Babar Azam opens up about Pakistan’s loss to New Zealand in third T20I

Pakistan captain Babar Azam reflected on his team's performance following a defeat against New Zealand in the third T20I of the series in Rawalpindi on Sunday.

Pakistan, batting first, managed to post 178-4 on the scoreboard. However, while talking in the post-match presentation Babar acknowledged the team might have fallen short by around 10 runs. 

"I don't think the slow run-rate during the middle overs made much of a difference because we had caught up. You can say we were 10 runs short," Babar said. 

Furthermore, Babar also addressed the impact of Mohammad Rizwan's injury, which forced new batsmen to step up. Despite this setback, Babar praised Shadab Khan for his efforts in forging a solid partnership.

“Unfortunately, we had a bit of a setback with Rizwan [injury] because it wasn't easy for new batsmen but I think Shadab recovered well and had an outstanding partnership with Irfan. In Pindi, 180-190 is a par score. In batting, we did well," he further added.

It is worth noting that New Zealand's Mark Chapman played a pivotal role in the visitors' remarkable comeback, leading them to victory by seven wickets. This win leveled the five-match series at 1-1 with two matches remaining in Lahore.

The decisive fourth and fifth matches are scheduled to take place on April 25 and 27 at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.