(AFP Photo)
Pakistan captain Babar Azam has urged the middle-order batters to improve their performance after a one-sided loss to England at the Oval.
Despite a strong start, Pakistan struggled and faltered due to some underperforming batters. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan provided a solid foundation, suggesting a total of at least 180+, but they fell short of a defendable score, resulting in a 7-wicket defeat.
For England, this victory is a significant boost as they prepare for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 starting on June 2nd. To defend their 2022 title from Australia, they must finish in the top 2 of Group B, facing Scotland, Namibia, Oman, and arch-rivals Australia.
Significant blow for Pakistan before the T20 World Cup
For Pakistan, the result was disappointing, yet it serves as a critical lesson to avoid repeating the same mistakes. The team is currently far from their peak performance of two years ago. Back then, the Green Army had a memorable T20 World Cup in Australia, making it to the finals before finishing as runners-up.
Their second-place finish was particularly commendable given their shaky performance in the group stages, with losses to India and Zimbabwe. However, they managed to advance thanks to crucial wins against South Africa and the Netherlands, with the latter providing an unexpected victory over the Proteas that aided Pakistan’s progress.
This time, Pakistan might face another challenging group stage with potential upsets from the USA, Canada, and Ireland, along with their traditional rivals, India. Babar Azam’s team had recently lost the first match of a three-game T20I series against Ireland, which they had previously won 2-1 last month, so the Irish team will be eager to replicate their success.
However, Pakistan’s recent 2-0 series defeat has highlighted significant issues, particularly with the middle-order batting, raising concerns about their readiness for the upcoming World Cup.
What did Babar Azam say?
Babar Azam expressed his disappointment over Pakistan’s 2-0 series loss in the 4-match series, with the other two matches being washed out by rain. At the Oval yesterday, Babar and Rizwan gave a strong start, scoring 59 runs in the powerplay before Babar was dismissed for 36 off 22 balls.
Rizwan soon followed, scoring 23 off 16, and Usman Khan made an aggressive 38 off 21. However, the rest of the batting lineup only managed to add 54 more runs. England then chased down the total in just 15.3 overs.
Following the loss, Babar Azam called out the middle-order to show up, especially those who got out for ducks – Shadab Khan (golden duck) and Azam Khan (0 off 5).
“First six overs, we played very well. After that, the momentum shifted as wickets fell. Our middle-order needs to step up. You need 2-3 good overs in the middle and in the death as well. England’s bowling was very good. Hopefully, we don’t do this in the World Cup.” – Babar said after the match.
