Pakistan must quickly forget their horror show vs India

Pakistan have a big challenge at hand as they take on South Africa in a must-win match. Pakistan will have to turn things around fast after their forgettable performance against India. More than the margin of loss, the abject surrender must be hurting.

But I’d like to stay positive and say Pakistan have a great chance to turn things around against the number-one ranked ODI team. South Africa, in their opener against Sri Lanka, looked extremely formidable. Hashim Amla is in great form. South Africa also have class in AB de Villiers, Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy. Their bowling might be weaker in comparison, only because the support bowlers for Kagiso Rabada and Imran Tahir are less impressive.

Pakistan batsmen need to play with a positive mindset, which would allow them to go after the bowling and rotate the strike.

The batsmen will have to commit fully to strike-rotation. If they are caught in two minds, the South Africa fielders will make life tougher for them.

We used to worry about our batting and fielding, while the bowling department was what we used to rely on. Unfortunately, Pakistan have regressed in bowling and all three departments need to be worked on.

Junaid Khan can be a handful with the new ball and Pakistan must take a gamble since there isn’t a backup available after Wahab Riaz’s withdrawal.

Batsmen getting a start must convert it into big scores if the team has to post a competitive total.

We should retain the batting line-up that played India since our bench strength isn’t that great either. The players backed in the opening game must be given one more chance.