Thread by @GlobalLeagues

Matchdays with @IndianMourinho: #T20WorldCup #PAKvAFG

Pak's bowler management: I found that a bit too one dimensional.

Ov 1-12: 67/5
Ov 13-20: 80/1

This happened as a result of two reasons:

1. Pak going full (read: full here - anything that isn't BoL at least) &/ slow.

@IndianMourinho In the last 4 overs, the team bowled a grand total of 2 fast short balls. This is something you can't do against subcontinental sides.

Hasan Ali was struggling, so even if he had tried, 135kph wouldn't have made a difference. But Rauf and Shaheen were persistent

@IndianMourinho with the full and/or slow tactic too, despite hitting high 140s at ease.

2. Babar Azam backed himself into a corner with his bowling changes.

@IndianMourinho Finishing Imad too early - if he had used pace and got through Najibullah, who struggles against BoL and wide lines, that would have opened up Imad to a slew of right handers later in the innings.

@IndianMourinho This would have resulted in Pak not having to bowl 90% pace in the last 9 overs, more so with two bowlers bowling 3 each. Even the very best struggle to bowl 3 in 6, which is what Rauf had to do in this game.

@IndianMourinho Afghanistan's usage of Rashid Khan: Delaying the introduction of Rashid Khan is an age-old ploy of Afghanistan. They have been doing it for years. Teams who play Afghanistan regularly know this; so much so that they have used it to work in favour of them by going hell for leather

@IndianMourinho at all other options or at least at the weaker links (Naib, Janat, LHB vs SLA, RHB vs Nabi & Mujeeb etc). AFG have been caught napping when opp finds success in attack this way, because as you saw yesterday, they are stubborn in their belief even when the match is slipping away.

@IndianMourinho Why do Afghanistan do this? They want opposition to attack Rashid Khan; not just defend him off and take on the rest. When you introduce Rashid in the second half, teams are forced to attack more.

@IndianMourinho So was that the right ploy? There are plenty of scenarios when it fits: bowling first, defending above par or at least par score. But yesterday was Afghanistan defending a below par score. So it wasn't the right ploy in this situation.

@IndianMourinho And Rashid Khan can beat batsmen on defence. This is a tactic that is best used for bowlers who only come into play if batsmen attack (read: Bravo). Rashid Khan now is a more versatile bowler than he was in 2016-17; it isn't just his googlies that trouble batsmen.

@IndianMourinho He spins them both ways at the same speed and has great control over his length; as it was witnessed yesterday, Pakistan batsmen - Babar Azam included - were getting beaten left, right, and centre despite not looking to attack.

@IndianMourinho Also, that they didn't look to attack Rashid Khan a lot in the first 3 overs despite the late introduction is a giveaway that Afghanistan failed in achieving what they intended to.

@IndianMourinho After the end of Mujeeb's spell, Pakistan only had 44/1 in 7 overs. They were behind the required rate they needed at the start of innings. But by the end of 10th over, a 3-over phase where at least one over of Rashid Khan could have been bowled, Pakistan had moved to 72/1.

@IndianMourinho 28 runs between 7-10; it could have been worse if Pakistan had been more aware of the opposition tactic and got hold of Janat's first over.

No matter how good your tactic is, you can't keep playing the same card over and over again. Play what fits the situation.

@IndianMourinho At least if Pak were consistently losing wkts, it made sense to delay Rashid. But they weren't. Just one down after 7th. An attack was imminent. Even the 1st over of Janat was a risk. To try and push two more - where Pak took 23 off 12 - was a blunder & where AFG lost the plot.