Thursday, October 3, 2019

A critical look at Pakistan vs Sri Lanka ODI series

The ODI series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka concluded on Wednesday, with Pakistan triumphing 2-0. Here are our heroes and zeroes from the series.HeroesPCBNo cricket tour ever has had to face odds as tall as this one. But despite everything, the PCB made it happen. The very team that went through the horror of 2009 came and played a full ODI series. PCB deserves kudos for this much at least.Sri LankaForget who came and who did not. There were men from Sri Lanka who eventually did come despite their concerns. Pakistan is indebted to these men.Abid AliHe played just once, but once was still enough for Abid Ali to show that there is an alternative available to the Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq’s pairing.Dasun ShanakaWith scores of 68 and a breezy 43, Dasun Shanaka was the only Sri Lankan batsmen in the series to deliver in both the matches.Iftikhar AhmedAn unbeaten 32 and tidy bowling in the first outing was followed by another unbeaten 28 and generally useful display. Iftikhar Ahmed gave a decent demo that he can be the utility man Pakistan have lost in Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik.Usman ShinwariHe couldn’t follow the five-fer of the second ODI with another wicket-laden performance but he still did his job well. With Wahab Riaz slowing down and clearly showing signs of Father Time, it’s good to have Shinwari around. Haris SohailHe is unathletic, clunky and a complete liability in the field but he is Pakistan’s most dependable middle-order batsman too —a fact signified by scores of 40 and 56. ZeroesSarfaraz AhmedThe promotion up the order was supposed to help Sarfaraz display his batting prowess. Scores of a mere 8 and 23 suggest there was a reason he used to bat down the order.Shadab KhanAn expensive 76-2 in the second ODI was followed by a 50-1 in the second when he struggled to get his line right. This wasn’t a series he’d want to remember.Wahab RiazTwo wickets in two matches, in the latter of which he conceded 81 runs. Karachi wasn’t kind to Wahab Riaz.

from The News International - Sports https://ift.tt/2oF9Ld9

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