Image source– X/ Twitter (TheRealPCB)
When one talks about Pakistan, a word that immediately springs to mind is unpredictable.
Perhaps there is much reason to use this word as we recently witnessed this highly capable green outfit marauding Australia of their cricketing wealth in the ODI series 2-1, only to then succumb in the T20I version going down 3-nil.
This after they had made a spectacular comeback to annihilate the effervescent English team in the longest format 2-1 courtesy some mighty fine performances from their two ace spinners in Noman Ali and Sajid Khan who perhaps spun a web too threatening for the English to come out of.
Well, the word unpredictable continues to haunt Pakistan, having stepped foot on African soil with a first nail in the coffin coming at the hands of Zimbabwe in the first match of the ODI series, only to convincingly bounce back and win the extravaganza 2-1.
Yes, the Chevrons showed much belief conquering Pakistan by 80 runs in the first ODI only to realize they are even more unpredictable than their opponents going down by a massive 10 wickets in the second ODI and a whopping 99 runs in the third.
Undoubtedly, a shot of confidence if you are Pakistan.
And this confidence showed even in the T20I version with the Men in Green winning the first two games by a healthy margin of 57 runs and 10 wickets, only to unpredictably succumb in the third, going down by two wickets when most cricketing pundits expected them to make a clean sweep.
So, as this story of unpredictability intertwined with sporadic dozes of confidence continues, lets look at what to expect from Pakistan as they make a trip to the south of Zimbabwe in Protea land:
The Men in Green would undoubtedly want to improve their record against South Africa
Pakistan have been struggling visitors when they have set foot on the southern shores of Africa with losing all the six Test series, they have contested in the rainbow nation dating back to 1995.
When one looks at an overall record in Test matches, Pakistan is at a losing end of the bargain and that too with a major deficit, succumbing 15 times and triumphing only 6 times with 7 draws in the 28 meetings.
The pace and bounce they have experienced especially in the Highveld has always got the better of them and perhaps now is the time Shaan Masood, the experienced batter and Test captain of Pakistan would want to arrest the slide along with his limited overs counterpart, Mohammed Rizwan.
Masood’s quick men, the likes of Naseem Shah, Mohammed Abbas and Khurram Shahzad need to fire if they truly want to make a contest against the Proteas who truth be told are playing a different brand of Test cricket, having beaten West Indies and Bangladesh in their own backyard and have now battered Sri Lanka also with intent galore at home.
With this being said, the task won’t be easy as the venues for the two Tests are Centurion and Cape Town which traditionally are the strong holds for South Africa as compared to the other venues in the country.
The class of Babar Azam needs to come to the fore
When one speaks about world class batters especially in the Test fold, by default we have four names that immediately spring to mind in Joe Root, Steve Smith, Kane Williamson and the man who perhaps has God like status, attributed by his own countrymen in Virat Kohli.
Truth be told, another batter who merits recognition and may I say loads of appreciation too albeit not in the same vein as these four but perhaps close is Babar Azam. With an average of 43 comprising of nine Test tons, he is the main focal point of the Pakistani batting.
While his form off-late has been rather questionable, his class is permanent and the Pakistani fans would unquestionably hope Babar’s form comes through in the South Africa series.
The Men in Green would undoubtedly need Babar to fire facing quality seamers in Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen.
He would be ably supported by some young talent in Saim Ayub, Abdul Shafique and Saud Shakeel who would also be keen to carve an impression away from home.
With an exciting series to look forward to in the coming weeks, one would surely hope a resilient, formidable andconfident Pakistan show up as when these lads fire, world cricket looks more attractive.
After all they have won three ICC titles in 1992, 2009 and 2017, a feat as praise-worthy as any!
