Pakistan captain Babar Azam voiced his frustrations over his own dismissal during the T20 World Cup contest against Canada despite his side securing a crucial 7 wickets victory. The team’s win thus kept alive their hopes of progressing to the Super8 stage.
Playing on a tricky surface at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York, Pakistan faced difficulties for their batsmen. Cruising towards a modest chase target of 107, Pakistan did stumble briefly when Babar got out after scoring only 14 runs.
Babar’s dismissal through an outside edge to the wicketkeeper while trying to play a late cut was reminiscent of how he had got out in the previous game against India. The Pakistani skipper looked visibly disappointed and slammed his bat into ground indicating he was frustrated with this repetitive trend.
However, even after being dismissed in such a manner, Babar was confident that it wasn’t an incorrect shot selection. He also added that they were looking at what needs to be done right now. And restated his commitment to keep on trying harder every single time.
“I played same shot and I got out. This is my shot but you need success also sometimes. So I was angry. But still try my level best,” said Babar.
In this context, Pakistan desperately needed victory in order to improve their net run rate (NRR) as well as keeping their tournament dreams alive. Their performance reflected this urgency as bowlers restricted Canada below-par total of 107/7.
With Mohammad Rizwan unbeaten on 53, Pakistan’s chase ensured a comfortable win with 17 balls remaining. Pakistan won by NRR 0.19 which still trailed behind USA’s NRR of 0.63 thereby emphasizing the importance of their last group stage match against Ireland.
The following test comes up for Pakistan on Sunday at Central Broward Regional Park Florida where they will face Ireland knowing that they must win to survive further in the tournament.
Babar admitted to the pressure of NRR, confessing that it mattered throughout the players’ minds. He highlighted how important the initial six overs were for them striking a rhythm while hitting.
“Well done for us. We wanted this win. All credit to the team. We started off well and we took wickets with new ball. In mind there was NRR as well. You know first six overs are very important here. You assess after 6th over and then we tried to take on spinners but now that should be better from here. We are going with same mindset because conditions at Florida must be better,” added Babar.
