"Pakistan Will Have To Score 400 On These Pitches," Ramiz Raja's Far Fetched Claim After Loss Against New Zealand

Pakistan suffered a defeat against New Zealand in their first warm-up game for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. Batting first, Pakistan put up a total of 345/5 in their 50 overs with Mohammad Rizwan scoring a brilliant century. Captain Babar Azam was also looking in great touch as he scored 80 and Saud Shakeel was also promising with his 75. It was a prolific batting performance from the Men In Green but still failed to win the match.

New Zealand successfully chased the target with almost six overs to spare as the Pakistani bowling lineup was brutally thrashed by the Kiwi batters. Rachin Ravindra opened the innings and made 97 off 72 deliveries. The bowling attack was looking clueless as they leaked runs. Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, and Mohammad Wasim Jr., all had an economy of over 8.0 runs per over. None of the Pakistani bowlers could manage an economy of less than 7.0 runs per over.

Former PCB Chief Ramiz Raja was not very pleased with the performance shown by the players, he stated that the players will need to play according to the nature of the pitches here in India. He further insisted that Pakistan might have to score over 400 in order to win matches. Ramiz Raja feels that Pakistan is getting a habit of losing matches.

“Pakistan Are Now Getting A Habit Of Losing,” Said Ramiz Raja

“I know it was just a practice game, but a win is a win. And winning becomes a habit. But I feel Pakistan are now getting a habit of losing. First, they lost in the Asia Cup, and now here. Pakistan scored 345 and it was a great run-chase. If these are the pitches – and you will get such pitches in India – you will have to score 400 if your bowling keeps misfiring like this. You will have to change your tactics, and take risks. And we don’t do that. We play defensively for first 10-15 overs and then shift gears,” Ramiz said.

Shaheen Shah Afridi did not play in the match, making way for Haris Rauf and Hasan Ali to bowl with the new ball. Haris only bowled four overs and went wicketless while conceding 36 runs at an economy rate of 9.0 while Hasan Ali also leaked runs giving away 66 runs in 7.4 overs at an economy rate of 8.6. It was a disappointing loss for Pakistan but they will hopefully, rectify those mistakes in the coming games. They will face Australia in their second warm-up game.