For the first time in the post Wasim and Waqar era, Pakistan fans are genuinely confident of their team’s chances in South Africa, though it still sounds more optimistic than realistic. South Africa outplayed both England and Australia recently and even a drawn Test series for Pakistan will be celebrated like a victory.
However, in order to win or draw against the Proteas, Pakistan will not only have to use their skills well but also hope for a bit of luck too! Here are the five things that Pakistan need to win in South Africa.
Picking the right team
For years Pakistan has given the edge to the opposition even before a ball is bowled by not picking the best 11 on merit. The perfect example of this was in Port Elizebath in 1998 when after going one up in the three Test match series they picked Moin Khan as a specialist batsman in order to accommodate captain Rashid Latif. The result wasn’t surprising as they ended up losing by a big margin.
The selectors have done a good job by picking a balanced side for this tour (excluding the inclusion of Faisal Iqbal) so now it’s on to Misbah-ul-Haq and the team management to play the best XI. Taufiq Umar’s timely injury allowed Nasir Jamshed to play in the tour opener where he scored two half centuries, so he should be given a chance ahead of Taufiq who has struggled in domestic cricket recently.
The other question would be whether to play Mohammad Irfan as a third seamer. The inclusion of Rahat Ali and Tanvir Ahmed has bolstered the bowling options but Irfan will surely be a better bet for the first Test at the Wanderers.
Aggressive attitude
I recently read an article by former Pakistan pace bowler Muhammad Zahid who wanted the fast bowlers to show aggression to the Proteas batsman. Not only the bowlers need that aggression but also the batsmen. There is a thin line between aggression and madness which most Pakistani batsman usually fail to understand.
Pakistan’s strike rate in the recently concluded four day tour game was below 50 as none of the top six batsman, excluding Mohammad Hafeez, showed any signs of scoring runs, which resulted in two middle order collapses. Misbah and his men need to come out of this hit and block policy and look for run scoring opportunities if they are to challenge Graeme Smith’s men.
Rotation policy by Proteas
Pakistan team management and their fans would hope for Gary Kirsten to take Micky Arthur’s idea of rotating his main fast bowlers during a Test series. Though it looks highly unlikely that South Africa’s seamers will be rested, that’s the only way they can provide some respite to a fragile Pakistan batting unit which will struggle against Vernon Philander’s movement and Morne Morkel’s extra bounce.
Inclusion of Imran Tahir
Robin Peterson has come a long way since he was hammered by Brian Lara, but he still isn’t a Test quality spinner. He could improve his stats during the series, though, since Pakistan have a habit of making ordinary spinners look like Shane Warne.
Nathan Haurtitz and Rangana Herath are two examples in the recent past. Peterson’s hand injury has meant that Tahir is in the squad, and the Pakistani team will hope for him to play against his country of birth and that he bowls just as he did in Adelaide! This may well the missing puzzle between losing the series or winning/drawing.
Catching and use of DRS
Last but not the least, the Pakistani fielding and correct use of DRS could prove yet again the difference between winning and losing. In England in 2010, the Pakistani bowlers had to get 30 English wickets due to poor catching from their team mates. Unfortunately for South Africa, there is no Kamran Akmal, but if others continue to be generous, as they have always been in the past, then Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis will ensure that the historic series win that the Pakistani fans are hoping for will be over before we reach Centurian for the third Test.
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