Pakistan cricket team continue to be very poor in the field. The Shan Masood-led side have dropped many catches on this Test tour of Pakistan and on the first day of the second Test at MCG, nothing changed for good for the Men in Green. In the third over of the day itself, a simple catch came for the taking to Abdullah Shafique at first slip and he ende dup making a mess of it. The bowler was Shaheen Afridi who had his hands on his head but did not utter a single word or showed any emotions.
The catch could have sent back David Warner for just 2. Warner was later dismissed by Agha Salman for 38 but Pakistan could have had got off to a brilliant start had the opening batter's catch taken in the third over. That wicket could have given Shaheen the much-needed boost to bowl a brilliant opening spell, something for which he is known and also the element in his game missing these days.
David Warner gets a life on two! Shaheen Afridi gets the ball swinging and Abdullah Shafique puts it down at first slip #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/EJc4AptxJk
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 25, 2023
Not to forget, as soon as the catch was dropped, the swords were out on social media website X (formerly Twitter) as the fielder and Pakistani players were brutally trolled by the fans. As is the nature of the social media, there is no mercy of athletes when they err on the field. In this case, Shafique had dropped a sitter and was going to receive some hate from the Pakistan fans.
Pakistan's fielding has been their Achilles Heel for a long time now. They have never been called a top fielding side and many cricket experts feel that if Pakistan are to become the best team in the world, they need to work hard on their fielding.
Pakistan fielding reminds me of Pakistan fielding ! pic.twitter.com/cwv7X2goiF
— Sumit (@sumitsaurabh) December 26, 2023
Pakistan team fielding at his Very best__#PAKvsAUS#Zimbu
— ___ _____ _____ __ __ (@Kohli_Goat_) December 26, 2023
pic.twitter.com/HqWTpxS6ni
Pakistan team fielding at his Very best__#PAKvsAUS#Zimbu
— ___ _____ _____ __ __ (@Kohli_Goat_) December 26, 2023
pic.twitter.com/HqWTpxS6ni
Pakistan team fielding at his Very best__#PAKvsAUS#Zimbu
— ___ _____ _____ __ __ (@Kohli_Goat_) December 26, 2023
pic.twitter.com/HqWTpxS6ni
Pakistan team and its fielding the Ritual kept alive #BoxingDayTest #AUSvsPAK pic.twitter.com/2o32AkGAOm
— Mahessh Devendra (@mahesshdevendra) December 26, 2023
Pak's pathetic catching in full evidence. Can't be a topnotch side with such poor skills. In the modern game, fielding excellence is non- negotiable https://t.co/4kmzXrXoFT
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) December 26, 2023
At the time of writing of this article, the Day 1 was still in action with Warner, Usman Khawaja (42) and Steve Smith (26) back to the hut. Salman had picked up the first wicket, dismissing Warner. Hasan Ali dismissed Khawaja while Aamer Jamal got rid of Smith, finding an outside edge of the bat that travelled to keeper Mohammad Rizwan behind the wickets. Pakistan need to work harder and field well to ensure they are competing in the match till the last ball. They are already 0-1 behind in the Test series after a thumping loss in Perth, ten days back. Masood and Co cannot afford another poor outing with both bat and ball in Melbourne as series will slip away if they lose this Test.
Stay informed on all the latest news, real-time breaking news updates, and follow all the important headlines in india news and world News on Zee News.