Friday 09 / May / 2025
New York: Following his side's six-run loss to India in their ICC T20 World Cup match, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam admitted that his side losing back-to-back wickets and playing more dot balls in the second half of their innings contributed to their defeat despite a fine bowling performance.
In a nerve-wracking battle between bat and ball, Pakistan could not hold their nerves, giving away a solid position after the first half while chasing 120 runs as Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya pulled back the game with their bowling and left their opponents short by six runs at New York's Nassau County Stadium on Sunday.
Speaking in the post-match presentation, Babar said, "We bowled well. In the batting, lost back-to-back wickets and had too many dot balls. Tactics were simple to play normally. Just strike rotation and the odd boundary. But in that period (the second half of their run-chase) we had too many dot balls. We cannot expect much from tailenders. Our mind was to utilise the first six overs in batting. But one wicket down, and again we were not up to the mark in that phase. The pitch looked decent. The ball was coming on nicely. It was a little bit slow, and some balls extra bounce. Have to win the last two matches. Will sit and discuss our mistakes but looking forward to the last two matches."
After winning this thriller, India is at the top of Group A with two wins in two games and four points. Pakistan is in fourth place, having lost both their games to the USA and India. Their knockout stage chances look slim.
