ICC World Cup 2023 fans were left wondering why Pakistan’s two star bowlers, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shadab Khan, were not seen bowling against New Zealand in the first warm-up match of the tournament.
There was no bowling by the two bowling aces in the game, which the Green Shirts lost by five wickets to the Kiwis despite giving them a target of 346 to chase down. Experts in the field of cricket as well as fans remain concerned about why the Indian team failed to utilise its crucial bowling attack in the weeks that preceded the start of the mega cricketing tournament.
A few days later, Geo News learned why Shaheen and Shadab did not bowl as the New Zealand batters chased the 300-plus target in the 44th over that Shaheen and Shadab were unable to achieve. In the opinion of sources, the two bowlers were not given the chance to practice during the match due to a “strategy” used by the team management to give more opportunities to other bowlers to practice during the game.
The sources said that the management has planned to test all 15 members of the squad differently during the two warm-up matches that will be held,” they said. There has been a decision to “acclimatise” ahead of the tournament in order to prepare for it.
Report on the match
As part of their opening warm-up game played at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Friday, the Kiwis thrashed Pakistan by five wickets by chasing down the huge total of 345 in their first warm-up game.
New Zealand set a target of 346 for victory, but lost an early wicket before Ravindra Jadeja (97) and Kane Williamson (54) put on a 137-run stand to put their team on track, and they managed to achieve the target with 6.2 overs to spare.
In Pakistan’s 345-5 after electing to bat first, Mohammed Rizwan hit 103 and Babar Azam made 80 as the Pakistani batsmen made the total appear easy against a fast attack that was missing pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi. Despite the fact Williamson was playing the match as a batsman, he managed to display impressive skills in his 50-ball stay before retiring out of the game after a six-month lay off with a knee injury.
Following the game, Williamson, who will miss England’s opening match against the United States on October 5, said of his knee after the game, “It held up pretty well.” I had to do a little icing after that knock. But that s all part of the process. I was fortunate with my recovery and being named to the squad was a wonderful surprise.”
It was Ravindra who smashed the opposition bowlers to all parts of the ground as he hit 16 fours and one six, but Agha Salman denied him a century due to his poor fielding. A spinner from Pakistan, Usama Mir, struck twice in the space of two overs, but Daryl Mitchell scored 59 runs to keep the chase on track in the end.
A partnership of 68 between the left-handed batsman Mark Chapman and the right-handed batsman James Neesham enabled New Zealand to reach the target in 43.4 overs as they put on an unbeaten 65 in Mark Chapman’s unbeaten 65. Earlier in the match, Azam hit eight fours and two sixes before he was out to Mitchell Santner. However, Rizwan continued to stand with Saud Shakeel, who made 75, for the remainder of his century.
He struck nine fours and two sixes in his 94-ball innings and said: “A hundred is a hundred no matter what the conditions are. I feel proud and satisfied about it.” A Hindu festival and security concerns in the southern Indian city caused the match, along with other warm-ups, to be held in an empty stadium as the match was not an official one-day match.
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