Pakistan men's cricket team captain Babar Azam has said that the bowlers were not up to the mark after the Men in Green succumbed to a third consecutive defeat in the ICC Men's ODI World Cup 2023.
Green shirts were hammered by eight wickets at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, leaving the 1992 World Cup champions staring at an uphill task to qualify for the knockouts.
Speaking at the post-match ceremony, Babar Azam opined bowlers didn't take wickets in middle-overs.
"This hurts us. We had a good total. In the bowling, we weren't up to the mark as we are not taking wickets in the middle overs. If you are not good in even one department, then you'll lose the game," said Babar.
"We didn't stop boundaries and gave away runs, that cost us. Bowling - we started well, in the middle overs, we needed wickets but we couldn't take any," he added.
The Pakistan skipper credited Afghanistan and said the arch-rivals won because of "the way they played in all three departments".
"We have to try better in the next game, try and take good things from this game and move on. We didn't hit the right lengths, especially in the middle overs and we conceded boundary every over."
Meanwhile, the victorious captain Hashmatullah Shahidi, sporting a cheerful smile, described the triumph as nice.
"This win tastes nice. The way we chased was very professional. Looking forward to the other games. The way we chased today, we'll do it again. We have been playing quality cricket, the belief was there when we played the Asia Cup as well," said Shahidi.
The Afghan skipper reflected on the England win and said his men had carried over the confidence from there.
"First was England, today Pakistan, looking forward to the other games. We'll try to play positive cricket and do a lot for our country."
It must be noted that the Hashmatullah-led side became the first Afghanistan side to claim a win over the Men in Green. This is now their second win of the tournament since they beat England previously.
- Babar Azam
