Weak performance by Pak and SL

The performance of the first two openers of ICC World Cup 2019 from the Asian subcontinent—Pakistan and Sri Lanka—was utterly disappointing for the fans. Both the teams were bowled out even before scoring 150 runs. The two respective oppositions West Indies and New Zealand dominated the game from the very start and made their wins look effortlessly easy. It was heartbreaking for fans all around the world to witness such a downfall of these once-giants of the cricket world.

The two games clearly exposed the batting weaknesses of both the teams against quality fast bowling in Britain’s bouncy wickets. The front-line batsmen of the teams looked unnerved and were clearly daunted by the pace and the tactful attacks of their respective opponents.

There was a total lack of discipline and commitment on the part of top-order batsmen who meekly surrendered without offering any meaningful resistance. Most of the batsmen threw their wickets away in such a fashion as if it was a mere practice session—displaying no seriousness or grit. Their underwhelming performance should serve as a matter of serious concern to both the teams.

AKM Ehsanul Haque, Dhaka