Ramiz Raja warns Pakistan team ahead of World Cup match against Afghanistan
He is a former Pakistan captain
Former Pakistan captain and renowned commentator Ramiz Raja lashed out at the Men in Green after their defeat against Australia during the ICC World Cup 2023 on Friday.
The Babar Azam-led unit have won two and lost as many matches during the mega event, so far, with their next encounter slated against Afghanistan in Chennai on Monday.
Speaking about Pakistan’s next match, Raja said that Afghanistan will pose a tough challenge as well.
"I have never seen anyone giving such a massive punishment for a dropped catch. A lot of catches are dropped but I have never seen anyone scoring 150-160. So, it is a wake-up call for Pakistan that you will keep getting punished until you hold catches," Raja said on Star Sports
"Once you lose the momentum, it is difficult to get it back and win. The next match is against Afghanistan in Chennai, which will not be an easy match as Pakistan's batters don't play spin that well.
"A lot of things need to be corrected. This bowling was world-class a month ago and massive discussions need to happen if you concede 367. When you do defensive bowling, why can't you bowl length balls consistently, or why you are unable to bowl wicket-taking balls.”
It must be noted that Australia defeated Pakistan by 62 runs in the 18th match of the mega event at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
The Aussies managed to restrict the Green Shirts to 305 runs after posting a colossal 368-run target courtesy of a 259-run stand from David Warner and Mitchell Marsh.
Pakistan were off to a great start as their opening duo of Imam-ul-Haq and Abdullah Shafique had a 134-run partnership — the first time a Pakistani opening pair had a century stand against Australia in a World Cup match.
Pakistan were 154-2 in 23.4 overs — after losing Abdullah and Imam — and were in dire need of a big partnership to get back in the team but their skipper Azam was removed by Adam Zampa just after scoring 18 runs courtesy of an excellent catch by Pat Cummins.
The Green Shirts kept on losing wickets at regular intervals but after the arrival of Iftikhar Ahmed, it looked like Pakistan would get in the game once again as the 33-year-old started hitting boundaries.
But Adam Zampa provided the Aussies the much-needed breakthrough and removed Iftikhar and Mohammad Rizwan in back-to-back overs.
The Green Shirts were all out for 305 runs in 45.3 overs.
Batting first, Australia posted 367 runs on the scoreboard, recording the biggest total against Pakistan in the World Cup.
Shaheen Afridi was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan as the 23-year-old bagged five wickets, his second World Cup fifer.
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