CT 2017, Final, IND vs PAK – Pakistan Predicted XI

If you are not a Pakistan fan and if a question was raised in front of you a few weeks back about the chances of the team going through to the final, you probably would have thought the team won’t be able to make it even to the semi-finals. And if you are a Pakistan fan, you would have had hopes but even you won’t have been fully confident about the team making it to the top 2.

Whether a fan or not, this Pakistan squad has surprised one and all. After they lost to the arch-rivals India in the first game of the Champions Trophy, many wrote them off and didn’t believe this side was capable of competing on the big stage. Thye had somehow managed to qualify for the tournament at the cut-off date and initially, they indeed played like the bottom ranked side amongst all.

They came up against South Africa in the next match and literally thrashed the No.1 side in the world. And when they needed to win against Sri Lanka to go through to the semis, they emerged victorious in a close contest. Next, it was the biggest upset they caused so far by defeating England in the semi-final where everyone thought England were the favorites to lift the trophy.

Against all odds, they made it to the final where they’ll face India once more. The fans couldn’t have asked for anything more. The blockbuster clash is set to grab the attention of the whole cricketing fraternity.

Let’s take a look at the predicted XI of the Pakistan side for the big final:

Openers (Fakhar Zaman and Azhar Ali)

The opener made his debut in the game against South Africa and since then, has proved to be the best batsman of the side. Fakhar has scored 31, 50 and 57 runs in the last 3 games. The best part about those knocks was the rate at which the runs were scored. The left-hander provided quickfire starts that made chasing totals easy for Pakistan.

Azhar Ali scored 50 against India in the first match but the rate at which he scored was questionable. But since Fakhar’s inclusion, he has been able to play his natural game. The right-hander scored 34 and 76 in previous 2 innings and despite being slow, it was filled in by the explosive knocks of his partner. The pair has set up the run chases pretty well for the team.

Middle-Order (Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik and Sarfaraz Khan)

Babar Azam came into the tournament as the in-form batsman but he hasn’t exploded like he was expected to yet he played 2 sensible knocks of 31 and 38 being not out on both occasions. Hafeez has had a similar story with the bat as he has had scores of 33, 26, 1 and 31. He brings an addition to the side with his off-breaks and has chipped in with crucial overs in the middle stages.

Malik has batted on 3 occasions so far and hasn’t found a big score yet. He has accounted for just 42 runs in 3 innings and hasn’t bowled too much either. Pakistan would need a lot more from the veteran against India.

The skipper Sarfaraz played a match-winning knock against Sri Lanka but apart from that, he has batted only once. In the previous encounter against India, he managed to score only 15 runs. A lot would lie on the shoulders in all 3 departments of his expertise namely batting, keeping and captaining.

All-rounder (Imad Wasim)

The left-arm spinner was costly against India as he gave away 66 runs in 9.1 overs. Imad bowling with the new ball didn’t work in Pakistan’s favor as Indian openers were quite comfortable against him. But he made a great return by bagging figures of 20/2 in 8 overs against South Africa. In the next 2 matches, he didn’t pick up any wickets and will have his work cut out against the strong Indian batting line-up.

Bowlers (Mohammad Amir, Junaid Khan, Rumman Raees and Hasan Ali)

Amir began well against India but ended up wicketless and the trend continued against South Africa as well. He then bagged 2 wickets versus Sri Lanka but missed out in the semi-final due to a back spasm. He is fit now and will be expected to return and the onus will be on him to take early wickets.

Junaid didn’t feature in the match against India due to an injury but since his return, he has bagged 7 wickets in 3 matches. He has been instrumental bowling with the new ball as well as the death. Raees is another who did well against England. He filled in for the injured Amir in the last game and is expected to hold on to his spot at the expense of Shadab Khan.

Hasan Ali has been the bowler of the tournament so far. He is the current leading wicket-taker with 11 scalps to his name. The pacer has bowled as the first change bowler and has picked up wickets at crucial stages. His bowling at the death with reverse swing has been mighty impressive.

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