Image Credit- AFP
To Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Haris Rauf. Four, wide, and
short. Rauf continues to provide width and drives the ball deeper into the
Chepauk pitch. In his first over, Gurbaz thrashes him for two more fours in a
similar manner, with disdain. In his prior game against Australia, Rauf had
also opened with a wide, short ball. After making the ball vanish past backward
point, David Warner blasted another one onto the Chinnaswamy Stadium top. That
day, Rauf gave out 59 runs in his opening four overs, leaving Babar Azam perplexed.
Since Afridi has failed to provide the kind of
incredible swing for which he is renowned, Pakistan has relied on Rauf to play
the power play. However, on his first tour of India, Rauf isn’t a swing bowler
and hasn’t shown enough mastery over his lines and lengths to bowl in the first
ten overs with just two men outside the circle. Rauf has bowled six powerplay
overs in this competition, giving up 66 runs without taking a wicket. Out of
all the bowlers who have bowled at least six overs in this phase, he has the
lowest economy rate (11).
After Pakistan’s match against Australia, bowling
coach Morne Morkel made reference to the fact that these Indian pitches leave
very little margin for error, particularly when it comes to the new ball and
often allow hitters to knock over the boundary.
Rauf has really dominated that phase in 2023 and is
more accustomed to bowling in the middle overs. With 12 strikes in 13 innings
at an economy rate of 5.55, he was the leading wicket-taker between overs 11
and 40 prior to the commencement of this World Cup. However, he has failed to
use even that strength in this competition, taking only two wickets in five
innings at this stage and giving up over seven every over.
Using Rauf’s pace to their advantage, Afghanistan’s
batsmen peppered the square boundaries at Chepauk on Monday. The square
boundaries are slightly shorter than the straight ones. Rauf continued pounding
the ball onto a surface made of black earth, which was more conducive to
spinning than a seam. He had no backup plan. Rauf and Co. will face an
increasingly difficult task in dealing with South Africa’s explosive middle
order. However, on Friday, the odds might actually be in their favour.
This game will take place on the fastest track in
Chennai, a tribute to the venue’s bygone era, which was used during the
Bangladesh vs. New Zealand match. Is Rauf capable of letting it fly as Lockie
Ferguson did recently and revive his own flagging form as well as Pakistan’s
campaign?