World Cup 2023: Which areas Pakistan need to step up to go the distance?

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The Pakistan cricket team, led by Babar Azam, started their World Cup 2023 venture with an 81-run win over the Netherlands in Hyderabad. The Green Shirts followed it up
with a six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka at the same venue to make it two wins in a
row.

After gaining a great deal of confidence from those two wins, they were expected to
pose a threat to India but that wasn't meant to be. Babar Azam and Co were handed
the first defeat by Rohit Sharma and Co at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Despite the victory in the first two matches, the India match showed the real Achilles heel of the Pakistan side, which ranges to many things. This team struggles to cope up with pressure, and then they have the no answer approach whenever the likes of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan depart.

To make it to the next stage and to make it long in this World Cup, Pakistan will have to rectify certain mistakes and here are some of the areas they may have to improve.

1. Susceptible to pressure

Pakistan players need to understand that they are playing in the most heated
environment, where the majority of the fans are from India and the chances of the
team getting overwhelmed are high.

It is important for the team to hold the nerves and play according to the situation
rather than succumbing to the pressure. Their inability to handle the pressure has
often caused a truckload of problems for the team.

In the later stages of the tournament, they will face uphill battles and it is important
for them to address these concerns such that they can go and compete in the best
possible manner.

2. Tweak the approach

Pakistan's approach might have yielded results for them in Twenty20 Internationals
of late, but they have to tweak their approach a bit in ODIs else it won't yield
consistent results. Babar Azam who has been leading the team for four to five years
will need to figure out and come up with a strategy that will do the trick.

3. Lack of depth in the Pakistan batting order

Pakistan were unable to compete against India in the recent meeting in Ahmedabad.
In fact, it was not a 190 pitch at all as Pakistan were aiming for 280 to 290 when they
were at a commanding position at 155/2.

After the fall of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistan batters hardly
showed any intent with the bat and ended up falling prey to Indian bowlers. They lost
the game because they didn't have a competitive target to bowl at.

The Men in Blue beat Pakistan by 7 wickets, in what turned out to be a mere one-
sided contest. Pakistan don't have the lower-order middle-order batters to anchor the
innings in case of a top-order batting collapse.

They have no option other than relying heavily on the top-order batters who will have
to smartly go about their work since small targets won't be defendable in the first
place.

These are the issues that the team needs to address to give it a good shot at the
ODI World Cup. If the Pakistani players don't address things that keep bothering them, then it is going to be the end of the adventure for them.