Pakistan Rue Missed Opportunities in Defeat to Underdog USA
Pakistan captain Babar Azam expressed disappointment after his team’s opening T20 World Cup 2024 loss to the United States in a Super Over thriller. Despite setting a competitive target of 159/7, Babar felt his bowlers should have been able to defend the total on the tricky early-morning pitch.
“Today’s wicket had help for the fast bowlers in the first six overs,” Babar said in the post-match presentation. “But later on, I didn’t feel it was a different wicket. It settled down a bit. Because of the early start – the matches are starting at 10:30 am – the fast bowlers will obviously get a little help. There was some juice in the pitch early morning. So they utilized that and executed their plan.”
Babar and all-rounder Shadab Khan had put on a crucial 72-run stand to help Pakistan recover from a shaky start. However, the captain rued the team’s inability to capitalize on the platform set by their partnership.
“When Shadab and I had that partnership, we got momentum. I think when we lost the wickets back to back, that was the turning point. The momentum we had was shifted towards the other side,” Babar reflected.
Despite the early assistance for the pacers, Babar believed Pakistan should have defended their total, given the quality of their bowling attack.
“Even in the second innings, I think we also got help, but we were not up to the mark in terms of our bowling areas. We lacked in that in the first ten overs. We came back after that, but they had already taken the momentum. But given the bowlers we have, we should have defended that total. On this pitch, I think it was a defendable total for our bowling.”
In the Super Over, Pakistan struggled to contain the USA batters, with Mohammad Amir conceding 18 runs, including seven extras. Babar acknowledged the visitors’ smart running between the wickets as a key factor in their narrow victory.
“He [Amir] is an experienced bowler,” Babar said. “He knows how to bowl, and we were just trying to bowl according to field. But I think the US batsmen were smart. Even when the ball went to the keeper, they were running. So I think that thing was a plus point for them in the Super Over.”
While Pakistan were the runners-up in the previous edition, Babar dismissed the notion that his team had taken the USA lightly.
“See, whenever you come to any tournament, you do the best preparation always. You can say it’s a kind of mindset. When you come up against a team like this, you relax a little. If you don’t execute your plan against any team, then whatever team it is, they will make you pay. So I believe that our execution was not up to the mark.”
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