The Pakistan cricket team has a lot to think and introspect as they prepare for the first match of their ICC T20 World Cup campaign against the USA on June 6 and the much-anticipated clash against arch-rivals India in New York on June 9. The ICC T20 World Cup is taking place in the West Indies and the USA from June 1 to 29, with the team placed in Group A alongside India, USA, Canada and Ireland. Since losing to England in the final of the ICC T20 WC in Australia in 2022, Pakistan have played six bilateral T20I series, winning just one, drawing two and losing three.
Let us take a look at Pakistan’s form, their achievements in the tournament and some of their key performances after their painful defeat to England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Afghanistan v Pakistan, United Arab Emirates (March 2023)
In this series, Pakistan attempted to build a new core comprising players like Saim Ayub, Mohammad Haris, Azam Khan, Zaman Khan led by Shadab Khan ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup. However, with the series loss of 2-1, the move backfired badly as Pakistan missed experienced players like Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf who did not play in the series. Afghanistan performed brilliantly while chasing modest targets of 93 runs and 131 runs in the first two matches. In the final game, Pakistan’s batting scored 182/7 in 20 overs and Shadab Khan and Ihsanullah took three wickets each to bundle out the Afghan team for 116 runs.
New Zealand tour of Pakistan (April 2023):
This series did not feature many names who were in the T20 World Cup squad, such as Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Glenn Phillips, Tim Southee, etc. and was led by Tom Latham. The series ended in a 2-2 draw. The Kiwi batting failed completely in the first two matches, once crumbling for 94 while chasing 183 and then crumbling for 154/7 while chasing 193. However, the batsmen bounced back in the next two matches and levelled the series. Mark Chapman’s innings of 104* off 57 balls in the final T20I while chasing 194 was a big achievement for the Kiwis.
Babar Azam’s 101* in the second T20I and Mohammad Rizwan’s 98* in the final T20I were the two big batting performances for Pakistan. On the bowling front, Haris Rauf (11 wickets), Imad Wasim (8 wickets) and Shaheen (6 wickets) performed well for Pakistan.
Pakistan vs New Zealand (January 2024):
In this series, New Zealand defeated a largely conservative, less risk-taking Pakistan team and won the series 4-1. The captaincy eventually came into the hands of Kane Williamson, who played two matches in the series and Santner led the team in the remaining matches. New Zealand scored a huge 227 runs in the first match thanks to half-centuries from Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell and a four from Tim Southee and won by 46 runs. In the next match, Allen scored 74 runs in 41 balls and the Kiwi team set a target of 195 runs in front of Pakistan, which Pakistan missed by 21 runs.
Allen hit 137 off 62 balls in the third T20I, including five fours and 16 sixes, to defeat Pakistan on their own ground, falling 45 runs short of the Kiwis’ target of 225. After another win in the fourth T20I, Pakistan got a consolation win in the final T20I, where they were bowled out for 92 while defending 135.
Babar Azam (213 runs in five matches at a strike rate of 142.00) and Rizwan (184 runs in five matches at a strike rate of 131.42) hurt Pakistan with their more orthodox SR. Fakhar Zaman showed some flashes but struggled for consistency. Besides that, none of the other batsmen were in form. Shaheen (9 wickets), Rauf (7 wickets), Abass Afridi (5 wickets) were among the wicket takers but couldn’t deliver victory in the crucial stages.
New Zealand in Pakistan (April 2024)
Due to the inactivity of some of the key Kiwi talents due to the IPL, the Kiwis sent a largely inexperienced line-up for this tour, which ended in a 2-2 draw. The inexperienced Kiwi line-up did a good job in restricting Pakistan to a score of under 200 runs. With strike rates of over 138 and 121 respectively, Babar and Rizwan came under scrutiny for their approach towards the shortest format.
Shaheen’s effectiveness with the ball, taking eight wickets in four matches at an average of 10.00 and a strike rate of 8.12 and an economy of 7.38, was the highlight of the series.
Pakistan tour of Ireland (May 2024)
This was Pakistan’s first series win in T20Is in over a year. Pakistan did not have a good start as the target of 184 was chased down by the Irish men with a ball to spare, with Andy Balbirnie (77 off 55 balls) leading the way. However, in the next two matches, Pakistan batted with more aggression and intent, chasing down 194 and 179 with almost three overs to spare. Captain Babar (132 runs in three matches with a strike rate of 150.00 and two fifties) and Rizwan (132 runs in three matches with two fifties and a strike rate of 148.31) raised their SRs substantially.
Shaheen (7 wickets) and Abbas Khan (6 wickets) led the Pakistani attack.
Pakistan tour of England (May 2024)
Pakistan lost another series. The first and third T20Is were washed out due to rain, but England defended 184 in the second T20I while chasing 158 in the fourth game in just 15.3 overs to win the series.
Before the tournament, Pakistan had won nine T20 matches and lost 12.
Talking points for Pakistan ahead of the tournament:
-Imad Wasim and fast bowler Mohammad Aamir return from retirement.
-Form and strike rate of Babar and Rizwan
-Pakistani fast bowlers Shaheen, Naseem and Rauf trio are in great form
– Poor form of Sam Ayub, who is yet to score a half-century in 19 T20 matches and has scored only 286 runs at an average of 15.05.
Top performers in this stage:
Babar Azam: 668 runs in 20 matches and 18 innings at an average of 39.29 and a strike rate of 143.34 with one century and six fifties in 18 innings. Best score 101*.
Mohammad Rizwan: 568 runs in 18 matches and 16 innings at an average of 51.63 and a strike rate of 135.88, including five half-centuries. His best score is 98*.
Fakhar Zaman: 446 runs in 16 matches at an average of 31.85 and a strike rate of 149.16, including three half-centuries.
Shaheen Afridi: 33 wickets in 19 matches at an average of 16.81 and economy rate of 8.26, best performance 4/30.
Haris Rauf: 23 wickets in 11 matches at an average of 16.65 and an economy rate of 9.11, best performance 4/18.
Abbas Afridi: 16 wickets in 9 matches at an average of 16.50 and a strike rate of 10.8, best performance of 3/20.
Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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