CHENNAI: It was all going according to plan. A big opening partnership to put pressure on the opposition, forcing them to make changes. Even if the openers fell in quick succession, their foundation was strong enough for the middle order to pile the runs. But then the spinners took the game away by triggering the collapse. Pakistan have followed a similar script in their last two previous encounters in the World Cup so far. As if the points table calculations were not enough to put pressure on the side, they have a task when they face Afghanistan, a side that has world-class spinners on one of the most spin-friendly tracks in the competition.
"Our start was very good in the last two matches. Our run rate was good in the first 20 to 25 overs. And then we suddenly collapsed," Pakistan opener Imam-ul-Haq told reporters ahead of the clash. From three for 155 to 191 all out against India and four for 232 to 305 all out in Bengaluru while facing the Aussies. In Ahmedabad, Kuldeep Yadav's twin blows rattled the middle order while the economical Ravindra Jadeja made their life hard at the other end. Adam Zampa's big show in Bengaluru first restricted Babar Azam and later stopped the big hitters like Mohammed Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed in their tracks to manufacture a win on a flat pitch.
If that crumbling under the pressure generated by spin bowling is the Kryptonite for Pakistan batters, Afghanistan has multiple assets that can take away the game from opponents. Take for example Afghanistan's win against the defending champions England in New Delhi. The spin trio of Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan took eight wickets between them, while giving away 104 runs in almost half of the overs. "Afghanistan have some brilliant spinners so that was always going to be tough," England captain Jos Buttler had praised the Afghan bowlers.
With all of this awareness, Pakistan's top order spent a fair amount of time facing spin variations in the nets on the eve of the match that could potentially seal their fate in this World Cup. Captain Babar Azam, wicketkeeper Rizwan, and Saud Shakeel were seen facing the likes of Usama Mir, Mohammad Nawaz, Iftikhar Ahmed and travelling reserve Abrar Ahmed as well. If that wasn't enough, the Pakistani bowlers also faced a few local spinners, to prepare against the Afghan spin trio.
"Of course, there are good spinners in Afghanistan who can bowl well in the middle overs," Imam added while also focusing on Pakistan's recent record against their neighbours. "But, we have beaten them in Hambantota 3-0 (August 2023). Even there, the conditions were very spin-friendly. So, we will back that and our ability," the opener who scored the most runs for Pakistan in that series in Sri Lanka mentioned.
Even when Pakistan batters were sweating against spinners in a hot Chennai afternoon, Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott refused to put it down as just a battle between spinners and opposition batters. "The thing is 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," the former England international told reporters in Chennai. "Yes, the spinners are important but it's a team effort. There's no reliance on just spinners.
There are seam bowlers as well who have got to bowl well and in whatever conditions we are confronted with," the head coach mentioned. Come Monday, all the theories will be put into practice on the Chepauk deck. Even with the pressure, Imam had a simple message for his teammates. "In the end, you have to play the ball. You don't have to play the bowler. So, you have to back your ability." The result will tell if his teammates followed his advice or not.