In a recent Asia Cup match, Pakistan’s national cricket team played against Oman. The drama of their terrible showing left fans hungry for redemption. The final was held in front of a sold-out stadium, as both teams looked to win their first Championship.
The typically strong Pakistan batting order faltered, with important players getting dismissed for low runs early on in their batting innings. Farhan, Saim, Agha and Hasan all struggled, with each batsman getting out without registering a single run. Farhan was clean bowled by Aamer Kaleem and that set the tone for worst of times for team India. Soon after, Saim was out leg before wicket to Faisal Shah, putting the pressure back on Pakistan with wickets tumbling on the scoreboard.
Haris, as the game wore on, became one of the stars of the show for Pakistan. He played excellently to score 49 runs off 75 balls and gave the team a brief glimmer of hope. Even for all his diligence, he just couldn’t get there. The ace wicket-taker Poona bowler Aamer Kaleem was another great contender and was able to clean bowl him.
Agha’s firing came not long after. Mirza stumped him, and Kaleem skittled him, as Pakistan imploded. Hasan’s lack of production further compounded his team’s issues. In the 16th over, he was stumped off the bowling of Hassnain Ali Shah and bowled out by Faisal Shah. Brief innings for M Nawaz, who scored 00 runs off 67 balls. He was eventually dismissed, caught by a stand-in wicket-keeper but finished outbowled by Faisal Shah.
The overall extras in the game were four wides, with no balls, byes or leg byes noted. These freebies advanced the tally to 158 runs for six wickets in only 4 overs. For Pakistan there were some bright spots. Now, they must re-focus and re-plan for their next match-up in the world’s toughest bracketed tournament.
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