Recently in the series between Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, the men in green caught the eye of many fans across the world. They displayed a surprising intent to score runs at a very quick rate, even when losing wickets at times. Despite facing difficult stages, they managed to manoeuvre skillfully and maintained a good scoring rate. This has sparked great enthusiasm for Pakistani fans as they comprehensively beat Sri Lanka but the question is Will PakBall remain successful?
Earlier Criticism
Pakistan has always been under scrutiny for its defensive approach, never taking charge of opponents. When opposing teams researched, it became evident that the Shaheens were more comfortable playing second fiddle in test matches and had one of the slowest run rates among recognized test-playing countries. Misbah ul Haq faced tons of criticism for wasting too many balls and not capitalizing on bad deliveries to maintain the scoring rate.
Pakistan consistently struggled away from UAE due to their defensive playstyle, and players like Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq were successful individually but couldn’t translate individual success into match-winning contributions. They couldn’t score enough runs at a time when scoring 300 in a day’s play was considered the norm, while Pakistan would be content with 250+. This was seen as rather disappointing, leading to tons of backlash from fans.
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Fresh Breath Of Air
After Pakistan had completely demolished Sri Lanka. Fans could do nothing but appreciate how well the players in green had played. From day 1 the intent was well known and all credit must go to Salman Ali Agha and Saud Shakeel. When Pakistan was 101/5 it seemed it would become a lousy dry game but these 2 surprised many and counterattacked with playing at nearly a run-a-ball which would be simply unheard of 5 years ago for fans.
Even Shan Masood had proved a point and Sri Lanka were as surprised us fans with the intent and simply had no answer. They even broke the record for the fastest 100 for Pakistan in test cricket. This method of free-flowing runs allowed the bowlers to patiently play the long game and didn’t feel the need to go 100 miles an hour due to scoreboard pressure and could take proper time and consideration into line and length. This sparked great encouragement for the team as they finally looked back into dominating Red Ball cricket they had not won a game for exactly a year so this could not have come at a better time.
What’s Next for PakBall?
Now that Pakistan has Australia upcoming, it will be a true test to see if this method will indeed be successful. They need to have a better WTC cycle than the last time, which is crucial not only for the team but also for the reputation of Babar Azam. It remains to be seen whether he is suitable to be the captain for the red ball side, especially considering the struggles they faced under his leadership. Hence, they need to prove this point to the press and fans worldwide.
Let’s See if Pakball will be successful.
Last year, they were taught a lesson by the English in the then-new invention called ‘Bazball,’ but now that it has become a norm, this will be a true test to see if Pakistan can sustain this positive style of play.
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