Amid the criticism, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam defended his team’s approach with the bat following their five-wicket loss to England in the T20 World Cup 2022 final at MCG on Sunday (November 13)
Pakistani batters failed to step up to the plate in the summit clash, managing only 137/8 in their allotted 20 overs. Only Shan Masood (38* off 28 balls) and Shadab Khan (20* off 14 balls) scored at a rate in excess of 130 among the recognised batters.
Defending the total, Pakistani bowlers tried their heart out to take the game deep but England rode on Ben Stokes’ unbeaten 52 off 49 balls to get over the finishing line with one over to spare.
“I'm very sad. I think we were 20 runs short and we couldn't defend because of that,” Babar said in the post-match press conference.
“We are very proud to play for Pakistan. It is very sad when you can't finish it. But I’m disappointed.
"We were in a different situation. We were trying to build partnerships but we couldn't. Whenever a wicket falls, the batter goes and he takes two-three balls to settle down. We came on the back foot as a batting unit.
Babar scored 32 from 28 balls in the final while his opening partner Mohammad Rizwan chipped in with 14-ball 15. However, the Pakistan captain feels the tactic isn’t necessarily the wrong one.
"It depends on the situation. I think they had three dismissals in the first six overs and we had two. It depends on the situation and the conditions, what is the demand from you and after that you plan. Every team has its own plans and we stuck to our plan.
"Sometimes we are not able to give 100% on it. We try not to repeat our mistakes. But this is a part of the game. Sometimes you do well and sometimes you don't. This is the beauty of cricket. Every day is different."
Asked if he was disappointed with the performance of the middle order, Babar replied: "As a team, we win. As a team, we lose. The way we started, we couldn't finish well. On the 11th over, it was 80-85. I think we should have finished at 150. I think we made some mistakes."
(t20worldcup.com inputs)
