PAK vs ZIM: Shoaib Malik Wants Pakistani Batters To Learn From Virat Kohli

Pakistan’s performance at the T20 World Cup didn’t go well; on Sunday in Melbourne, they were defeated by India by four wickets. Rohit Sharma summoned Babar Azam and company to bat first, but they got off to the worst possible start when they cheaply lost their skipper and his opening partner Mohammad Rizwan.

In contrast, Iftikhar Ahmed and Shan Masood expertly knitted together the recovery effort, bringing Pakistan to 91-3 in 12.2 overs, when Mohammed Shami broke the partnership by trapping Iftikhar LBW for 51. (34). Despite the foundation that the two had set, Pakistan once more lost control of the situation and quickly found themselves in trouble at 120/7 in 16.4 overs.

Masood, though, scored a tough half-century to help Pakistan post a daunting total of 159/8, which India successfully chased down with the last ball of the game.

Virat Kohli Had An Idea What The Pakistani Bowlers Were Doing: Shoaib Malik

The rapid victories revealed Pakistan’s middle-order problems and experienced Pakistan middle-order batsman Shoaib Malik, who is not on the World Cup roster, wants the team to learn from stalwart Indian batsman Virat Kohli.

India was down to 31-4 after 6.1 overs, but Kohli rallied his team to win with an unbeaten 82 off 53 balls. Kohli skillfully constructed his innings by starting off cautiously and then quickly scoring after spending a lot of time in the middle.

In an interview with A Sports, Malik praised the former India captain and stated: “Look at Virat’s sixes. He was striking those at the end as if he is a power-hitter, which he is not. But the amount of balls he faced, he had an idea of what the bowlers were doing and how the pitch was behaving.”

Shoaib Malik Discusses Haider Ali’s Dismissal

Malik in particular brought up the method through which Haider Ali was dismissed. The batsman was taken out by Hardik Pandya while hitting a cross-batted shot that fell directly into the clutches of Suryakumar Yadav who was standing long-on. The hitter had scored two runs off four balls.

“For the new batter, short midwicket was coming up a bit. It was their plan to bowl a particular length to him (Haider) and send midwicket back, where the catch was taken.

At that point, strike rotation was the requirement. That way, you can understand the wicket and get an idea of what lengths the bowlers are bowling. You can get set that way.”

On Thursday, India will square up against the Netherlands in their second game of the T20 World Cup’s Super 12. Zimbabwe will also play Pakistan on the same day.

Also Read: IND vs PAK: ‘Those Two Shots Will Live In My Memory’ – Ian Smith In Awe Of Virat Kohli’s Two Sixes Off Haris Rauf’s Bowling