Shadab Khan opens up after New Zealand humble Pakistan in T20I series

Pakistan captain Shadab Khan has opened up after the Men in Green suffered a humiliating nine-wicket loss in the second match of the ongoing Twenty20 International (T20I) series against New Zealand in Hamilton.

The home side took an unassailable two-nil lead in the three-match series, on Sunday, after having won the first T20I by five wickets in Auckland couple of days back.  

“We repeated the same mistake of losing the match in the powerplay overs. If you lose three wickets inside the powerplay, you lose 80 per cent of the match,” said Khan after the match.

Veteran all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez played a superb unbeaten 99-run knock but this was not enough to take Pakistan over the line in the second T20I.

“Hafeez bhai played a brilliant innings which was a positive sign for the team. We will try to learn from his innings and apply that in the next game,” he said. “We have a lot of young players touring for the first time and it is difficult for them to adjust to the conditions quickly.”

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Shadab, who is leading the side due to injury to regular skipper Babar Azam, did not use the absence of their star batsman as an excuse for losing the series.

“He [Babar Azam] is the main player in our batting unit but this is not an excuse for losing the series. This is not a game of individuals, so you need to perform as a team,” he said. “His absence provides a good opportunity to the youngsters and hopefully they will come good in the final match of the series.”