It goes without saying that Pakistan have been one of the poorest chasers in One Day Cricket in the past few years. Of the last 25 times they were set to chase target of 230-plus, only six times they could win those matches.
In the dark, long tunnel of chasing woes, Nasir Jamshed has emerged as a glimmer of hope. Nasir first came on the international scene at a tender age [only 19] against Zimbabwe in 2008 home series and started off his career with back to back fifties – 61 off 48 balls and 74 off 64. But it was not until his brisk fifty in the same year against India in the Asia cup match at Karachi that he attracted the attention of world as a serious talent. Nasir scored 53 off 43 balls in successful chase of 309 in the must-win match.
He then remained in and out of the team on the fitness and performance grounds, and was finally brought back to the fore during Asia Cup 2012. In the eight innings since then, he has scored two centuries, two fifties and a 48.
After 20 ODI matches, his career aggregate is 815 runs at average 47.94, which is more than an ideal one for an opener. The Strike Rate 86.19 is icing on the cake. In 2012, Nasir has the second best average among openers in One Day Cricket and is one of the few openers who scored more than two centuries. That he batted only 9 innings is due to the injury he picked ahead of Sri Lanka tour, eventually missing all the matches of that series.
| Highest ODI batting average of openers in year 2012 (Qualification: 400 runs) | |||||
| Name | Innings | Runs | Average | S. Rate | 100s |
| 1. Hashim Amla (SA) | 09 | 678 | 84.57 | 90.76 | 02 |
| 2. Nasir Jamshed (Pak) | 08 | 462 | 66.00 | 86.19 | 02 |
| 3. Ian Bell (Eng) | 11 | 549 | 54.90 | 82.68 | 01 |
| 4. Alistair Cook (Eng) | 15 | 663 | 47.35 | 79.97 | 03 |
| 5. Gautam Gambhir (Ind) | 13 | 570 | 43.84 | 82.60 | 02 |
Nasir Jamshed has the best batting average in the run-chases since 2008. Many would baulk this stat, for he played only 9 innings – that is indeed too low a qualification to gauge the result. It might be too early to put him the club of Shane Watson and Gautam Gambhir. Nevertheless, the figures at least give us a hint that how remarkable Nasir’s start of career has been.
The last two ODIs Pakistan have won while chasing. He was crucial in both the games, scoring 97 against Australia at Abu Dhabi and 101 against India at Chennai. While the average 74.33 shows his consistency, the Strike Rate 94.49 depicts the fluency to chase targets.
| Highest ODI average of openers in 2nd innings since 2008 (Qualification: 400 runs) | |||||
| Name | Innings | Runs | Average | S. Rate | 100s |
| 1. Nasir Jamshed (Pak) | 09 | 446 | 74.33 | 94.49 | 01 |
| 2. Mahela Jayawardene (SL) | 11 | 695 | 69.50 | 102.20 | 02 |
| 3. Shane Watson (Aus) | 32 | 1699 | 62.92 | 98.60 | 05 |
| 4. Gautam Gambhir (Ind) | 32 | 1520 | 54.28 | 94.76 | 04 |
| 5. Martin Guptill (NZ) | 18 | 719 | 51.35 | 83.15 | 01 |
