Sharjah 7 Sep : Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra believes Pakistan had a powerful bowling attack, despite having only two spinners in their playing eleven.Left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz and leg-spinner Shadab Khan swung tight sequences at rates of 6.25 and 7.75 respectively in Pakistan’s five wicket win in the Super Four match against India.In addition to Nawaz along with Shadab, Pakistan has a backup spinner in Usman Qadir.If Pakistan beat Afghanistan in Wednesday’s match Afghanistan at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah, both India and Afghanistan will be eliminated from the tournament, setting the way for them to glide to the final of 2022 Asia Cup in the UAE.
“Their bowling attack appears okay.If Hazratullah Zazai remains on the pitch for a bit longer and Najibullah Zadran arrives in an hour or so early, they will can make the choice of heading to Iftikhar (Ahmed) and asking him to bowl their over.
He is a bowler who will offer a few overs of off-spin, therefore they have the option.However, what’s in Pakistan’s favor, in my opinion, is their speedy bowling.”
“Of course, the surface isn’t suited to faster bowlers, but Madushanka (of Sri Lanka) has two wickets.You could nevertheless go in and have a go and be a bit more economical to ensure that the bulk of your wickets are being taken by two spinners.
Also, Pakistan, even though they only have two spinners, they have a formidable attacking force,” stated Chopra on “Game Plan” on Star Sports.
Chopra was also of the opinion that Afghanistan’s top leg spinner Rashid Khan has a different role to play in the game against Pakistan due to his performance in the power-play aren’t very good.”I believe that Mujeeb (Ur Rahman) will bowl three overs, because he will bowl the first over, and he will then start in the Power Play overs.(Mohammad) Nabi might think about Rashid Khan and then might decide to resist the temptation, since Rashid’s figures over the course of the Power Play overs aren’t very appealing.”
“Secondly You already have a distinct role for Rashid almost set in the ground; you must bowl the middle overs, perhaps the over in the back five, because what you’re facing is a top line-up of batsmen.”
“So it’s not just about the top three players, Khushdil is in top form, Nawaz scores runs, Asif really hasn’t been able to make it in an attempt to chase runners.So, this team has power.Yes, it’s mercurial however Rashid has a different job to perform,” concluded Chopra.
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