Pakistan Unleash Pakball as They Look to Make a Mark in the New WTC Cycle

Pakistan had one of the easier calendars in the last WTC cycle. Their tours were within Asia and to the West Indies while the tougher away teams were coming to them, giving them a strong chance of making some strides in the tournament. Pakistan though went a season without winning a home Test, lost in Sri Lanka and were absolutely embarrassing as a Test Unit.

Strategically they were as defensive as ever, heading into the Test looking for a draw on dead tracks with some dead batting and defensive bowling. The absence of Shaheen Shah Afridi for most of 2022 made it all the more difficult for Pakistan to be an attacking force and the Test team was going nowhere. They came to Galle with a lot on the line for the Test team despite a new WTC unveiling.

Pakistan though responded in their trademark manner. As a Cricketing nation, Pakistan has given a lot of new skills to international cricket. From reverse swing to the doosra, bowlers now have a lot more options thanks to the Pakistani pacers and spinners of the previous generations, who tried to evovle the game. This time though, Pakistan has taken a leaf out of another sides book and have gone on to play Test Cricket with a lot more intent.

For a side that plays its best cricket when the odds are against them, Pakistan did exactly what was needed and came out with all guns blazing with the bat. Throughout the series, Pakistan had a run-rate above 4 while Saud Shakeel came out of the box to show that he can turn the gears of an innings on his own. He saved Pakistan along with Agha Salman with some wonderful innings in the first Test when the Test was in a sticky spot for Pakistan.

In the second Test Shan Masood and Abudullah Shafique too played with intent and proved that they can play in a manner which puts oppositions on the backfoot quickly. In both cases Pakistan broke free quickly but in the Galle Test in particular their jailbreak was a lot more special. Coming in cornered with half their side gone and the team trailing by 200+ runs, Salman and Shakeel took the aggressive route to announce that Pakistan are still a force to reckon with in all formats.

Throughout, it has been their batting which was a concern with the bowling always looking good for Pakistan. With Shaheen back, the bowling had a lot more intimidation up top and Naseem Shah continued to churn out some unplayable deliveries as Pakistan continued to do business with the ball.

They finished 7th last time in the WTC table and this time their route to the Finals is a lot more challenging with a tour to Australia later this year. Pakistan though came to Sri Lanka with a lot on the line and bought a fresh brand of cricket to their standards and it will be interesting to see if they can do this against some of the bigger opponents in their backyards as WTC points are there for the taking.