Karachi: Has there been a better performance by a Pakistani batsman in Australia, that too by an opener? Azhar Ali’s evolution over this last year, in which he has had to assume opening duties, has been one of Pakistan’s happiest gains. In Australia he was outstanding, not least with the MCG double in which his straight-driving, in particular, reached heights he has never hit before.
He looked good for another big one in the first innings in Sydney until cut short by poor running. But by series end, he was the wicket Australia wanted most – no Pakistani less deserved to be whitewashed.
By his own admission, he came to the party late. And it says plenty about his stature that, for one of the very few times in his career, his hundred in Sydney was meaningless for Pakistan. It was still a very good one, a reminder that he is not yet quite done. More than ever, his start is the key: if he survives the first half hour or so, he looks fine, which is why he will be especially disappointed at a pair of 20s at the MCG. A couple of his dismissals were not great looks but if Misbah-ul-Haq goes, it won’t be a bad idea for Younis to stay on. Not much action in the slips, though he did drop a chance in the final Test.
Asad Shafiq
He started the series magnificently, with an innings that will not be soon forgotten. But his tailing away thereafter will have disturbed Pakistan, especially as he looked so resolute in his first-innings 50 at the MCG. That one was ended by a good ball, but his three subsequent dismissals hinted at carelessness, and in situations where he is now expected to be extra careful.
He still seems not quite to be over the bump produced by being shunted up and down the order. With Misbah on the verge of leaving, Pakistan desperately need him to acquire the kind of ruthlessness Azhar has shown in the last year when cashing in on good form and good starts. Wahab Riaz By a distance the best of the worst bowling performance by a Pakistan bowling attack. By the last Test, he was the only one of them who looked up to the task of playing Test cricket. He was at the heart of Pakistan’s best bowling day of the series, the second at the Gabba.
He was also at the heart of their most indisciplined phase, the third afternoon at the MCG where he imploded with a blitz of no-balls. It was, frustratingly, an outstanding spell of full-length, super-fast bowling, but little of it was legal and it was a big part of the reason Pakistan ceded advantage there and with it, the series. In Sydney, he showed off his range, slowing down and concentrating on keeping the run rate down. It felt like a coming of age, but a very strange one.
