Pakistani skipper Babar Azam was dejected after a very close match with South Africa. Pakistan lost the match only by one wicket. On their bad luck in the game, Pakistan’s skipper Babar Azam felt very bad for his team after almost snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.
Pakistan lost their third consecutive match of the ICC World Cup 2023, and they are almost out of the tournament. Their qualification chances are really looking light now. After winning two matches at the initial stages, men in green performed very ordinary.
The men in green openers put their bats down against the quality bowling of young all-rounder Marco Jansen. Skipper Babar Azam took responsibility for scoring runs along with Mohammed Rizwan. The classy right-hander notched a half-century but could not convert into a big score.
A nice knock by Saud Shakeel and Shadab Khan helped the men in green post a decent total against the strong batting line-up of South Africa.
Quinton de Kock went cheaply into the dressing room, and Temba Bavuma scored only 24 runs. Babar Azam and company pulled things back with quick wickets, but Markram played nicely and brought his team back into the game. Small knocks from lower orders helped South Africa win a nail-biting encounter.
In the post-match presentation, skipper Babar Azam expressed that they were really close to victory:
“We are very close to victory, but we did not finish well. It was very disappointing for the whole team. We fought very well. In the batting, we were a few runs short. The fast bowlers and spinners did well, but unfortunately, it was not to be. It is part of the game; in DRS, it is part of the game. Had he given it out, it would have favored us,” said Babar Azam.
“We have a chance to win this and stay in the race. We will try our best in the next 3 games, put in our best efforts, and play for Pakistan. Let’s see where we stand after those matches,” he added.