Before England captain Nasser Hussain argued that Pakistan’s opening fighters were similar to India’s, due to their cautious approach. However, Hussain feels Pakistan’s strength lies in their bowling, reflecting on how a selection error led them to win over India.
Pakistan and England will face each other in the 2022 T20 World Cup final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday, November 13.
The two sides have had a challenging road to the final and will be looking to claim their second T20 World Cup crown.
Hussain wrote in his column for the Daily Mail:
“Pakistan is a bit like India in that their openers in Babar and Mohammad Rizwan still play a bit old-fashioned white-ball cricket, even though they teemed against New Zealand.”
Hussain also expects Shaheen Shah Afridi to be a real threat after missing the T20I series against England in September and getting off to a slow start at the ongoing World Cup. I said:
“Undoubtedly, Pakistan’s strength lies in their bowling. They probably had the best bowling attack in the competition, even in the painful loss to India from the start when just Their last eight balls really let them down.
“Their best pitcher in Shaheen Shah Afridi hasn’t played in the T20 series against England due to injury and it looks like he might be back too soon in the league. But he’s getting strong. stronger after every game and will be a real threat tomorrow.”
The left-hand pacer missed several important series for Pakistan ahead of the multinational event. He also failed to win in the first two matches of the T20 World Cup before a number of nonstop bowling matches against the Netherlands, South Africa, Bangladesh and New Zealand.
“It was remarkable that they reached the final against England” – Nasser Hussain
Reflecting on Pakistan’s unpredictability in ICC events over the years, the 96-Test veteran admitted:
“It is the summation of Pakistan and has been their story for many years. They are very talented and can put on world-class performances but they can also explode and fail. It’s remarkable. when they reached the final against England. People are comparing them going to Imran Khan’s cornered Tigers in 1992 and there are certain similarities.”
The 1992 ODI World Cup Final between Pakistan and England saw the latter claim the title with a 22-match win.
