Two-time World Cup-winning captain Ricky Ponting analyzed Pakistan opening batter Abdullah Shafique’s dismissals in both innings of the ongoing second Test in Melbourne during his commentary on Channel 7.
Ponting pointed out that Abdullah Shafique’s footwork was similar in both dismissals. He explained, “In the first innings dismissal, his front foot was right down the line in the middle stumps, but he never covered the off stump. Therefore, he drives a long way away from his body.”
Abdullah Shafique's dismissals in Melbourne both came from a similar footwork issue, as Ricky Ponting explains #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/0SW98tDgyI
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 29, 2023
He added, “In the second innings, the dismissal was exactly the same with the front foot straight down the wicket. Notice how far away from his eyes the ball passes him.”
Ponting also mentioned that Shafique’s front knee is not bent into the ball; it’s quite straight. He elaborated, “When your knee is straight, you hit further away from the ball. In Australia, he’s got to better track the ball, allowing it to come through his front knee and into the direction he wants to play.”
Today, Abdullah got out early, scoring just 4 runs when facing Mitchell Starc. However, he was caught and bowled in the first over of Pat Cummins’ bowling, where he scored 62 runs in the first innings.
The home side set a big target of 317 runs. In response, Pakistan didn’t start well as both openers, Imam and Shafique, got out early, but Shan Masood contributed well, playing aggressively to score 60 runs. Babar Azam yet again failed to score big, making only 41 runs. The Green Shirts are in trouble now, having lost half of their side with over 100 runs still to get.
