Pakistan skipper Babar Azam slammed their fielding and bad catching after the setback against mighty Australia. Babar Azam‘s form is also a concern for the team. Young Usama Mir dropped David Warner’s catch at the start, and it costs Pakistan a big hundred. Green Army lost the match with 62 runs at the end.
Pakistan lost their two consecutive matches in the ICC World Cup 2023 after their first two victories. Australia scored a big total of 367, but Pakistan could not chase the target after a solid foundation from both openers.
Pakistan, on winning the toss, invited the Aussies to bat on the batting surface. David Warner said thank you to Babar Azam’s wrong decision and smashed centuries as well as shred a gigantic partnership of 259. This was the third highest in the World Cup and the first highest in the ICC World Cup 2023. Australia was heading to 400, but Pakistani bowlers pulled the strings nicely at the end and restricted them to just 367.
While chasing such a mammoth total, Pakistan’s young openers started really nicely; they attacked bowlers and created a strong foundation to achieve the target. Both openers scored half centuries. The golden arm of Marcus Stoinis did the trick for Australia as he picked both openers in two overs and put Pakistan in trouble.
Skipper Babar Azam looked really good while batting. The Pakistani batter kept the game alive, but suddenly Adam Zampa’s magic turned around. He picked up his second four-wicket haul of the ICC World Cup 2023. At last, Australia won the match by 62 runs.
In the post-match presentation, Babar Azam talked about dropped catches:
“We were not up to par with the ball at the start. And if you drop the catch of someone like David Warner, he will not spare you. This is a big scoring ground, and the margin of error is very low on such grounds. Whole credit to fast bowlers and spinners for the way we pulled it back in the last few overs. I just tried to hit the length and hit the stumps,” said Babar Azam.
Babar Azam also shared about the confidence they had in chasing a big target:
“The message was simple: we can do it; we have done it in the past. The ball was coming on well under the lights. Could not get big partnerships in the middle overs. Need to be better in the first 10 overs with the ball, and better in the middle overs as well,” he said.
Also Read: AUS vs PAK: Adam Zampa & Openers Guide Australia To A Thrilling victory.