Matthew Hayden, Pakistan’s batting consultant, believes the 10-wicket thrashing of arch-rivals India set the tone for his side in the ongoing T20 World Cup and cited the players’ commitment to training and spirituality as the reasons for a stupendous unbeaten run so far.
With five wins out of as many games in the group stages, Pakistan is one of the favourites to lift the T20 World Cup and will take on Australia in the semifinal on Thursday.
Matthew Hayden Thinks Being A Part Of Australian Squad In His Career Years Will Give Him Insights For Pakistan As A Batting Consultant
Matthew Hayden, who was roped in as batting consultant for the mega-event, heaped praise on skipper Babar Azam for showing wonderful temperament and control during a high-pressure campaign.
“I think that game really set us up for what has been a really lovely four weeks of solid work, great commitment to training, great purpose in general.
“…also a wonderful heart connect to Islam and how spirituality has played its role within the Pakistan team as a great guide and tool for everyone to come together,” Matthew Hayden added.
Tactically on Thursday, Australia’s Matthew Hayden will be up against his former opening colleague Justin Langer, who is the chief coach of Australia. He believes his knowledge about Australian players and cricketing culture will hold Pakistan in good stead.
“It is a very unusual feeling. As you all know, I was a warrior for Australian cricket over two decades, so that does give me the benefit of having wonderful insights not only into these players but also into the culture of cricket in Australia,” Matthew Hayden said.
“I guess from my point of view there is the challenge of the heart, the challenge of the mind in terms of what’s going to happen over the next 24 hours, but I’ll also say very proudly that it’s been wonderful to be a part of Pakistan cricket,” Matthew Hayden added.
Matthew Hayden feels that the T20 World Cup title is of great significance to Pakistan, which has been deprived of hosting international cricket for a long time due to security concerns.
“Yes, this is an extremely important tournament for Pakistan…I feel that as a nation that loves cricket as much as it does, and as focused so heavily on cricket, and also to have tournaments including the ones that I was a part of (being) cancelled for numerous reasons, it’s never more important,” he said.
“…and the awareness is heightened that out of this great nation we’ve got a squad of players here that are ready to perform and are ready to take on not only the semifinals but should we, inshallah, get beyond that, the finals.”
Against India, skipper Babar Azam and fellow opener Mohammad Rizwan knocked off the target of 152 odd in 17.5 overs without losing a single wicket. Babar Azam hit 68, not out, while Mohammed Rizwan finished with an undefeated 79. The win against India was Pakistan’s first win in 13 World Cup matches (seven in the 50 over World Cup and six in the Twenty20 World Cup) dating back to 1992 in Australia.
Matthew Hayden Praised Babar Azam And Shaheen Shah Afridi
Matthew Hayden spoke highly of Babar Azam and said his personality is completely opposite to that of India’s Virat Kohli, a contemporary great of the game.
“Babar and his personality is what you see is what you get. He’s very consistent. He’s very stable. He’s not overly flamboyant.In fact I’d go as far as to say he’s almost the opposite personality to someone like Virat Kohli, who’s very animated, very passionate, and very boisterous on the field. Got great control, and he’s got a wonderful temperament.
“…just to give you an insight into that talent, his ability to be able to consistently react to the ball is really second to none that I’ve seen. He picks up the line and the length of the ball quicker than the average cricketer that’s going around, and that’s the mark of someone that’s a very fine player,” he said.
“Those number of balls, though, can be destructive, as we saw from his delivery to KL Rahul, one of the best balls that I’ve seen ever, apart from the last two or three months of observing cricket in this country and in the UAE.
“He’s got that ability like every good strike bowler to be able to commit to wonderful pace, which means that his preparation, his recovery and his just ability in general to be able to focus on delivering fast bowling day in, day out,” he further stated.
Shaheen Shah Afridi ran through Team India’s top-order after he got rid of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul in his opening spell. Then he came back to dismiss Virat Kohli, who scored a half-century. He finished with 3-31 after dismissing India’s top scorer, skipper Virat Kohli for 57 in a total of 151-7 in 20 overs.
Pakistan batters Mohammad Rizwan and Shoaib Malik, who suffered from “mild flu” and now have been deemed fit for the T20 World Cup semifinal against Australia on Thursday.