Pakistan defeated Canada by seven wickets on Tuesday to record their first win in the T20 World Cup 2024. Here are four key takeaways from the match.
The woes of power play
When Pakistan started chasing runs against Canada, they needed to score 107 at 5.35 per over. By the end of the powerplay, that rate had skyrocketed to 5.65.
They say fortune favours the bold. Pakistan have not been brave in this T20 World Cup. It has been a long time since they have shown any courage with the bat. They did play some bold shots against Ireland, but by and large their batting has remained conservative.
But Pakistan got lucky again on Tuesday. The coin tumbled to Babar Azam on the second bounce and the match was to be played on a fresh wicket with variable bounce and over-support for fast bowlers. Under overcast skies, Babar, true to cricketing logic, elected to bowl.
It was a great decision, not just because of the conditions offered but also because it would give Pakistan an opportunity to see how they need to tweak the pace of their run chases to improve their net run rate.
It will be either the US or Pakistan that will join India in advancing to the Super Eight from Group A. With losses to the US and India, first round elimination is almost certain for Pakistan. Pakistan will need other results to work in their favour, which is out of their hands. But a sure win and the margin of victory thereafter will be completely under Pakistan’s control.
Pakistan started with out-of-form Saim Ayub in their opening line-up for this tournament. Ayub was promoted as an opener earlier this year as the team looked to get rid of risk aversion and add some glamour to the top of the batting order. This plan didn’t materialise as Ayub failed to live up to his domestic expectations at international matches. But Pakistan continued to root for him. Their captain and assistant coach across all formats, during media interactions, made it clear that they wanted the young left-hander to perform consistently. But with just one game left in this World Cup, their patience had run out and they finally brought Rizba back to the top spot.
Pakistan again felt the heat of criticism over their scoring rate and brought Ayub on alongside Mohammed Rizwan, this time to begin a tough run-chase of 107 on the most exciting wicket Ayub has experienced as an international white-ball player.
Already under pressure after a poor performance throughout the year, Ayub now had to save his team’s World Cup run, as Pakistan needed 107 runs in 13.5 overs to beat the USA on net runs.
Ayub tried to hit the shot but it was hard to hit. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t expect it. He was hit with a cross bat and given up for six off 12 balls.
Rizwan was on 9 for 14 when Babar joined him off the second ball of the fifth over. Pakistan were 20 for 1. They would have been 15 for 1 had Kaleem Sana not bowled it down leg in the first over.
Their powerplay score was 28 for 1. They hit just one boundary and that was in the sixth over. Pakistan were cautious with the bat this time around too, but that is a luxury they can no longer afford.
Even Canada had an earlier start than Pakistan.
It was another great day for Canadian cricket, as it has been every day at this World Cup. Canada is a team of non-professional cricketers who at one point in their lives gave up their dreams of playing cricket, and now they are playing in a T20 World Cup for the first time.
They were gearing up for their first ever T20 World Cup appearance by playing four T20Is against the USA in Dallas. They lost all of them. But the matches against Pakistan proved a valuable experience for their batsmen. They would be up against a fearsome fast bowler with all the arsenal to break down any batting line-up. That fast-bowling unit had proven itself in a fierce battle against a formidable India just 48 hours earlier.
Canada came out on a roll. Perhaps they had foreseen the match. They knew that scoring as many runs as possible when the ball was new was their best shot at raising a challenging total. So they attacked. Aaron Johnson hit consecutive fours off Shaheen Afridi. It was the first time in a T20 World Cup that the first two balls of an innings had been hit for boundaries. Naseem Shah and Mohammed Amir both hit fours off the first balls of the over, the second and third balls of the innings.
Canada finished the powerplay with five boundaries, four more than Pakistan.
Pakistan’s stubbornness
Pakistan have been criticised for their poor scoring rate in powerplays, a criticism that intensified after shock losses to the United States and India, both of which could have been won if they had shown more urgency in their first six matches.
But Tuesday’s match highlighted Pakistan’s stubbornness in sticking to their ways. Regardless of how important aggressive batting is to their chances of qualification, Pakistan will be cautious and will hold off on runs till the end, regardless of whether conditions are favourable for their batsmen by then.
In the three matches they played in this T20 World Cup, the scores after the first six overs were 3 for 30, 1 for 35 and 1 for 28 against the USA, India and Canada respectively.
Rizwan twice won the powerplay after opening the innings, his scores at the end of the sixth over being 16 for 20 and 17 for 23 – well below his per-ball average – while Azam was 4 for 14 at the end of the powerplay against the US.
Some will say they will need to get used to the New York pitches, but given the experience Babar and Rizwan have over the years, we can expect them to at least maintain a strike rate of over 100 as they adapt to the pitch and conditions.
Despite being hit for 20 and a four respectively by the end of the powerplay, Rizwan and Babar showed no rush to add runs in the next overs, with Rizwan hitting a four in the ninth and tenth overs and Babar a six.
Instead of leading the run chase when they should have controlled the pace with the 13.5-over cut-off in mind, the duo opted for the safer option of dealing with ones and twos and playing the ball around the ground, and most of the time they were content to push the ball towards the deep fielders rather than hitting into the gaps.
Babar scored 33 runs a ball and Rizwan scored 53 not out, the slowest by any Pakistan batsman, but Pakistan eventually crossed the line with 15 balls to spare to record their first victory of the tournament. The pair hit five boundaries between them (two sixes and three fours). Johnson, playing in only his 19th match, hit eight alone (four sixes and as many fours).
current situation
Luck doesn’t come often, but it came twice in three days for Pakistan. Pakistan twice had chances to quickly overtake the small target and improve their chances of qualifying for the Super Eight, but on both occasions they gave it up. India gave Pakistan trouble with skill and experience. Deprived of both, Canada conceded at least two points to Pakistan.
Their net run rate is now positive — they finally have a “W” next to their team name — and their best bet to qualify is for the U.S., who lead by 0.435 points, to lose their next two games and then drop the net run rate equation by beating Ireland on Saturday.
If that were to happen, they would hope that they would not regret this pointless pursuit.
Header Image: Pakistan’s Mohammed Rizwan gestures to Babar Azam’s gait during the ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup 2024 Group A match between Pakistan and Canada at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in East Meadow, New York, on June 11, 2024. — AFP
