Pakistan thrash New Zealand: Here are the key takeaways
What's the story
Pakistan came up with an all-round performance as they defeated New Zealand by six wickets in the match number 33 of the ICC World Cup 2019 at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Wednesday. This was New Zealand's first loss of this tournament, while Pakistan registered their third win to keep their chances of qualifying for knock-outs alive. Here, we have a look at the takeaways.
Match report
How did the match pan out?
After winning the toss, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson decided to bat first. The decision backfired as the top-order suffered a collapse. James Neesham (97*) helped them recover as they posted 237/6. In reply, it was Babar Azam's prolific century that allowed Pakistan to overpower New Zealand's lethal bowling attack and seal an emphatic win.
Toss
Kiwis elect to bat as Pakistan can't chase
Williamson decided to bat first, and it did come as a surprise, as the conditions clearly favored bowling. However, we feel the rationale was that Pakistan's batting unit has failed to chase in recent times. But Pakistan had different plans today as Babar Azam played beautifully to counter Kiwis. Notably, Pakistan also read the better as they had a more balanced XI.
Openers
Kiwi openers enduring a poor form
Once again, the Kiwi openers, Martin Guptill and Colin Munro failed to fire. This has been the story since the last couple of matches. Interestingly, Williamson has put his faith in them and not tinkered with the XI. However, come next game, against Australia, he might have to take a bold call. We feel Colin Munro might be dropped.
Poor choice
Sarfaraz Ahmed delayed Kiwi collapse due to poor bowling choices
Sarfaraz Ahmed's poor captaincy in this World Cup continued in this tie as well. While his bowlers were spitting fire with the ball, getting regular breakthroughs in the first innings, his decision to save his prime bowlers at the death delayed the collapse. Consequently, the Kiwis managed to cross the 200-run mark. Sarfaraz has to be more bold with this decision making.
Edgbaston
India would fancy playing extra spinner against England
Tonight, the Edgbaston track was slow and assisted spinners, as Mitchell Santner produced some extraordinary bowling in the first spell. With the ball turning and troubling baseman, if not dismissing them, India would fancy their chances on this track when they play England here on Sunday. Wonder what damage the likes of Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravindra Jadeja could do together?
Ghost of 1992
Pakistan could be summoning the ghost of 1992
While this might seem out of context, but Pakistan have kept themselves alive in this tournament. So far, this campaign has eerie similarities with the one in 1992, where they went on to win the title. Being a round-robin format back then as well, the match sequence has produced similar results. Is the ghost of 1992 back?