Cook exposes Pakistan even more

Is Afridi ever going to learn?
Source: Cricinfo

Although Pakistan batted significantly better in the 2nd ODI, England almost produced a mirror image performance of the 1st ODI to muster another win. For England, Cook once again lead from the front with a match-winning ton, Bopara played another solid 50+ knock in the middle order and Finn repeated his brilliant performance from the other night with the same exact figures of 4 for 34. On the other hand, lack of positive body language from the beginning suggested as if Pakistan had accepted defeat after losing the coin toss. Misbah's inexplicable leadership once again defied common sense. The same set of spinners who mesmerized the same English batsmen on the same venue by attacking them were rendered ineffective by Misbah's defensive field placements. Not only that but Ajmal, the top ranked ODI bowler, had only bowled 3 overs when he was brought back into attack in 36th over. Even if he had take a five-for at that stage, it would have been useless (just like the 1st ODI) as irreversible damage was already done by Cook. After all these mistakes, Pakistan still had a reasonable chance to square the series in the final overs, but a rush of blood from Afridi tilted match in England's favor and Rehman's disastrous display of 1 run off 12 balls further strengthened England's grip. Misbah still had a chance to finish but his familiar inability to do so resurfaced memories of his match-losing qualities. Lack of balance and poor team selection were also a big factor in Pak's losses, but these topics will be discussed in a different post.