Imam-ul-Haq’s crucial partnership of 177 with captain Babar Azam ledPakistan to a three-wicket win over Proteas in the first ODI. Imam’sinnings of 70 off 80 balls led the foundation for the Pakistan team afterhis fellow opener, Fakhar Zaman, fell cheaply for 8.
According to the team management, Imam’s role is to anchor and stabilizethe innings, a role that he fulfills exceptionally, but according to thedemands of modern cricket, question marks have been raised on the slowstrike rate of the left-handed opener.——————————
Imam does not fully utilize the first powerplay in ODIs, since 2018, Imamhas the lowest strike rate of 66.47 in powerplay in world cricket, leavinga lot of ground to be covered by the other batsmen in the remaining overs.Bangladesh opener, Tamim Iqbal, and young West Indian batsman, Shai Hope,have similar statistics as well.*Player* *Strike-rate in Powerplay since 2018*Imam-ul-Haq 66.47Tamim Iqbal 66.84Shai Hope 67.26
**minimum 500 runs*——————————
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Imam’s initial inclusion in the national squad in 2017 caused an uproar inthe Pakistan cricketing fraternity as people claimed that he only made hisway into the squad because the then chief selector, Inzamam-ul-Haq, was hisuncle, but Imam has managed to somewhat silence his critics with hisexceptional batting performances. Ever since his debut, he has been one ofPakistan’s most successful batsmen, scoring 1,904 runs at an average of52.88, including 7 centuries, but his strike rate of 80.67 is low comparedto the other opening batsmen in world cricket.
Imam has been a great find for Pakistan cricket and if he continues to playthis way, he will be one of the most successful openers in Pakistan crickethistory, he already has scored 7 ODI centuries, the eleventh most in thecountry’s history, and with time on his side he can go on to score manymore.
