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2019 T20I Rankings Update - Pakistan to write history, India to drop three places


Its that time of the year when ICC Team Rankings go through annual update.
In this year’s annual update of ICC T20I Rankings:
  • Pakistan expected to reach the highest Rating ever achieved by any team in ICC Team Rankings in any format
  • India expected to slip to 5th spot from 2nd spot
  • Afghanistan expected to rise to 7th spot ahead of West Indies and Sri Lanka
  • West Indies expected to 9th spot from 7th spot

In Current ICC T20I Rankings, Pakistan is leader of the pack, 13 points clear of the 2nd best T20I team in the world, India. Behind them, however, there is a cluster of teams separated by fractional points. 2nd Ranked India, 3rd Ranked England, 4th Ranked Australia and 5th ranked South Africa are separated by just 1.6 rating points between them. This tight-cluster is exactly where the most significant changes are expected to take place in the upcoming update.


In terms of Rankings, this is how this year’s annual update is expected to look:





In terms of Rating points, Pakistan is expected to write history. They are expected to touch 146 Rating points, a Rating total that no other team has ever achieved in any format. This will happen largely because of their performance in T20Is in the period between May 1, 2015 and April 30, 2016 getting expunged from the ranking system. They had earned an average rating of 103 points in 20 T20Is they played during this period.






Since May 2016, Pakistan has been in phenomenal form in T20I format. They earned an average rating of 154 in 8 games they played between May 2016 and April 2017 (whose weightage will be reduced to half as a result of this year’s annual update). In 9 games they played during May 2017 to April 2018, they earned an average rating of 150. Although, they lost more games during May 2018 to date than the periods earlier, they still managed to earn an average rating of 143 from the 16 games they played in this period.



As a result, Pakistan are going to attain a rating points tally that is better than the mighty Australians of 2000s in ODIs[1] and Tests[2]

Afghanistan is expected to be the next top gainer with a gain of 7.8 in their Rating Points.



On the other hand, West Indies is expected to lose 11.8 Rating Points, largely because of May 2015 to April 2016 period getting expunged from the system. In that period, West Indies won WT20 2016 and earned an average rating of 140 from the 8 T20Is. In May 2016-April 2017 period, they managed only 89 rating points from 8 games. May 2017 – April 2018 was comparatively a better period for them where they managed 113 rating points from 10 games. Their performance since May 2018 is horrendous, however, where they earned only 74 points from 12 T20Is.






In a nutshell, this is how the changes as a result of this year’s annual ICC T20I Rankings update are expected to look:


Note: All the calculations are based on publicly available information including ICC’s Team Rankings calculation formula and match result, and are subject to minor variation from Official ICC update.









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Curious Case of Amir’s Selection for World Cup



The announcement of Pakistan’s squad for ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 is only days away. The scope of speculations, rumors and debates has narrowed out to selection of only a couple of players and Mohammad Amir is one of them.

There was a time when not selecting Mohammad Amir for any Pakistan squad was not considered as an option. Upon his return from 5-year ban, even, he literally walked into Pakistan side and resumed the lead role of Pakistan’s bowling unit. His talent trumped all selection criteria and practices, to the extent that shadows of favoritism started to dampen his bright aura of raw talent.

Amir's Bowling Economy since ICC Champions Trophy 2017 has been:
  • as good as from his debut till 2010
  • better than his career economy
  • better than all other Pakistan pacers combined in matches he played. 
  • a run better than all other bowlers combined in opening spells

He has been part of Pakistan team in all formats since then – his return to International Cricket in 2016. Apart from missing a few games here and there due to injuries or under the doctrine of ‘rotation policy’, he has remained an automatic choice in the team. At times, his berth in the team has remained more assured than even the captain of the side. Cometh the World Cup and his guaranteed berth has started to look shaky, however.

He has taken only 5 wickets in 14 matches since that magical spell on June 18, 2017 against India during the Final of ICC Champions Trophy. More specifically, he has taken only 3 wickets in his last 12 matches – a wicket every 4th match by a bowler who carries the expectation of taking 4 wickets in every match. This has been the most common argument against his case for selection – and that is not factually incorrect, by any means.





What missing with these stats is probably the context. Taking wickets is definitely the basic expectation from an ace bowler, especially someone who opens the bowling with regularity. But is that the only dimension to assess (potential) value of a bowler in a squad?

Is he just not getting the wickets or getting thrashed around the park as well? If he is leaking runs as well then he is definitely out of form and deserves rest more than the selection but if he is not giving away runs, is he really in a bad form? How is he doing in terms of runs – bowling economy?

More specifically, how has he performed in terms of economy, especially at the beginning of the innings – the opening spells where only two outfileders are allowed? And what about his own standards? How does his recent performance stands in comparison to his own performance standards earlier in his career?





All these are the questions that can help in seeing the complete picture of Amir’s form and potential than concluding it just from the wickets column. So let’s start putting each of these questions under the scanner.


Mohammad Amir's Bowling Summary by Career Phase


For the sake of comparison, Amir’s career can be divided into four phases:
1) Debut till ban
2) Return to International Cricket till Champions Trophy 2017
3) Champions Trophy 2017
4) Post Champions Trophy

His economy in the last phase is almost identical to first phase in his career. Its slightly better than his career economy and it is distinctively better than the amount of runs he used to concede on the average since his Return to International Cricket till Champions Trophy.

So in comparison to his own performance in different phases of his career, has his performance deteriorated in Post-CT phase? In terms of bowling economy, definitely not.

How about comparison with other bowlers in the same period? Comparing him with spinners would be more an apple to orange comparison, so let’s restrict the comparison to with other pacers only. For the sake of eliminating the pitch, innings in the match, result and other factors, let’s restrict the comparison also to only the matches where Amir played.


Mohammad Amir vs Other Pacers of Pakistan since ICC Champions Trophy 2017

Amir’s Bowling Average is awful in this period – no surprises there. However, in terms of runs conceded, Amir’s Bowling Economy is better than all other pacers combined in this period.

Bowling Economy - Mohammad Amir vs other Pakistan pacers since ICC Champions Trophy 2017



In match to match comparison, except for only a couple of matches, his bowling economy has remained either better or around the same as other Pacers who represented Pakistan in the same period.

OK, but he generally opens the bowling for Pakistan; how has he performed at the beginning of the innings. Let’s refine the scope of comparison even further, specifically to opening spells.


Opening Spells by Mohammad Amir and all other Pakistan bowlers since ICC Champions Trophy 2017


For the sake of maintaining the uniformity of data, bowling figures of equal number of overs bowled by OTHER bowlers have been included here as the number of overs bowled by Amir in his opening spell in that particular match. For the sake of simplicity, figures of all bowlers other than Amir have been included under OTHERS that also includes overs bowled by spinners from the opposite end during the opening spell of Amir.

Amir’s bowling economy in the opening spells have been more than 1 run better on the average than the economy of all other bowlers combined.

Bowling Economy in Opening Spells by Mohammad Amir and all other Pakistan bowlers since ICC Champions Trophy 2017

In match to match comparison, Amir’s economy in opening spells have remained better or similar to other bowlers on most occasions. The only really bad opening spell he had in this period was against India in Dubai but that lasted for only 2 overs. That was the only time he conceded more than 5 Runs Per Over in an opening spell since Champions Trophy 2017.


In other instances where his economy in the opening spell went higher than the bowlers at the other end, it was more a case of bowlers at the other end bowling exceptionally well rather than Amir bowling bad and going for plenty of runs. Even in those instances, his economy remained under 5 Runs Per Over that is considered pretty much acceptable performance from a bowler in modern day Cricket.






So what can we take away from all this number crunching?
Amir is not picking up wickets with a consistency of painful order but he is economical with similar consistency. A bowler in bad form generally goes for runs as well. To Amir’s credit, even with his struggle for wickets, he has managed to keep one end pretty dry. If seen in the backdrop of ‘bowlers hunt in pairs’, this might have also contributed to all the wickets bowlers took from the other end.

In a team game like Cricket, you need players to perform different roles in the strategic plan. Yes, there was a time when Amir used to be Pakistan’s strike bowler. In recent times, Pakistan has unearthed some fresh faces to play that assassin’s role, like, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Usman Shinwari and Junaid Khan. Apart from Shaheen Afridi, all of them love to go after wickets and in the process, sometimes go for plenty of runs as well.

With names of  Mohammad Hasnain and Wahab Riaz circulating for selection, it would make up a pretty mercurial pace attack of Pakistan – with no one there specifically to dry up the runs, if needed, and who has a bit of experience of it as well.





ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 is going to be a longer than usual campaign where excellence of experience may overcome the exuberance of youth, at the end. Any volatility in any side is going to be exposed pretty soon, and then going to be exploited to the fullest by the opponents in later half of the tournament.

Pakistan is going to play 5 match ODI series in England right before the World Cup and the whole world will watch it as curtain raiser of the World Cup. On one hand, the series is going to provide Pakistan the best arrangement to prepare for the World Cup. On the other hand, if any of Pakistan’s weaknesses or volatilities get exposed in this period, Pakistan will not have any time to recover from it, and may eventually start the tournament with a handicap.

World Cup tournaments are not supposed to be experimentation labs, they are supposed to be the show case, the expo, the exhibition of your best. The time for experimentation falls between the two World Cups not during one of it.

As Pakistan has invested 3 years since the last World Cup in Amir, its time to trust the investment and see it through. It may not be inappropriate to dump him for good after the World Cup but there’s no point resting him in the World Cup only to bring him back after a while. Its time to put the rainy-day investment under the rain.





Based on recent stats, he may not be able to give Pakistan the wickets but based on same stats, he is expected to keep it tight from one end help the more mercurial strike bowlers to knock out the opponents from the other end. Cricket is a team game, after all, where not everyone is expected to perform the same job. Might be better not to evaluate Amir for the role he performed in the past but to give him a different role, instead, that he is performing well any ways.

And, who knows, on his day, he might produce another spell like the Champions Trophy Final that could take the sting out of opponent’s threat. Even before that historic spell, Amir had an ordinary tournament; had taken only 2 wickets in the whole tournament, didn’t bowl his full quota in the opening encounter against India and yes, he did miss the Semi Final due to fitness. After all that, he came back to produce a spell for the history books especially the two back to back deliveries to Kohli.

Who knows, all this has been nothing but nature’s conspiracy to set up his yet another fairytale comeback. Among all available options, he deserves  a ticket to England and he should get it.








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Analysis: ODI Hundreds for Pakistan


Pakistan’s 5-0 loss to Australia was the 1st time a team scored 5 100s in an ODI series and still got whitewashed. In terms of 100s scored, the series was a rare one in ODI history from various angles, such as:

Summary of Pakistan vs Australia ODI Series in context of 100s scored

These are some staggering numbers to highlight the rarity of what happened during the series.

On the other hand, common belief says that whenever Pakistan batting manages to put even a half-decent score, Pakistan bowling has always been good enough not to let the opponents walk away with the game.

How good that belief stood in this series? Narrowing down the numbers specifically to Pakistan, points us in the direction of answer to this question.
Pakistan records created during Pakistan vs Australia ODI Series - March 2019 - Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Dubai - UAE

Most of the 100s in the series were scored by Pakistan; a team whose ability to score big – or to convert frequently scored average scores into big hundreds – is what has been believed, for a long time, to be its most critical success factor in Limited Overs Cricket.





Stats of this kind makes one question those common beliefs and dig deeper into this topic of 100s and success in Pakistan’s case.

Do all 100s contribute towards team victory?
The general consensus answers to this question in negative. Not all 100s mean team victory. In fact, some 100s influence negatively on team progress – the team total in that particular innings. The history of Cricket, especially ODI history, enlists quite a few instances where players were blamed for team loss even after scoring a century – in fact, some of them got dropped right after scoring a hundred.

What is a good 100, then?
Just like there cannot be a one-size-fit-for-all kind of answer for questions like ‘what makes a team win?’, it is impractical to formulate a definition that could be applied on centuries scored in all seasons, conditions, regions and formats to adjudge a 100 to be a good or a bad 100.
For this reason, this analysis will not indulge in declaring – or even painting – any ODI 100 as good or bad.





What am I going to get out of reading on, then?
We can work with a definition, however, that applies to most not all the conditions. A definition that is generally used to identify if a 100 eventually propelled the progress of the team or the team progress got stalled because of one of the batsmen approaching their personal milestone.

Staying away from judging a 100 to be a good or a bad 100, this analysis remains confined only to one dimension: that is, if the strike rate of an individual innings of 100 or more was higher than the overall strike rate the team scored its runs during the same innings.

To calculate strike rate of a team innings, the total number of runs is divided by the total number of runs scored in the innings – exactly the same how batsman strike rate is calculated.

For ease of understanding, this part of the analysis will focus on 100s scored specifically by Pakistan batsmen in ODIs. Comparison with 100s scored by batsmen from other countries will be covered in a separate part, later.

ODI 100s by Pakistanis:
Let’s start with quick summary of all 100s scored by Pakistani batsmen in ODIs. A total of 197 centuries has been scored in 912 team innings by 42 Pakistani batsmen in ODI Cricket.
List of Centurions for Pakistan in ODI Cricket with 100s scored, Innings Played and Innings to 100 ratio - updated till Pakistan vs Australia ODI Series - March 2019 - Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Dubai - UAE
Fastest Individual 100+ innings:
Here’s a Top-20 list of fastest 100+ innings played by Pakistan batsmen in ODIs. 

Top 20 100s for Pakistan in ODIs by Strike Rate - Updated till Pakistan vs Australia ODI Series - March 2019 - Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Dubai - UAE

Please note, the list denotes Strike Rates at the end of individual innings not when the 100-runs milestone was achieved in that particular innings. Same classification is applied throughout this analysis.





Slowest Individual 100+ innings:
Similarly, here’s a list of all 100+ innings played by Pakistan batsmen in ODIs with worst Strike Rates.
20 Slowest 100s for Pakistan by Strike Rate - Updated till Pakistan vs Australia ODI Series - March 2019 - Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Dubai - UAE


Top 100+ Innings with Positive Impact on Team Strike Rate:
If all 197 centuries scored by Pakistan batsmen in ODIs are ordered by the difference in Strike Rate of that complete individual innings and the overall Strike Rate of the team at the end of that particular team innings, here’s what we get as the Top-20 list:
Top 20 ODI 100s for Pakistan by Strike Rate Impact - Updated till Pakistan vs Australia ODI Series - March 2019 - Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Dubai - UAE

Top 100+ Innings with Negative Impact on Team Strike Rate:
Similarly, here’s a list of 100+ innings by Pakistan batsmen in ODIs with highest negative impact on Team:

Worst 20 ODI 100s for Pakistan by Strike Rate Impact - Updated till Pakistan vs Australia ODI Series - March 2019 - Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Dubai - UAE


Timeline of 100s scored by Pakistanis in ODIs:
If all the 100s scored by Pakistan batsmen in ODIs are mapped onto a timeline in the context of its impact on Team Run Rate, it yields this view:
Timeline of all ODI 100s for Pakistan with Strike Rate Impact - Update till Pakistan vs Australia ODI Series - March 2019 - Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Dubai - UAE

The view also provides brief details about the innings with highest impact – either positive or negative – on Team Run Rate.





Most impactful centurions for Pakistan in ODIs:
After analyzing individual innings in the context of its impact on team output, the next interesting thing would be to analyze the tendency of all centurions for Pakistan in ODIs throughout their careers in the same context.

Most Impactful centurions for Pakistan with respect to Strike Rate Impact of their ODI 100s - Updated till Pakistan vs Australia ODI Series - March 2019 - Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Dubai - UAE

Not surprisingly, not all the names in this list rose to undisputed legend of the game status, and those who did, their names are right there on the top. Many other similar inferences can be drawn from this list.

Whenever Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas or Shaid Afridi scored a hundred, they made sure their innings propelled the team towards a higher total. There’s a reason they are regarded as the most impactful players the game has seen and the same is evident here. Inzamam ul Haq, Kamran Akmal and Ijaz Ahmed also played with similar intent (and impact).





The Recent Past:
All the aforementioned details spanned from the beginning of ODI Cricket, which has changed drastically over the years. One may argue that the team scores used to be pretty low at the beginning of ODI Cricket, therefore, it would have been easier to score quick runs once the batsman reached his hundred. The counter argument would be that ODI Cricket in early days was played either with no field restrictions or with field restrictions that allowed more open field placement than today, hence, it was comparatively easier to accumulate runs rather than scoring boundaries. It’s a never ending debate, however.

What could be more beneficial, would be to fast forward to recent past and analyze the recent past in the same context. The next stop for ODIs is the World Cup, so let’s take the last World Cup as cut-off for the recent past. By doing so, here is the quick summary that we get of all hundreds scored by Pakistan batsmen in ODIs.

Summary of ODI 100s scored by Pakistan since 2015 Cricket World Cup - Updated till Pakistan vs Australia ODI Series - March 2019 - Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Dubai - UAE


It opens up the avenue for many interesting inferences. For instance, out of 30 hundreds scored by Pakistan batsmen in ODIs since 2015 World Cup, only 2 have been faster than innings run rate against a team ranked higher than Pakistan at the time. [Bangladesh, Ireland, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe were ranked lower than Pakistan on the day the particular 100 was scored.]




It does reveal interesting patterns but only at the team level. We can delve further to look for the same at individual players level:

ODI 100s scored by Pakistan batsmen since 2015 Cricket World Cup - Updated till Pakistan vs Australia ODI Series - March 2019 - Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Dubai - UAE


To sum it up, here’s a look at how all centurions for Pakistan in ODIs since 2015 World Cup have fared:

Summary of all ODI 100s scored by Pakistan batsmen since 2015 Cricket World Cup - Updated till Pakistan vs Australia ODI Series - March 2019 - Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Dubai - UAE


To round-off this part of the analysis, here are the list of 100s, in the same context, by some prominent and current players for Pakistan in ODIs:




Retired Players:

All ODI 100s scored by Javed Miandad in the context of the total and team strike rate of that particular Team ODI Innings

All ODI 100s scored by Zaheer Abbas in the context of the total and team strike rate of that particular Team ODI Innings

All ODI 100s scored by Shahid Afridi in the context of the total and team strike rate of that particular Team ODI Innings




All ODI 100s scored by Inzamam ul Haq in the context of the total and team strike rate of that particular Team ODI Innings

All ODI 100s scored by Ijaz Ahmed in the context of the total and team strike rate of that particular Team ODI Innings

All ODI 100s scored by Saeed Anwar in the context of the total and team strike rate of that particular Team ODI Innings






All ODI 100s scored by Ramiz Raja in the context of the total and team strike rate of that particular Team ODI Innings


Current Players:

All ODI 100s scored by Ahmed Shehzad in the context of the total and team strike rate of that particular Team ODI Innings

All ODI 100s scored by Babar Azam in the context of the total and team strike rate of that particular Team ODI Innings




All ODI 100s scored by Fakhar Zaman in the context of the total and team strike rate of that particular Team ODI Innings

All ODI 100s scored by Imam ul Haq in the context of the total and team strike rate of that particular Team ODI Innings




All ODI 100s scored by Kamran Akmal in the context of the total and team strike rate of that particular Team ODI Innings

All ODI 100s scored by Mohammad Hafeez in the context of the total and team strike rate of that particular Team ODI Innings




All ODI 100s scored by Mohammad Rizwan in the context of the total and team strike rate of that particular Team ODI Innings

All ODI 100s scored by Salman Butt in the context of the total and team strike rate of that particular Team ODI Innings




All ODI 100s scored by Sarfaraz Ahmed in the context of the total and team strike rate of that particular Team ODI Innings

All ODI 100s scored by Shoaib Malik in the context of the total and team strike rate of that particular Team ODI Innings




All ODI 100s scored by Umar Akmal in the context of the total and team strike rate of that particular Team ODI Innings






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Tournament Journey of Last 4 in PSL 2019

League Round of 4th Edition of Pakistan Super League has been concluded and it has come down to 4 teams to claim the title. A perfect time to look back at how the teams ebbed and flowed at the points table during the league round and here’s a quick look at it:


More than skill and experience, its often form and momentum of a team that decides its fate in a tournament scenario. The above view provides a good avenue to review the last 4 teams, on the same basis.

Let’s review the last 4, one by one: 


QUETTA GLADIATORS has been, by far, the most consistent side of PSL4. They were the first team to qualify for the next round. Although, lost the top position at the end, they remained at the top of the table during most part of the league round. That the lowest their ranking dipped this season was 3rd spot, is a statement in itself about their dominance and consistency in this season. 


They lost both their games against Karachi. Its only the second time that Quetta has lost both the league games to a team in any season – Islamabad did it in 2017. The other team that managed to beat them, this season, was Lahore. Interestingly, Lahore has not managed to win more than 3 games in any PSL season but they have managed to beat Quetta once in all seasons except 2017.

For the first time since PSL1, it’s the first time Quetta Gladiators are going into the last round of the tournament with full squad. All their foreign players have come to Pakistan saving them from their usual pain of fielding replacement overseas players in the most crucial phase of the tournament. Their daring calls to pick Sohail Tanvir, Umar Akmal and Ahmad Shahzad have paid off, Watson is in form and one of the masters of the format, DJ Bravo has also joined them to bolster their lineup in the Final stage.

Consistency, depth, experience and line up filled with match winners make Quetta the top contenders for the title this year. 

PESHAWAR ZALMI has finished as the top team in the Points Table at the end of League Round for the third time in PSL history. Islamabad United topped the Table in 2018 when Peshawar finished 3rd, in fact just 1 point ahead of the top team to be disqualified, Multan Sultans.



Peshawar didn’t start off at their dominating best – lost 2, won 2, in the first 4 games. But since then, they have been in in devastating form – losing only 1 out of 6. In the last 2 matches, they have showcased full range of their arsenal as well. Against Lahore, they had the experience of Misbah to rescue them from 20/5 situation, while against Karachi, the brutality of Kamran Akmal at the top, all but nullified the very capable fire power of Karachi’s batting.

Peshawar has peaked, gathered and exploded at, probably, the perfect time in the tournament; fully capable of bursting their way to the trophy. 

ISLAMABAD UNITED is the only team – qualified for the next round – with a different captain than the last season and it has reflected in their journey as well. They finished Table Toppers last year but have spent most of the time, this season, right in the middle of the table. They appointed a new captain – someone with not so accomplished captaincy credentials – and then injuries to him forced a young boy – literally – to lead the side. Considering these factors, staying well clear of the bottom of the table for most of part of the season is an achievement in itself. 


Last year, their performance was dominant. The right word for their performance this year would be resilient. There’s no lack of star cast in their line up, still, their journey is built more around team spirit, cohesion and coordination.

Going into the business end of the tournament, Islamabad United looks the most spirited side. The kind of spirit where any player on his day could take them to victory against any side.




KARACHI KINGS had, probably, the most remarkable journey this year. Tipped by many as probably the strongest squad on paper, they had the longest stretch by any team this year in the danger-zone (ranked 5 or 6) – that’s right, even longer than Multan Sultans or Lahore Qalandars who eventually got disqualified.

Winning only 2 out of first 6 games, they were seriously slow off the mark. The explosives filled batting lineup not firing, experienced local pacers – Sohail and Shinwari – going all over the place and captain missing out on bowling specialist bowlers - at one stage, Karachi Kings looked certain to be the first team to get knocked out of the qualification race this year. 

Then came Colin Ingram’s performance against the most consistent side in the campaign, Quetta Gladiators, and it seemed to have triggered the pack.
Karachi Kings have lost only 2 games out of last 6 and both of them courtesy of exceptional individual performances from the opponent camp – by Asif Ali and Kamran Akmal.

Coming out of near disqualification threat, gaining momentum at the right time and still having a couple of match winners yet to fire (the devastating Colin Munro and Ben Dunk), seriously experienced bowling lineup and above all, the home crowd advantage, Karachi looks far from being just a filler in the list of last 4 standing to claim the title.

To round it off, here’s how teams have fared in this year’s PSL. 







Still to come:

  • Journey of all teams across PSL seasons
  • Team-wise Form guide across seasons
  •   Review of teams beyond League Round



Want to see specific analysis or have a specific query?
Feel free to get in touch on Facebook: fb/krick3r or Twitter: @krick3r










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Azhar-Asad Since Misbah-Younus

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Pakistan's Chasing Ghost

Pakistan failed to chase down a get-able target yet another time in Tests. The margin this time came down to 4 runs - and as they say - the closest defeats are the bloodiest.

Winning and losing is part of the game. Unpredictability is what differentiates sports played by humans from a game performed by robots. It all reverses when a particular outcome - be it winning or losing - starts to become predictable with robotic accuracy. This has what it become in case of Pakistan’s handling of run chases.

For Pakistan in the recent times, chasing in 4th innings of a Test has become like being chased by ghosts. Whenever Pakistan is put to chase, it looks more like its Pakistan team that is being chased, by the ghosts, rather than Pakistan team chasing a target.





It can be argued that Pakistan was never a side good at innings 4 of a Test. Such arguments can only be settled by looking at the related facts across the eras of Pakistan Test Cricket history. So let’s have a look at it.

In all, Pakistan has batted 4th in a Test on 140 occasions where it managed to come out winners on 59 occasions, mustered a draw 32 times while failed to save the Test 49 times. In percentages, Pakistan has won 42% of the run chases, drawn 35% and lost only on 23% occasions.

If the targets and results are broken down into ranges, here’s the picture that it paints:
Pakistan's 4th innings run chases Summary
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PREVIEW - Polar Opposites to contest for Pole Position


Its method versus flair, its predictability versus flamboyance, its Australia versus Pakistan, and the stage is the most explosive format of the game – T20I. If, over the years, Australians have symbolized success through consistency, Pakistan has showcased the impact of natural raw talent.
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TEST-ing Opportunity for Pakistan


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The Captaincy Debate


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Asia Cup 2018 - an ICC Rankings View


The last time teams competed for the tile of Champions of the Cricketing World, the last three teams to remain in the hunt were all from Asia. 3 out of the 5 teams to win an ICC ODI World Cup have been from Asia. The same 3 teams have also won the next big tournament in Cricket, ICC Champions Trophy. If this is not enough to underscore the impact of Asian Cricket in the World, 6 out of 14 International teams officially ranked by ICC for the ODI format are from Asia.
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