Babar opens up after first loss as T20I captain

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Pakistan Twenty20 International (T20I) captain Babar Azam was disappointed after the Men in Green suffered first defeat under his tenure.   

Pakistan were convincingly beaten by Australia thanks largely due to former captain Steve Smith’s brilliant 80-run unbeaten knock, in Canberra during the second T20I of the three-match series.  

"We are disappointed. Steve Smith took the match away. He played a magnificent innings,” said Babar.

He also lamented loss of early wickets, after Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat first. Opener Fakhar Zaman, 2, and middle-order batsman Haris Sohail, 6, departed early with the score 29/2 in five overs.  

“It's very difficult when we lose early wickets because we have to gain momentum again,” he said.

Pakistan’s innings gained much-needed impetus at the backend of their batting effort due to lower-order batsman Iftikhar Ahmed’s swashbuckling knock of 62 runs off 34 balls.

“Credit goes to Iftikhar the way he played. It was a good knock," he said.

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Meanwhile Aussie captain Aaron Finch was satisfied with the team’s all-round performance.

"I thought we were pretty good all day. The way we kept taking wickets throughout the innings was really important because we know how damaging Pakistan can be in the powerplay or at the end so to get wickets consistently I think was the key to the day. We've got guys like Steve, who does what he does better than anyone else in the world," said Finch.

Steve Smith, who bagged the award for player of the match, was happy after playing a pivotal role in his side’s victory.  

"It was nice to be there at the end and get the boys home. I thought the bowlers set it up early. It was probably a 170 wicket I reckon at least. They bowled beautifully. Then it was just about timing the run and fortunately I was able to do that tonight," said Smith.

The series wraps up in Perth on Friday before the sides face each other in two Tests. Australia lead the three-match series one-nil, after the first game was washed out due to rain.