Pakistan’s defeat to India has nearly eliminated them from the Champions Trophy, primarily due to a middle-overs slowdown. They scored only 42 runs over 14 overs after starting strong at 52 for 2. Urooj Mumtaz criticized captain Mohammad Rizwan for his excessive dot balls, as he faced 45 deliveries during that period, scoring just 46 off 77 with a strike rate of 59. His partnership with Saud Shakeel, worth 104 runs, took 144 balls. Given Babar Azam’s poor form, Rizwan needed to lead more aggressively, but his lack of strike rotation heightened the pressure on his teammate.
In the critical period [overs 11 to 24], Rizwan faced 45 deliveries, of which 29 were dot balls. He did not manage a single boundary, accumulating only 16 singles. Ultimately, Rizwan hobbled his way to 46 off 77 balls before getting out while attempting to loft Axar Patel, missing the ball and being bowled instead.
Rizwan had hit a slog sweep for four off the very first ball he faced from Kuldeep Yadav. His next boundary did not arrive until the 49th delivery, faced from Ravindra Jadeja in the 25th over. A third and final four came off Jadeja in the 27th over. By the time he was dismissed by Axar in the 34th over, Rizwan had formed a partnership with Shakeel worth 104 runs, albeit at the cost of 144 balls.
“I believe Rizwan’s innings of 46 off 77 balls—with a strike rate of 59—wasn’t sufficient, especially considering our top batter [Babar Azam] is out of form and hasn’t been scoring big runs… and he was dismissed early,” Mumtaz remarked.
“Imam faced an unfortunate run-out. Therefore, it was Rizwan’s responsibility as captain to rise to the occasion and exhibit a brave mindset. He should have aimed for better strike rotation, which I felt was a significant oversight and likely added unnecessary pressure on Saud as well.”