Team India defeated Australia twice in consecutive Test series on its own soil in 2018-19 and 2020-21. In this way, India is the only team from South Asia which has won the Test series in Australia. Pakistan cricket team is also hoping to do something similar, but how serious or prepared the team is about this can be seen in the practice matches itself. The actions of the one player on whom the Pakistan captain has placed his bets have filled the Pakistani fans with disappointment.
A practice match is going on between Prime Minister’s XI and Pakistan cricket team in Canberra. On Friday, October 8, the third day of the match, the Pakistani team was on the field and the Australian batsmen were standing at the crease. Pakistani bowlers were not getting wickets easily and even when opportunities came, the team’s experienced wicketkeeper and former captain Sarfaraz kept watching.
Sarfaraz Ahmed kept leaving easy opportunities
Prime Minister’s XI batsman Matthew Renshaw scored an excellent century and troubled the Pakistani bowlers a lot. Although he gave two catches but Sarfaraz could not catch him. Both times the catches went by Sarfaraz and the fielder posted at first slip. Although both times the ball was close to Sarfaraz and he should have taken the catch, but Sarfaraz, who has the experience of more than 200 international matches, did not even try to catch the catch.
Sarfaraz Ahmed Dropped easy catches
Babar Azam Dropped easy catches
@sawerapasha you love Sarfaraz so much, that you hide his failures and mistakes??
pic.twitter.com/FW5uY5BlFF— 56
(@SKIPPER_PCT) December 8, 2023
This was not enough, Sarfaraz expressed his frustration by clapping after dropping the first catch. It seemed to him that he would not make such a mistake next time but then he made the mistake of not taking the catch and then expressed his frustration by clapping in the same way. Apart from this, Sarfaraz also took a catch on the spinner’s ball.
Sarfaraz Ahmed missed 3 chances so far in this practice match. He is our main WK in test cricket #AUSvsPAK pic.twitter.com/XVT6zk2CEc
— Waqas Jarh (@WaqasJrh) December 8, 2023
Pakistani fans are in tension
However, the former Pakistani captain also took a good catch of Cameron Green, which was a little more difficult than these catches. Due to such performance of Sarfaraz, Pakistani fans are remembering Mohammad Rizwan, who is finding it difficult to play as a wicketkeeper in the Test series.
Forgot Rizwan the Batsman, Rizwan the Wicket Keeper is what Sarfaraz Ahmed dreamed to be pic.twitter.com/9qvwQF7Rt6
— Rizz 16 FC (@ShoaibK45036955) December 8, 2023
In fact, before the start of the practice match, Pakistani captain Shan Masood had announced that Sarfaraz would be given priority as the wicketkeeper in the Test series, because he had performed well in the previous series. Now due to the latest performance, the fans are in tension as to how the Pakistani team will be able to win the first Test against Australia in Perth with the help of Sarfaraz on 14th December.
