Despite taking seven wickets in the third match of the T20 World Cup 2024 in New York on Tuesday, Pakistan captain Babar Azam explained why his team did not strike in the chase against Canada.
The Men in Green chased down the target in 17.3 overs but needed to finish in 13.5 overs to top the Net Run Rate (NRR) ranking of the USA for the Super 8 qualifiers.
Pakistan need to win their last match and hope to lose their next match in USA and NRR team will advance to the next round.
Speaking to the media, Babar said that the pitch does not allow for aggressive hitting.
We started well with bowling, we know we have to cross the mark in the first six overs. [To return quickly with NRR USA], win before 14 overs, but the pitch makes it difficult,” he said.
Babar was dismissed for the second time in a row when he bowled to third man, but went straight to the wicketkeeper.
That’s my shot, but sometimes you need luck. I’ll do my best, he said.
Chasing 107 and failing to score a boundary in the first four overs, Pakistan got off to a rough start. Saim Ayub took just six wickets and headed to the pavilion with the Green Shirts 20-1 in 4.2 overs.
Azam missed his ticket for 33 but Rizwan (53 off 53) stayed in the field and chased down the target in 17.3 overs to knock Pakistan out.
In the first innings, the day belonged to the Pakistani bowlers as they had no answer to the heroic Canadian attack. Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf all played their part with the ball as the Green Shirts managed to restrict Canada to 106-7 in New York.
Aaron Johnson played a valiant knock for Canada and scored 52 off 44 balls with the help of eight boundaries.
Amir and Rauf scored two goals each while Naseem and Shaheen managed to score one.
