Shahid Afridi
PESHAWAR: In the last match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, Pakistan faced a defeat by 93 runs at the hands of England, concluding Pakistan’s journey in the World Cup.
This is the first time in the history of the Cricket World Cup that Pakistan had to face defeat in five matches. Pakistan secured the fifth position in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. Afghanistan was sixth, England seventh, Bangladesh eighth, Sri Lanka ninth, and the Netherlands tenth.
The first semi-final between India and New Zealand is scheduled to be played on November 15 at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai at 1:30 PM, while the second semi-final between Australia and South Africa will take place on November 16 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, at 1:30 PM. The final will be held on November 19 at Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, between the successful teams from the semi-finals.
Pakistan’s performance in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 is concerning, having faced five defeats, highlighting the failure of the coaching staff. The defeat against Afghanistan was particularly shocking, leading to Pakistan’s elimination from the semi-final race. However, Pakistan’s performance in warm-up matches revealed their potential, raising questions about their inconsistency.
In the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, Pakistan won four out of nine matches, with a notable match against Afghanistan where they played 50 overs, scoring 282 runs at the loss of seven wickets. In other matches, they were all out for 286 runs against the Netherlands on October 6, achieved the target of 345 runs in the 47th over against Sri Lanka on October 10, faced defeat with 191 runs against India on October 14, scored 305 runs before being bowled out in the 46th over against Australia on October 20, and got out at 270 runs in 46.4 overs against South Africa on October 27. On October 31, Pakistan chased the target of 205 runs in the 33rd over against Bangladesh.
November 4 turned out to be fortunate for Pakistan when secured a victory against New Zealand in Bangalore. New Zealand scored 401 runs, and Pakistan, at 26 overs with one wicket down, had scored 200 runs when rain intervened, and Pakistan won by 21 runs. On November 11, in the match against England, Pakistan’s entire team was bowled out for 244 runs in the 44th over.
Fakhar Zaman, with an average of 73.33, scored 220 runs in four matches, including the best innings of 126 not out. Additionally, he hit 14 fours and 18 sixes. Mohammad Rizwan scored 395 runs with an average of 65.83, including one century and one half-century. His best innings were 131 not out. Salman Aga scored 51 runs with an average of 51 in three matches.
Abdullah Shafique scored 336 runs with an average of 42 in eight matches, with the best innings of 113 runs. Babar Azam scored 320 runs with an average of 40 in nine matches, including the best innings of 74 runs. Saud Shakeel scored 241 runs with an average of 34.42, and Imam-ul-Haq scored 162 runs with an average of 27.
In the bowling department, Mohammad Wasim took ten wickets for 215 runs in 38.1 overs, with the best bowling figure of 3/31. Shahin Afridi secured 18 wickets for 481 runs in 81 overs, with the best figure of 5/54. Haris Rauf took 16 wickets for 533 runs in 79 overs, with the best figure of 5/81.
Hasan Ali took nine wickets for 321 runs with an average of 35.66. Despite having big names in the team, players like Shahin Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim, and Hasan Ali failed to perform, and the weakness in Pakistan’s bowling was evident.
The team’s performance was below expectations, especially against the Indian team. Their bowling lacked variety, and the line and length were inconsistent. Due to these issues, Haris Rauf had an average of 6.74 runs per over.
