Pakistan cricket has been struck with another unwanted news. A shoddy fielding performance in their tri-series encounter against Afghanistan in Sharjah on Tuesday not only left them on the losing side but also brought to light an alarming pattern. Stats on Cricbuzz indicate that Pakistan are now the “worst” fielding team among 41 teams since the beginning of 2024.
Defeat To Afghanistan Sparks Debate
Latest demonstration of sloppy fielding was in their 18-run loss to Afghanistan. Chasing 169, Pakistan collapsed at 151-9. Before that, Afghanistan’s Ibrahim Zadran (65 off 45) and Sediqullah Atal (64) took their side to 169-5, despite a career-best 4-27 by Faheem Ashraf. In response, Pakistan momentarily seemed to be in command with Fakhar Zaman hitting 25 in his 100th T20I, but his wicket along with Mohammad Haris against Mohammad Nabi dashed expectations.Haris Rauf Comes to Fielding Unit’s Defense
Concerns over fielding have been an ongoing theme in Pakistan cricket, and bowler Haris Rauf recently had a disagreement with a journalist regarding this.
“I believe perhaps you have not watched the match correctly. We did not commit such errors in our fielding. Possibly if you watch it again, you will realize that the match really looked good,” Rauf maintained a few days back. Ironically, the Afghanistan encounter revealed the very same frailties critics have been complaining about. Rauf himself scored a top score of 34 not out in a late flourish but was unable to alter the outcome.Road Ahead In Tri-Series
Pakistan, who had defeated Afghanistan in the competition previously by 31 runs, will now play the United Arab Emirates in their last round-robin game on Thursday. Under the scanner is fielding, and skipper and team management will expect an improved show before the tournament reaches its business end.
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