This match showed us exactly whats wrong with our team in the World Cup. Need to improve th following things
1) Kamran Akmal: He was without a doubt NZ best player, and his dismissal was the most frustrating. The others got decent balls, he just played a horrible shot. I'd pick Umar Akmal over him right now, just to keep him out of sight, and with Umar, you know hes atleast a pt-keeper so mistakes are excusable. Not Kamran. Throw him out I say
2) Ajmal over Rehman. Rehman tbf has done a decent if not a good job fillinn in Ajmals place. But Ajmal is way better. Hes more aggresive, has got a doosra and can bowl at the depth. I was shocked when he didnt play this game, I thought that he would be given a chance. Agreed hes a similar sort of bowler to Hafeez, but he can bowl at the depth too and is generally a wicket-taking, reliable option
3) Death Overs bowling: Horrible stuff. Yea Gul was missed but surely a man of Akthars experience should not be conceding 28 runs in an over. I knew Razzaq was gonna get a beating, but Akhtar was the one I was really disappointed with. Goes to show we need Gul-Ajmal at the death. If we can smuggle in Riaz in the lineup that would be ideal.
4) Opening: Clearly they have failed. But both of them got centuries in NZ, so its unlikely we can throw them out now. Either way somethings gottoo change. Might even let Shafiq do the job in place of Shehzad, I dont think Shafiq can do much worse.
5) Better Captaincy: Afridi has clearly been too defensive at times with his field placings. It wasnt a big mistake, to finish Gul and his overs before the last 5, but it turned out to be a really bad decision. Further more, I wouldnt have minded Afridi coming at 4-5, seeing as the batsmen were just falling apart, he could have come out and put some pressure back on NZ. Whenever we are chasing a huge total and lose early wickets, we collapse. Wouldnt have been a bad idea to try something different
6) Better Utilisation of the Powerplay: Clearly Pakistan missed it AGAIN, by waiting for it tooo long. Should have been taken when Umar Akmal was there, and power plays are a way of getting back into the game, when all seems lost. Ask Ireland.
7) The Right combination: Easily the most debatable one, should we go one bowler more or not? Considering the batting failures we have had, I wouldnt recommend one, but surely scrutiny is going to be emphasised. Razzat at the end of the day couldnt make much difference, and if 7 batsmen fail, its very unlikely the 8th will succeed and win you the game.
Gotta try new things for the next game. I would say:
Hafeez
Shehzad
Shafiq
Younis
Misbah
Umar Akmal
Afridi
Razzaq
Gul
Riaz
Ajmal
I was hoping to get an opener out as well, but we can only replace one batsman. Wouldnt be surprised if we pick another instead of Shehzad.