Despite the loss, Babar remains optimistic about the team's progress and development
26 April, 2024
PHOTO: PCB
Pakistan's hopes of winning the T20I series against New Zealand were dashed after suffering their second defeat in the five-match series.
Although Pakistan can still draw level in the final match, a series victory is now beyond their reach.
Speaking after the match, captain Babar Azam praised his bowlers for keeping New Zealand's score below 180, in line with his expectations. However, he acknowledged that an early batting collapse made the chase challenging.
“I think we restricted them in bowling really well. We were expecting 190-200 but the bowlers stuck to their plans, it was chaseable, but we had a batting collapse," Babar said.
Babar highlighted Fakhar Zaman's notable performance but expressed disappointment over losing key wickets during the powerplay. The team's struggle during the middle overs prevented them from regaining their footing.
"We lost three-four wickets in the powerplay but Fakhar's innings was outstanding. We wanted to chase it with positive intent but we were unable to do so,” Babar said.
"“When you lose back-to-back wickets, you need a few overs to catch up but that we got derailed in that period. It was a different surface; we were coming back after a long time, average score is 190 so I think we restricted them well," he further added.
Due to injuries, Babar made changes to the playing XI, aiming to assess the bench strength and experiment with different combinations. He hopes this approach will help in building a strong squad for the upcoming World Cup.
“There were some changes due to injuries but youngsters put in a great effort. Our plan was to give proper opportunity to (test our) bench strength and see where we stand and we wanted to play different combinations. Hopefully, we will have the team ready come the time of World Cup,” he concluded.
Despite the loss, Babar remains optimistic about the team's progress and development. The final match of the series will offer Pakistan an opportunity to finish on a positive note.
