| The soft underbelly |
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| Written by HW SquadStats | ||||||
| Thursday, 25 October 2007 | ||||||
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It will come as both, a warning sign and a source of encouragement that despite the fact that they haven't been performing at peak potential, Pakistan are sitting pretty with a lead. There are plenty of vulnerable areas that South Africa can look to target and try and get back in the reckoning.
The two wins that have come have come primarily through Afridi, Yousuf and Shoaib Malik. Pakistan average 31 runs per batsmen, and Yousuf contributes the most to this with his own average being 41, a good 10 points above the Pakistani team average. The Pakistani batting rests heavily on Yousuf, and getting him and Malik early will allow South Africa to barge into the rest of the line up, who haven't really shown anything that will inspire confidence in their fans.
The brittleness below the tough exterior in the Pakistani batting line up is made up for by the strength in their bowling. While their overall team economy rate is, by itself, an impressive 4.55, Afridi, Abdur Rehman and Iftikhar Anjum have done better than average so far, preying on the South African middle order. With no major change in the pitch or playing conditions expected, this will have a two-point implication for South Africa. It will mean that Smith, one of their more successful batsmen in this tour so far, along with Gibbs will have to give them a good, solid start so as to allow them to tide over the dodgy middle overs. It will also mean that the middle order, which has flattered to deceive so far after the Tests, will need to deliver and negate the advantage Pakistan have in the middle overs.
The middle overs are a problem for South Africa not just with the bat but with also the ball. Johan Botha, so far, doesn't have much to tell his children and grand-children as far as his ODI career is concerned, and remains the weak link with the ball in conditions where your spinners have the biggest workload. Langeveldt and Morkel have also been expensive, leaking runs at over 5 an over. These weaknesses, however, are not severe enough to keep South Africa from taking advantage of Pakistan's inadequecies. The key for South Africa remains getting Yousuf and Malik cheaply, and looking towards its middle order manages to thwart Afridi and Rehman.
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