(IANS Photo)
Gary Kirsten, Pakistan’s new head coach, expressed bewilderment over their collapse against India in the T20 World Cup match. He noted that their batters seemed to lose focus after the 15th over and acknowledged the pressure they are facing due to their underperformance.
Pakistan’s chances in the tournament hang by a thread, facing elimination after defeats to USA and India. Their loss against Rohit Sharma’s team was characterized by a collapse, plummeting from 80/4 in the 15th over to finishing at 113/7 while chasing a modest 120.
Kirsten underscored the importance of strike rotation, especially on difficult pitches like the current one. He lamented his team’s failure to execute this strategy.
“I think certainly on a pitch like that, it is really, really important to be able to rotate the strike. So, I agree with you that sometimes it’s fun to watch a game like this where it’s not only about hitting boundaries,” Kirsten said in the post-match press conference.
“But you also have to be able to use 120 balls really well. As I said, we did for 15 overs and then we lost the plot…we’re losing too many wickets.
“As a batting unit, you can’t lose as many wickets as we are losing. Players have got to take responsibility when that opportunity comes,” he added.
Pakistan struggled, playing 59 dot balls during the chase. Jasprit Bumrah excelled, taking 3/14 in four overs. Their next game against Canada at the same venue on Tuesday is a crucial match for the previous edition’s runners-up.
“These guys are all international players and they’re aware that when they’re not performing at their best that there’s going to be pressure put on them. That’s understandable,” Kirsten, who has coached the 2011 ODI World Cup-winning Indian team, said.
“…but a lot of these guys have played a lot of T20 cricket around the world over many, many years and it’s really up to them to decide how they’re going to take their games forward,” the South African stated.
When questioned about the team’s capability to handle pressure, Kirsten emphasized the necessity of constant development and adjustment in the dynamic realm of international cricket.
“I’m having a look into the environment and looking at what the issues are. I look at these players, I’ve watched them play many, many years on TV and kind of getting to know them, they’re fantastic guys,” Kirsten, who was appointed just a few weeks before the World Cup, said.
“I mean, there’s a lot of very disappointed guys in the change room now. I think for me the most important thing for every international player is that you continue growing…,” he explained.
“The game is changing pretty much every year. So, if you’re not up to it and you’re not improving, you’re going to get found out somewhere.”
When asked about the team’s strategy during the chase, Kirsten mentioned their aim was to take advantage of loose deliveries and keep the scoreboard moving by rotating the strike. However, he expressed disappointment at the team’s inability to maintain momentum during the critical phase of the innings.
“…I thought we did that brilliantly for 15 overs. We kept it at a run a ball, and then we lost wickets and then we stopped scoring ones and then we were looking for boundaries and once you’ve got to that point, it was always going to be hard.
“So, the message was to do what we executed on for 15 overs,” the coach said.
Despite the disappointment of the loss, Kirsten took comfort in the team’s bowling performance, particularly in the death overs.
” got better and better and we’ve tracked their stats over the last 15 odd games, and they’ve been an incredible bowling unit from overs 10 to 20. I think our record between overs 10 to 20 as a bowling unit is up there with the best,” he said.
“We’ve got four fantastic seamers and Imad Wasim I thought bowled really well today as well. So, we’ve got some nice options on the ball with the team and I think we’re going to be a difficult team to bat against if we bowl like that,” he added.
Kirsten opted not to join the criticism surrounding the drop-in pitches at Nassau stadium, diverging from the discontent expressed by others. Despite observing a string of low-scoring matches, he remained diplomatic regarding Sunday’s wicket and the discussions about its uneven bounce, which some have labeled as hazardous.
“I think it wasn’t dangerous, I mean the odd one rose up, but not many. Generally it kept a little bit lower, it was difficult to score from both batting sides and also a fairly slow outfield so it was never going to be a big total,” said Kirsten.
“I would have said 140 would have been a really good score on that pitch, so India didn’t get that and so I thought we had the game,” added the South African.
