DALLAS – Pakistan captain Babar Azam confessed to the team’s shortcomings in their opening match of the T20 World Cup 2024, which they lost to the United States at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on Thursday.
He also acknowledged the superior performance of the US team in all departments of the game, adding: “All the credit goes to the US, they played better than us in all three departments.”
In the post-match presentation, the 29-year-old captain said: “We couldn’t take advantage of the first six overs. Consecutive wickets always put you on the defensive; As a hitter, you need to step up and build partnerships.”
Babar noted that the initial six overs were a challenge but the team managed to come back.
However, the momentum was lost again due to rapid dismissal of wickets.
“My association with Shadab was promising, but then two wickets fell. And we lost momentum again,” he explained.
He stressed the need to improve in the middle order and bowling, saying: “Our scoring was adequate for this pitch, but we need to improve our bowling.”
The captain also highlighted that the bowlers did not perform well in the first six overs and stressed the importance of improving for the upcoming matches.
Talking about the performance of the spinners, Babar commented: “Our spinners did not accept wickets in the middle, so these things cost us.”
The conditions of the match were also a topic of conversation. Babar noted: “There was a bit of humidity on the pitch and there were also two paces. As a professional, it is necessary to evaluate the conditions.”
He concluded his speech on a note of hope, expressing the team’s intention to come back strongly in upcoming games.
Earlier, Netravalkar, the Indian-born left-arm pacer, took a paltry 2-18 as Pakistan scored 159/7. The US innings ended dramatically when Nitish Kumar scored a four off a last-ball full toss from Haris Rauf, and the tournament co-hosts finished on 159-3.
Pakistani veteran Mohammad Amir was given the Super Over, but he bowled several deliveries, and panic in fielding led to wild overs, which also helped the United States score 18 runs.
Netravalkar bowled wide off the third ball of his Super Over, but on the next delivery, Kumar brilliantly caught Iftikhar Ahmed in the deep.
With seven needed off the last ball, Shadab Khan could not manage the six that would have forced a second Super Over.
The match ended in a thrilling Super Over, with the United States securing the victory by five runs. During the Super Over, Pakistan’s Mohammad Amir bowled first and the United States scored 18-1. Pakistan managed only 13-1 in reply.
