A transatlantic flight’s lengthy transition from
takeoff to landing may be a technological marvel, but it is also so tedious
that you must turn on the in-flight entertainment system to muster the
willpower to get through it. This is the least exciting phase of the trip,
where everyone appears to be going through the motions until it’s time for the
part that people truly care about, as long as the pilots know what they’re
doing and the structural engineering of the aircraft is sound.
Which leads us to the middle overs of ODI cricket. The
middle overs are completely eliminated in T20 cricket, but for around three
months every four years shortly before a World Cup, the format feels important
once again. The middle overs’ guiding principles remain essentially same. In
addition, despite Pakistan’s recent promotion as perhaps the world’s most
exciting ODI bowling team, Sri Lanka’s defeat of Pakistan in the Asia Cup
exposed the flaws they had been trying to hide.
At a stage in the game when wickets were Pakistan’s
only chance of getting back into it, captain Babar Azam of Pakistan resorted to
Iftikhar Ahmed in the 20th over of Sri Lanka’s chase, a player with nine ODI
wickets to that point in his career. When Iftikhar was chosen, the television
commentators made no effort to hide their disapproving shock, given that he was
only somewhat threatening.
The same broadcasters argued among themselves about
whether Shaheen Afridi or Iftikhar should bowl their maximum allotment of nine
overs towards the end of the innings as the game’s climax approached. Due to
the fact that the Pakistani captain’s strategic acumen is still up for
question, it is all too easy to place the blame at his feet. However, a pilot
can only operate the equipment he has been provided. Sometimes, Pakistan’s ODI
failures are caused by factors other than Babar’s captaincy.
Momentum has changed hands during Pakistan’s
middle-overs phase, where the bowling has appeared feeble and uninspiring.
Pakistan lost all of their wickets against Bangladesh for 20 overs between the
10th and the 30th over, against India in their second game from the 18th over
onward, and against Sri Lanka in the match that ultimately eliminated them for
23.2 overs against India in Round 1.
The excellence at both ends had held together this odd
combination of half a dozen matchwinners and almost as many journeymen in the
middle, but as the Asia Cup’s extremities faded, the frail underbelly became
apparent. Pakistan has roughly a fortnight to return everything to the way it
was, as there is no longer enough time to deal with the central concerns in an
effective manner. However, Pakistan has made coming from behind to win a game
of cricket their national character, so whenever we reach the middle overs of a
Pakistan game at the World Cup, boring is the last thing from our minds.