Asia Cup: Bowlers earn easy win for Pakistan after batters struggle

Pakistan had their bowlers to thank for their comprehensive 93-run win over Oman in their opening Asia Cup Group A match on Friday.

But if you analyse their batting unit, even their most loyal supporters will be disappointed with their insipid display at the near-empty Dubai International Stadium on Friday evening.  

Pakistan’s batters struggled for fluency against a modest attack, crawling to 160 for seven before their bowlers turned up the heat on Oman, restricting the Gulf team to 67 all out.

Less than 48 hours after India knocked the stuffing out of the UAE, Pakistan looked far from convincing in their opening game.

Salman Agha’s team will need to pull up their socks to put up a fight against India, the reigning world champions, in Sunday’s high-voltage clash between the two arch-rivals on the same ground.

Middle-order woes

Number three Mohammad Harris (66 off 43 balls, 7 fours, 3 sixes) and opener Sahibzada Farhan (29 off 29 balls, 1 four) kept the team on track for a big total with their 85-run second-wicket partnership after Saim Ayub fell for a duck.

Pakistan were sitting pretty at 89 for two after 11 overs only to slump to 120 for five as their scoring rate also dropped alarmingly.

They needed the experience of Fakhar Zaman (23 not out off 16 balls, 2 fours) and the inventive shot-making from Mohammad Nawaz (19 off 10 balls, 4 fours) to add 40 runs off the last 20 balls.

In reply, the inexperienced Omani batters found the Pakistani attack too hot to handle as nine of them failed to reach a double-digit score.

Opening batsman Saim shared the new ball with Shaheen Shah Afridi and dismissed both openers — Aamir Kaleem (13) and Jatinder Singh (1) —with his part-time off-spin, showing his credentials as an emerging all-rounder.

Pakistan players celebrate a wicket. 

Oman never recovered from the early blows as they were bowled out for a paltry score.

But Pakistan’s margin of victory was misleading. If not for their bowlers and clueless opposition batters, this could have been a more competitive game.

Captain Agha admitted that the onus is on Pakistan batters to put good totals on the board.

"It is hard to say but the way we started, we should have scored near 180. It is just a game of cricket, you never know how it goes and how many you can score," he said.

Unless their batters, especially the middle-order, find their groove, Pakistan fans can expect a very tough challenge against the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav on Sunday.

But Agha warned critics against the perils of writing off his team.

"If we can execute our plans for a long enough period, we are good enough to beat any team," he said.

Brief scores:

Pakistan 160 for 7 (Haris 66, Farhan 29, Kaleem 3-31, Faisal 3-34) beat Oman 67 (Mirza 27, Ashraf 2-6, Muqeem 2-7, Ayub 2-8) by 93 runs.

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