Skipper Babar Azam was disappointed with his bowlers after Pakistan’s shocking 8-wicket defeat to Afghanistan in the ODI World Cup clash on Monday in Chennai. The Pakistan bowlers had another poor outing as they failed to put any pressure on the Afghan batters while defending a 283-run target on a tricky surface.
Afghanistan chased down the target comfortably with an over to spare and registered their first-ever win over Pakistan in 50-over format.
PAK vs AFG Highlights ODI World Cup 2023
The defeat dented Pakistan’s chances of getting to the semifinals as they have now lost three matches in a row.
Azam admitted that Pakistan were lacklustre in both bowling and fielding which cost them the match on Monday.
“This hurts us. We had a good total. In the bowling, we weren’t up to the mark as we are not taking wickets in the middle overs. If you are not good in even one department, then you’ll lose the game. We didn’t stop boundaries and gave away runs, that cost us,” Azam said in the post-match press conference.
Afghanistan were lifted by Ibrahim Zadran (87), Rahmat Shah (77 not out) and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (65) as they scored 286-2 in 49 overs. Afghan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi also scored a 45-ball 48* as he hit the winning runs for his side.
Babar gave credit to Afghanistan as they outclassed them in all three departments.
ICC World Cup: Schedule | Results | Points Table | Most Runs | Most Wickets
“Bowling – we started well, in the middle overs, we needed wickets but we couldn’t take any. All credit to Afghanistan the way they played in all three departments. That’s why they won. We are not playing good cricket in bowling and fielding,” he added.
However, Babar said his team will try to bounce back in the next match which will be crucial for them to stay alive in the semi-final race.
“We’ll try our best in the next match. We didn’t hit the lengths in the middle overs, especially our spinners. We couldn’t put pressure on the batters,” he concluded.
Pakistan are currently placed at the fifth spot but after a hat-trick of defeats, another loss against South Africa later this week, will in all likelihood shut the knock-out doors for them.
Comments
0 comment