Pakistan pacer Hassan Ali came under fire after he dropped the catch of Australian wicketkeeper-batter, Matthew Wade, during a crucial stage of the match, as the Men in Green suffered a 5-wicket defeat in the semi-final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 on Thursday (November 11) in Dubai.
The result could have been different on Thursday if Ali hadn’t dropped Wade at deep mid-wicket in the 19th over, as the left-hander made the most of this opportunity and smoked a hat-trick of sixes off Shaheen Afridi, to help Australia chase down 177 with six balls to spare in Dubai.
With the defeat, Pakistan failed to make it to the final of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 despite being unbeaten in the group stage, and the lapse will certainly haunt Ali for the rest of his cricketing career.
Reacting to the same, Pakistan captain Babar Azam admitted that Ali's lapse was the turning point of the game against Australia, but that they would back the pacer in such a situation and lift his confidence. The skipper also denied blaming Hassan's dropped catch for the loss in the semi-final.
Babar said in the post-match presser: “Thank you so much. But I don’t feel like that. He is my main bowler. He has won us so many games and obviously, players often drop catches. But the way he’s been fighting, I’ll definitely back him. It often happens with a player.”
He continued, “If an individual has a bad day, he keeps on pushing himself. Everybody doesn't perform every day. There is a day when one performs; it was just not his day. He is down right now but we’ll try to uplift his confidence. Logon ka kaam hai batein karna, hamara kam hai unko uthana (People will continue talking but we’ll keep backing our players.”
Babar, who is the leading scorer with 303 runs at the T20 World Cup 2021, said it was an unfortunate day for the Pakistan team, but they will learn from mistakes and move forward.
He signed off by saying, “We started off well with a good total but unfortunately the finish wasn't good. The way we played the tournament and the way the boys fought, I keep the belief that we will continue with this. It was a disappointing day.”
(With AFP Inputs)
