Pakistan, known for its resilience, scripted a much-needed turnaround by thumping Bangladesh by seven wickets and recorded its third victory to stay in the World Cup semifinal race at the Eden Gardens here on Tuesday.

Electing to bat on a dry pitch, Bangladesh did not last the 50 overs for the fourth time in its last six innings as it stuttered to 204 with Shaheen Afridi capturing three crucial wickets. Openers Fakhar Zaman and Shafique Abdullah’s authoritative half-centuries enabled the former champion to easily achieve the modest target and end its four-match losing streak.

The left-right combination of Zaman and Shafique got used to the track before toying with the dispirited Bangladesh bowlers to erect a 128-run stand.

In the one-sided sub-continental duel, Zaman (81), who made an emphatic return after over three weeks by clobbering seven spectacular sixes, mostly on the onside, and one stunningly over third-man, and Shafique (68), who hammered Mustafizur Rahman for three fours in an over, entertained nearly 28,000 spectators with some T20 stuff.

Mehidy Hasan Miraz took all three Pakistan wickets but couldn’t prevent the inevitable.

Bangladesh’s PowerPlay woes continued as it lost three wickets for 23.

Leading Pakistan’s pace pack, Afridi displayed good control and extracted seam movement to provide early breakthroughs, giving away too little. He trapped opener Tanzid Hasan lbw in the first over to become the fastest Pakistani bowler to log 100 wickets and had Najmul Shanto caught by a diving Usama Mir at short mid-wicket in the third.

After being hit for three fours, Haris Rauf was relieved to have Mushfiqur Rahim caught behind.

A focused Litton (45) and a confident Mahmudullah (56) revived the innings. The duo’s sensible shot selection and rotation of strike forged The Tigers’ best partnership, 79 off 89 deliveries.

Mahmudullah dominated the off-side and pulled Usama for a massive six. Litton, who impressed by consecutively driving Rauf on either side of the stumps to the boundary, executed his cuts and drives well.

Iftikhar got rid of Litton to break the partnership resulting in Bangladesh’s decelerated run rate.

Afridi returned to bowl a beauty from round the wicket and remove Mahmudullah.

Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan began watchfully before switching gears. A rising delivery ended his 76-ball 43 and gave Rauf a moment of joy. Mohammad Wasim cleaned up the Bangladesh tail.

Bangladesh’s sixth back-to-back defeat let down its emotional fans who had to endure the pain of their team’s formal exit.

Scoreboard

BANGLADESH INNINGS: Tanzid Hasan lbw b Afridi 0 (5b), Litton Das c Salman b Iftikhar 45 (64b, 6×4), Najmul Hossain Shanto c Usama b Afridi 4 (3b, 1×4), Mushfiqur Rahim c Rizwan b Rauf 5 (8b, 1×4), Mahmudullah b Afridi 56 (70b, 6×4, 1×6), Shakib Al Hasan c Salman b Rauf 43 (64b, 4×4), Towhid Hridoy c Iftikhar b Usama 7 (3b, 1×4), Mehidy Hasan Miraz b Wasim 25 (30b, 1×4, 1×6), Taskin Ahmed b Wasim 6 (13b), Mustafizur Rahman b Wasim 3 (7b), Shoriful Islam (not out) 1 (4b); Extras (lb-4, w-5): 9

Total (in 45.1 overs): 204.

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-0 (Tanzid, 0.5 overs), 2-6 (Najmul, 2.4), 3-23 (Mushfiqur, 5.6), 4-102 (Litton, 20.5), 5-130 (Mahmudullah, 30.4), 6-140 (Hridoy, 31.3), 7-185 (Shakib, 39.3), 8-200 (Mehidy, 43.1), 9-201 (Taskin, 43.3).

PAKISTAN BOWLING: Afridi 9-1-23-3, Iftikhar 10-0-44-1, Rauf 8-0-36-2, Wasim 8.1-1-31-3, Usama 10-0-66-1.

PAKISTAN INNINGS: Abdullah Shafique lbw b Mehidy 68 (69b, 9×4, 2×6), Fakhar Zaman c Hridoy b Mehidy 81 (74b, 3×4, 7×6), Babar Azam c Mahmudullah b Mehidy 9 (16b, 1×4), Mohammad Rizwan (not out) 26 (21b, 4×4), Iftikhar Ahmed (not out) 17 (15b, 2×4); Extras (lb-2, w-2): 4

Total (for three wkts. in 32.3 overs): 205.

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-128 (Shafique, 21.1), 2-160 (Babar, 25.4), 3-169 (Fakhar, 27.3).

BANGLADESH BOWLING: Taskin 6-1-36-0, Shoriful 4-1-25-0, Mehidy 9-0-60-3, Mustafizur 7-0-47-0, Shakib 5.3-0-30-0, Najmul 1-0-5-0.

Toss: Bangladesh.

PoM: Fakhar Zaman.

Pakistan won by seven wickets with 105 deliveries to spare.

Pakistan’s Shaheen Shah Afridi celebrates with captain Babar Azam after taking his 100th ODI wicket during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 match against Bangladesh in Kolkata on October 31, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi, on October 31, became the fastest Pakistani bowler to claim 100 ODI wickets. He achieved this feat in the 50th innings during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 match against Bangladesh in Kolkata. Pakistan is playing Bangladesh to stay in contention for a semifinal berth. Shaheen Afridi overtook the record of Saqlain Mushtaq who took 53 matches to reach the milestone.

Shaheen Afridi, son-in-law of former Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi, has taken 105 wickets in Tests in just 46 innings apart from 64 wickets in T20 internationals.

He represented his country in the 2018 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. He was also the leading wicket taker in the tournament with 12 wickets.

In September 2018, he made his debut in the ODIs during the 2018 Asia Cup against Afghanistan and made his T20 international debut in March 2018. Shaheen Shah Afridi, the main strike bowler for the Pakistani team, made his Test debut in December 2018.

Pakistan captain Babar Azam has scored only two fifties in this World Cup. His captaincy has been questioned and he has faced accusations of lacking aggression in field settings
| Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam

Pakistan’s chances of making the semifinals of the Cricket World Cup are on a knife-edge after their eight-wicket defeat to Afghanistan.

It was the team’s third successive loss at the tournament after two opening wins.

AFP Sport looks at three problem areas for Babar Azam’s faltering team:

World class bowling looks ordinary

Pakistan’s bowling was touted as world class before the Asia Cup and when they restricted a strong India side to 266 all out in a washed out game at Pallekele, commentators saw it as a major warning to World Cup rivals.

But two weeks before the showpiece event, key fast bowler Naseem Shah was ruled out with a shoulder injury.

Spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi has 10 wickets in five games in India but has failed to make an early impact — his 2-36 against India and 5-54 facing Australia came in losing causes. In the opening wins over Netherlands and Sri Lanka, he managed two wickets at a combined cost of 103 runs.

Haris Rauf has leaked runs, conceding 286 in five games for eight wickets while the spinners have lacked bite on the slow and turning pitches of India. Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Mohammad Nawaz and Iftikhar Ahmed have just six wickets in five matches between them, conceding 502 runs.

Captaincy in question

Babar Azam is one of the top batsmen in white ball cricket — he has two fifties at the World Cup — but his captaincy has been questioned and he has faced accusations of lacking aggression in field settings.

Pakistan media have consistently accused him of favouring his friends in selection.

“As far as captaincy is concerned, I don’t have much pressure on me or on my batting. I try to give my best in batting,” Babar said after Monday’s loss to Afghanistan.

“During fielding, I think about captaincy and during batting I just think about the batting.”

Babar has won some sympathy in India for his team having to play in front of crowds where Pakistan fans have been effectively banned.

Tight security has also meant that the squad is virtually confined to their hotels once their playing and training commitments are completed.

Lack of planning

There have been frequent, unsettling changes in the the Pakistan Cricket Board set-up — three chairmen in the past year — which hurt planning for the World Cup.

Former chairman Najam Sethi brought in Mickey Arthur as team director but he also kept his Derbyshire county job in England.

Directing the team from the UK, he was criticised in some media as a “Zoom coach.”

Pakistan officials have also been accused of failing to manage the workload of their fast bowlers with Naseem and Shaheen playing all three formats.

Naseem’s most obvious replacements, Ihsanullah and Mohammad Hasnain were also unfit, forcing Pakistan to recall Hasan Ali.

“You were not able to find a coach and since you liked foreign ones you hired an online coach. We change our system frequently and that is showing in our performance in the World Cup,” said former Pakistan great Wasim Akram.

Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam reacts after his team’s defeat during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 match against Afghanistan in Chennai on October 23, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

A disappointed Pakistan captain Babar Azam on Monday admitted that his side’s bowling attack was not up to the mark after Afghanistan beat them by eight wickets in yet another World Cup upset in Chennai.

Afghanistan chased down the target of 283 with six balls to spare with openers Ibrahim Zadran (87 off 113 balls) and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (65 off 53 balls) setting up the win.

One-down Rahmat Shah and captain Hashmatullah Shahidi chipped in with 77 not out and 48 not out respectively as Afghanistan continued their giant-killing spree. They had shocked defending champions England earlier in the tournament.

The stunning loss literally pushed Pakistan on the brink of elimination.

“We had a good total, but in bowling, we were not up to the mark because we weren’t taking wickets in the middle overs,” Babar said at the post-match presentation.

“In a World Cup, if you are not good even in one department, you lose. We started well while bowling, but we couldn’t take wickets.” He gave credit to Afghanistan for the win.

“We are not playing good cricket, (especially) in bowling and fielding,” he said.

“The pitch was helping the spinners even in the second innings. There was no pressure on their batsmen.” Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi said the win “tastes nice”.

“The way we chased today, was very professional. We have been quality cricket from a couple of years. We will try our best to play positive cricket, and do a lot for our country.

“Today, bowling was very good, especially spin bowling. We gave a chance to Noor, and he showed. The game was in our hands from the beginning till the end.” Ibrahim Zadran, who was named Player of the Match for his 87 in Afghanistan’s run chase, said he played with a positive intent.

“Thankful that I performed well in this event. I wanted to play with a positive intent,” he said.

“Many times Gurbaz and I have done a brilliant partnership together. We have played a lot of cricket together, right from the Under-16 days. I am feeling very glad for myself and for my country.” Former captain and senior player Mohammad Nabi said the win was a big moment for the whole of Afghanistan, having lost every game that they played against the bitter rivals from 2012.

“We have played eight games against Pakistan, and won in a big event. It’s a lovely moment today. We beat England as well, and now Pakistan. The team is confident now.

“(Earlier) in the last moments, we used to lose the game (to Pakistan). We thought it was the same wicket like against New Zealand, but it was totally changed.

“A lot of close games, and this is a fantastic feeling. We shouldn’t have lost against Bangladesh. But now half the tournament is gone.”

Afghanistan player Rahmanullah Gurbaz and coach Jonathan Trott during a practice session ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 match against Pakistan in Chennai.
| Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam

Head coach Jonathan Trott is hopeful Afghanistan can keep their World Cup campaign alive by pulling off a win against an under-pressure Pakistan, having come agonisingly close to defeating them earlier this year.

The 42-year-old added that the passionate rivalry between the two teams, who are desperate to win, would make it an enthralling contest in Chennai on October 23.

“I think for them (Afghans), it’s a rivalry that excites them. It’s a rivalry that sometimes in the past has been very passionate,” Trott said at the pre-match press conference on October 22.

“But I’m sure we’ll see an exciting game tomorrow. It’s just the nature of the rivalry. And both teams respect each other but are very desperate to win,” he added.

Pakistan had defeated Afghanistan 3-0 in a three-match ODI series in August with Babar Azam and Co. eking out a narrow one-wicket win in the second match.

“We’ve had an ODI series against them recently where we should have won a few games, (but) we didn’t. So hopefully, we can put that right tomorrow.” Afghanistan play their second game at the Chepauk, the Hashmatullah Shahidi-led side fell to 149-run loss to New Zealand at the same venue.

“The pitch I’m not sure. Chennai is normally a good wicket. So, everybody’s got to put in a good team performance if we want to beat the likes of a strong side like Pakistan.” In the game against New Zealand, the Afghan spinners failed to make an impact.

“With spinners, there are only two or three of them playing a game. And, it’s the other eight as well that have to play the game, so that’s important,” Trott replied to a query from PTI.

“It’s everybody’s job. It’s not just the spinners’ job to win games. There are batters who’ve got to put runs on the board or chase down a total. Yes, the spinners are important and getting our selection is key for the fixture, but it’s a team effort. There’s no reliance on just spinners.”

Afghanistan are at the bottom of the points table, having lost three of the four fixtures they have played. Their only victory came against defending champion England.

The game against Pakistan is a must-win of sorts for Afghanistan if they want to keep their fate in their own hands. A loss could mean they will have to rely on favourable results to stay in the semifinal race.

“Every game is a must-win game. This is a World Cup, and every game is important. So, I don’t see the other matches just as more important as this,” said Trott.

Pakistan is headed into the match having suffered back-to-back losses against hosts India and Australia. Trott asserted that his side would aim to exploit this situation against an under-pressure Pakistani side.

“We always look to put up put the opposition under pressure straight away, so we’ll be looking to do that tomorrow, obviously. There’s a lot of other things that come into the game with regards to the rivalry and the history of and the passion of everything.” “We know the Pakistan team will be very determined to win tomorrow and certainly want to sort of snap that losing streak of the two games,” he signed off.

Pakistan’s Babar Azam, Hasan Ali and Shaheen Afridi, during a practice session ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup match against Australia, at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru on October 19, 2023.
| Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar

Pakistan pacer Hasan Ali exuded confidence that his side can recover from the dispiriting loss to India, ahead of the World Cup encounter against Australia.

“We agree that we didn’t play to our calibre, but it’s not the end of the world,” Ali said, on Thursday. “I will say this — nothing has changed.”

Make or break

“India – Pakistan match is such that it can make or break your career. Maybe if it was against some other team or if we had won, you wouldn’t be asking us this. We sat together and had a healthy discussion about the things that need improvement.”

The Men in Green will be well-served if the betterment touches the bowling department first. With Naseem Shah injured (replaced by Ali) and Shaheen Afridi not in top form, Pakistan appears to have lost a bit of its edge.

Optimistic

“Only one bowler has changed, the rest all are the same. I think you guys don’t like my wild card entry. But I feel proud.”

“Shaheen has won us many matches. I know he is not fit right now but very soon he will be there. The games here are very high scoring. But this is not an excuse. You have to find a way and our effort will be to perform.”

Australia captain Pat Cummins was mindful of the standard of cricket Pakistan is capable of playing.

Really strong side

“They’re a side that always seems to be right up there,” Cummins said. “Pretty well structured. Some really good quick bowlers, some spin bowlers who can bowl 20 of their overs.”

“I think [Mohammad] Rizwan is the leading run-scorer. Babar Azam is always good. They’re a really strong side pretty much in all facets.”

The 30-year-old hoped his batters would rediscover their hunger for runs after a quiet start to the tournament.

“Especially here in Bangalore, I dare say it’s going to be high scoring. I think the way Mitchie [Mitchell Marsh] and Davey [David Warner] started by taking the game on [vs. Sri Lanka]… that’s what we want. I’m sure runs are around the corner.”

Australia’s David Warner during a practice session ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup match against Pakistan, at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru on October 19, 2023.
| Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar

A week is a long time in politics — former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson is supposed to have said, referring to the fast-changing pace of the political landscape. The Pakistan cricket team will hope that the adage comes true in sport when it takes on Australia in a crucial World Cup encounter at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday.

Though Babar Azam & Co. has won two of its three matches, it is coming off a demoralising seven-wicket defeat to India. A bout of viral fever among its members and a knee injury to opener Fakhar Zaman have also hampered preparations.

Bowling headache

Of particular concern is the form of left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi. The 23-year-old often sets the tone for Pakistan, but has blown hot and cold. The lack of wickets from leggie and vice-captain Shadab Khan is also a worry.

But in Babar and Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistan has proven match-winners. Along with Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq and Saud Shakeel, they should revel in the traditionally batting-friendly conditions.

Back in the hunt

For Australia, the big-ticket contest perhaps comes at the right time. After losing its opening two fixtures, Pat Cummins’ outfit looked tired and jaded. But the convincing five-wicket win over Sri Lanka has seemingly re-energised the side. The spirit was best exemplified by Adam Zampa, who scalped four wickets despite a bruised body.

Australia is, however, short of runs from the middle-order. The trio of Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne and Glenn Maxwell hasn’t reached its usual exalted heights. For Maxwell though, the Royal Challengers Bangalore home turf is a familiar hunting ground, and if he can find his mojo, the fans are in for a treat.

Home away from home

Curiously, Australia has featured in all of the last five ODIs held in Bengaluru, dating back to the 2011 World Cup. David Warner, Smith, Cummins and Zampa have in fact played in the two most-recent ties (2020 and 2017). Pakistan was here for an ODI last in 1999 — which it won — and before that for the charged 1996 World Cup quarterfinal against India.

Form and familiarity point to Australia. Or will a week prove a long time in sport?

People hold up signs during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza near the Capitol in Washington on on October 18, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

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Cricket World Cup 2023 | New Zealand has Afghanistan crashing down to the earth

Afghanistan, flying high after the win over England, was brought down to the ground by a clinical performance from New Zealand which handed the former a 149-run defeat at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on Wednesday.

Last month, Tamim hit out at the Bangladesh Cricket Board after being dropped from the 50-over World Cup squad due to injury concerns. File
| Photo Credit: AFP

Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusinghe expressed his inability to address whether the absence of Tamim Iqbal is affecting the Tigers’ underperforming top-order ahead of their World Cup match against India on Thursday.

Bangladesh’s struggle in the batting department is quite evident as they continue to struggle to put up competitive scores against top teams in the World Cup.

During the pre-match press conference, Hathurusinghe admitted that they “haven’t put up complete batting performance, or to that matter, complete performance with the ball and bat so far.”

Under such circumstances, Tamim’s absence from the squad once again takes away the spotlight as he has been one of the top batters for Bangladesh in the ODI and has amassed 8,357 runs in 243 ODI outings.

Hathurusinghe was quizzed whether the team felt the absence of the experienced batter in the squad to which he replied, “He is not here, so I can’t answer whether we are missing him or not. Unfortunately, he was not ready the time we were selecting. So obviously his record as a player is good, but the same thing is I don’t know whether we are missing him or not, because we have players that here we have trusting that they will do a job for us.”

Last month, Tamim hit out at the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) after being dropped from the 50-over World Cup squad due to injury concerns.

Shakib Al Hasan called Tamim “childish” and criticized him for putting himself ahead of the team’s needs.

Shakib spoke about Tamim without naming him and said that he is not a team man and just playing for individual records.

“You are not thinking about the team at all. People don’t understand these things. Why was the proposal given to him? It was for the team. What is wrong in that? You are a team man when you agree to such a proposal. Unless you are thinking along those lines, you are not a team man. You are playing for individual records, success, fame, and name. Not for the team,” Shakib said as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.

Netherlands team celebrates after winning the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 match against South Africa, at HPCA Stadium, in Dharamshala on October 17, 2023.
| Photo Credit: PTI

For a set of activities that are governed by clear rules, unpredictability is what makes sport a compelling watch. The Netherlands’ defeat of South Africa just a few days after Afghanistan’s triumph over England in the ICC Cricket World Cup would not have been predicted by even the keenest observers of the game. Where do these upsets rank among other victories by underdogs over favourites in all World Cup games? 

To answer that question, we take recourse to the use of the Elo ratings method. Elo ratings, developed by professor Arpad Elo for games such as chess, can be replicated for other two-team sports as well. The Elo system assigns a rating to each team, using the results of previous international games. The ICC uses a similar system to rate and rank its teams but it only publishes the current rankings of each team.

 We relied upon the work of Gaurav Sood and Derek Willis (outside_edge at github) who constructed an algorithmic approach to calculate monthly Elo ratings for each ICC cricket playing nation/team, to identify the Elo ratings at the start of each World Cup. Sood and Willis had brought out ratings for each team till late 2021, but The Hindu used the same method of extracting match information from ESPNCricinfo for later ODIs and found the Elo ratings till October 2023. More involved Elo calculations that account for individual player ratings have been undertaken by others such as Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview in X) but only for Test playing nations. 

The Elo ratings of any two teams playing a game during any World Cup are an indication of their prior and recent performances and their respective strengths. The difference in their rating would indicate the gulf between the two sides. A team with a lower ELO rating, defeating one with a higher one could constitute an upset and if the Elo difference is quite high, it would qualify as a major upset. 

Table 1 | The table lists the major upsets in all games played in the World Cup till Tuesday.

The tables appear incomplete? Click to remove AMP mode

The Netherlands’ defeat of South Africa on Tuesday was despite a gulf of a whopping 457 points between the Elo ratings of the respective teams. This was the second biggest upset after Bangladesh’s defeat of Pakistan in the 1999 World Cup (Elo difference of 569 points). Afghanistan’s defeat of England on Sunday was only the 13th biggest upset, largely because the former had a better cricketing resume in the lead up to the World Cup, leading to a difference of 255 points in their Elo ratings. If not for technical reasons, this defeat would have rated 12th, as the 6th biggest upset – New Zealand losing to Kenya – was due to the former forfeiting the game after refusing to take the field in Nairobi citing security concerns. 

Table 2 | The table lists the favourite teams and the teams that won the various World Cups throughout the years.

Having the highest Elo ratings at the start of the World Cup is not always a guarantee of a team’s success as Table 2 shows. Only West Indies in 1979 and Australia in 2003 and 2015 managed to live up to their status as favourites by winning the trophy. And India in 1983 and Pakistan in 1992 were the most unfancied teams that went on to lift the World Cup. Not for nothing are Kapil’s Devils continued to be feted in India for heralding a cricketing revolution in the country. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan might be currently in the lowest ebb of his political career, but the sheer scale of his triumph as cricket captain in 1992 could explain how he managed to reach a peak in popularity in Pakistan. 

Table 3 | The table lists the Elo ratings of all the teams currently playing in the 2023 World Cup.

 (With technical inputs from Rishywanth Ambalam)

Source: ESPNCricinfo, outside_edge at github (Work of Gaurav Sood and Derek Willis)

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