Brilliant win

Nobody had thought that an unpredictable and inconsistent Pakistan team would recover from its heavy defeat against arch-rival India. After beating the South African team, the Green Shirts also outclassed an unbeaten New Zealand by 6 wickets to stay alive in the World Cup. The bowlers from our side gave a tough time to New Zealand and restricted them for just 237. Nineteen-year-old fast bowler Shaheen Afridi took three wickets with a superb bowling display.In a low-scoring game, Pakistan’s opening pair once again struggled. Both Fakhar Zaman and Imam Ul Haq left the crease earlier. After that Babar Azam and Mohammad Hafeez stayed at the crease and gave some relief to the team. At one stage, Pakistan looked nervous while chasing the low target. Thanks to Babar Azam and Harris Sohail for playing a important role in the victory over the Kiwis. At present, the Pakistan team is just behind Bangladesh. The Green Shirts still needs to win their remaining games against Afghanistan and Bangladesh. They will have to wait for some other teams’ performance as well to reach the semi-final.Imtiaz JunejoHyderabad*****After the convincing six-wicket victory against the previously unbeaten New Zealand, it came as a no surprise that the Green Shirts have the wherewithal to overpower any team, any time. Chasing a target on a bowler-friendly pitch has always been an uphill task for the batsmen but Babar Azam and Haris Sohail remained well-poised and unfazed, stood to the test and overturned the tables on the Kiwis. Babar’s unbeaten sizzling century and Sohail’s timely knock of 68 runs paved the way for the chasers to achieve the target in a hassle-free way. With his brilliant knock of 101, Babar made history by becoming the fastest Pakistani batsman to cover the milestone of 3000 runs in his 68th innings. Earlier during the day, our seamers, with their disciplined line and length, ripped through the New Zealand batting line-up and restricted them to 237. Against the steely spells of Shaheen Afridi and Muhammad Amir, the top-order Kiwi batting line-up proved a wall of sand. Muhammad Amir with his signature style gave the team an earlier breakthrough which lay the foundation for Shaheen Afridi to do the rest of the damage.It merits a mention that teamwork worked wonders and the Green Shirts outperformed in every department of the game. To bag more victories and to make a place amongst the final four, the Sarfraz eleven will have to maintain the current winning streak. Given the track records of Afghanistan and Bangladesh, our players need to be vigilant against both teams, avoid any sort of clemency, give their hundred percent and continue their journey on the path of glory.Muhammad Fayyaz NawrhaMianwali

from The News International - Newspost https://ift.tt/2X1My04