T20 World Cup 2021: Experience helps Pakistan trump New Zealand who go in opposite direction
T20 World Cup 2021: Experience helps Pakistan trump New Zealand who go in opposite direction
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T20 has sometimes been described as cricket with training wheels. It’s a chance for fans new to the game to learn what it’s about, without having to sit through a whole test or ODI match. But that does not always apply to the players.
In some ways the pressure cooker environment of T20 matches suits older, more experienced heads. Almost every T20 competition in recent times has been won by either Dwayne Bravo or Kieron Pollard. Their experience comes to the fore and they know how to play when others crumble under the pressure.
New Zealand chose to go into this World Cup without two of their most experienced batsmen, the explosive Colin Munro and the veteran of almost 20 years, Ross Taylor. They also decided to opt for the inexperienced Kyle Jamieson in the squad ahead of Adam Milne, the fast bowler who has recently been setting domestic leagues alight.
On the other hand, Pakistan decided to go with the explosive Asif Ali and the veteran of more than 20 years, Shoaib Malik. They also picked a fast bowler who has been playing in a number of leagues — Haris Rauf.
Those three players were what New Zealand were missing, which made the difference for Pakistan.
In the first 17 overs of the two innings, New Zealand scored 117/4 and Pakistan scored 111/5. But then came the 18th over.
In New Zealand’s innings, it was Haris Rauf bowling to Devon Conway and Glenn Phillips. Conway and Phillips are both very good players who are likely to have excellent careers. But they are not as experienced as Ross Taylor or Colin Munro. At that time of the match, experience is required with the bat. Pakistan had the perfect bowler for the situation — the enforcer — Haris Rauf.
Rauf bowled a death-over for the ages. He dismissed both set batsmen and took away all the momentum in the New Zealand innings. Perhaps if the batsmen had been more experienced they would have taken less risky options, but it’s impossible to know.
That over changed the whole momentum of the innings. New Zealand looked like they were heading for a score of about 150, which, on that pitch, would have been a challenging total. Instead, they ended on 134.
That seemed like an easy task until New Zealand managed to get a classic New Zealand strangle in progress. When Imad Wasim got out, Pakistan had gone from 63/2 to 87/5 and needed almost ten an over with two new batsmen at the crease.
New Zealand were suddenly favourites. Pakistan were under pressure. If the two new batsmen to the crease were inexperienced it would be very easy for them to panic and throw their wickets away. But Pakistan had gone for experience with the bat.
New Zealand would have loved to have had a fast bowler to throw the ball to. Not a fast-medium or a medium-fast, but a proper fast bowler. They had one, but Adam Milne was feet up, back at the hotel.
Haris Rauf showed what a proper fast bowler could do in the 18th over for Pakistan, but New Zealand did not have that option.
Instead, they had to content themselves with medium pace and finger spin. And the Pakistan batsmen knew what to do. They waited for the variations, then hit them out of the park. Against a new player, Southee’s slower balls might have worked. Against a new player, who was playing the scorecard, Santner’s variations in speed and trajectory could have been hit to a fielder. But experienced players can play with a cool head and play the ball that is delivered to them, without worrying about the situation.
Only three players in history have scored 11,000 or more runs in T20 matches. Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and Shoaib Malik. Asif Ali hasn’t got as many, but he has over 200 T20 matches of experience to draw from.
Neither they, nor Haris Rauf were universally popular selections. It is not unusual for Pakistan selections to be controversial, but the three of them were extremely so. Initially, Shoaib Malik was not even picked for the side, and there were a lot of complaints about the selections of Asif Ali and Haris Rauf. One Twitter user even suggested that the selection would have been a big shock to Asif himself.
Asif Ali hospitalized as he suffered shock after knowing he's been included in #T20WorldCup squad......#PakistanCricket pic.twitter.com/EzzKndla6p
— Junaid Khawar (@jjkhawar) September 6, 2021
But Pakistan’s selectors have been rewarded for their courage.
T20 cricket may be the format designed for the inexperienced fan, but it has become the format that suits the experienced player. The Pakistani trio have collectively put in performances that have won the match for their side.
Less experienced players may have thrown away the match with five overs to go. The pundits would have said that this was a typical, unpredictable performance from Pakistan, where they could look like world beaters one day, then failures the next. But this team has something special. It has a core of experienced players who can play each ball on its own merits, and not fall victim to the pressure of the situation. And with the form that they have shown, they may well end up being world beaters in earnest.
Michael Wagener is a cricket tragic from New Zealand. He discovered early on that he would never be an expert at playing cricket, so set out to be an expert at watching it.
