

T. de Zorzi c&b Shaheen 26

T. Bavuma c Saim b Naseem 8

R. van der Dussen lbw Hasnain 35

A. Markram c Kamran b Sufiyan 19

H. Klaasen c Tayyab b Shaheen 81

D. Miller c Rizwan b Saim 3

M. Jansen c Saim b Sufiyan 26

C. Bosch not out 40

B. Fortuin c Abdullah b Naseem 8

K. Rabada lbw Sufiyan 14

K. Maphaka b Sufiyan 0

EXTRAS (4-LB, 1NB, 6-W) 11

TOTAL (all out, 42.0 overs) 271

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-25 (Bavuma), 2-44 (de Zorzi), 3-80 (Markram), 4-120 (van der Dussen), 5-123 (Miller), 6-194 (Klaasen), 7-212 (Jansen), 8-250 (Fortuin), 9-271 (Rabada), 10-271 (Maphaka)

BOWLING: Shaheen 7-1-70-2 (3w); Naseem 9-0-63-2 (1w); Hasnain 7-1-41-1 (1w); Saim 10-1-34-1 (1w); Sufiyan 8-1-52-4 (1nb); Salman 1-0-7-0

RESULT: Pakistan win by 36 runs (DLS Method)

Published in Dawn, December 24th, 2024