Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt slammed the Green Shirts’ key players after they lost to India by six runs in their second match of the T20 World Cup 2024 which was played at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York on Sunday.
Butt, who captained the Pakistan team in the past, believed that Mohammad Rizwan only had one job during the chase and that was to bat till the end but he failed.
"The Pakistan team always finds a way to lose the match. Rizwan had one job, and that was to bat till the end," Butt said while talking to a local channel.
He then went on to state that the poor shot selection was the reason why India and Pakistan both failed to score big in the match before adding that the Green Shirts let the match slip from their hands.
“In my opinion, India got out for 119 runs because of their extravagant shots; otherwise, they could have scored 140-150 on this pitch. They played a lot of poor shots to get out, but so did Pakistan,” Butt said.
“But Pakistan, they just manage to ruin their own match. I mean, Iftikhar got out on a full toss, Fakhar Zaman played a poor shot, Imad Wasim stepped back and tried to hit, Shadab did the same thing, it seems like they are so limited, you are such an easy team to be walked out.”
Pakistan decided to bowl first, after winning the toss, on a pitch with variable bounce. Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf claimed three wickets each while Rishabh Pant was India's highest scorer with a quick knock of 42 as they were dismissed for 119.
In reply, Mohammad Rizwan laid the platform for the chase with a patient knock of 31 but Pakistan lost wickets at regular intervals while India's fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah took key wickets to finish with figures of 3-14. Pakistan were restricted to 113-7 in 20 overs.
In Group A, India have one foot in the Super 8 with two wins from their opening two matches while Pakistan have zero points from two losses following their upset by the hosts, the United States, in their first match.
