'At-Least Grab...': Shoaib Akhtar Lashes Out At Pakistan Fielding
Akhtar lashed out at Pakistan fielding [X.Com]
Pakistan’s shocking display on the field against Australia in Bengaluru has attracted severe backlash from several prominent figures. The 200-run plus opening stand between Mitch Marsh and David Warner helped Australia set the tone for a crushing victory.
In a belligerent show with the willow, both Warner and Marsh smashed twin centuries of 163 (124) and 121 (108) respectively to power Australia to a commanding first-innings score of 367/9.
Akhtar criticises Pakistan fielding
Amidst their extraordinary power-hitting, Pakistani bowlers did create ample opportunities with the ball. But as fate would have it, the fielders failed to complement their efforts thus giving multiple lifelines to the Aussie batters which ultimately proved costly. The biggest drop occurred during the fifth over of the match when Warner was put down on 10 by the debutant Usama Mir.
The delivery from Shaheen Afridi was skied by the batter, resulting in a top edge. This presented a clear opportunity for the Mir who was stationed at mid-on to take a straightforward catch but in the end, he made an absolute mess of it.
That moment proved to be a turning point in the match. This costly mistake by Mir proved to be costly for Pakistan as Warner capitalized on the missed opportunity and added 153 more runs to his score. The skipper Babar Azam himself also dropped a sitter off the bowling of Usama Mir at first slip while Steve Smith was batting. However, that missed chance did not turn out to be too fatal as Smith was eventually dismissed on 7.
Former Pakistani speedster Shoaib Akhtar did not hold back while expressing his grief following his side’s poor show on the field. On X (formerly Twitter) Akhtar wrote that if you are not able to create opportunities then the least you can do is to grab the easy opportunities created by the batters.
Despite a brutal first-wicket partnership, Pakistani bowlers were able to restrict the Men in Yellow to well below 400. However, the target proved to be way beyond Pakistan’s reach as they were bundled out for 305. The Men in Green are gearing up for their next battle against Afghanistan at the same venue on October 23.
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