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“In our plan, we aimed to play sensibly, utilize the first six overs in batting and secure a victory,” Babar stated after Pakistan’s narrow six-run loss. “However, losing an early wicket derailed our plans in the first six overs. We were aiming for 40-45 runs in the powerplay, but failed to capitalize on it. Similarly, we repeated the same mistakes after the first ten overs as well.”
Pakistan, after restricting India to 119, struggled to score runs despite not losing many wickets early on. They managed only 35 for 1 in the powerplay and progressed to 72 for 2 in 12 overs. Subsequently, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya caused a collapse, with Hardik dismissing Fakhar Zaman and Bumrah getting Mohammad Rizwan out with his first ball in the second spell.
During the middle overs (6.1 to 15.6), Pakistan played 29 dot balls and scored 50 runs while losing three wickets.
“We bowled well after ten overs and holding India to 120 was a decent target. In our batting, we aimed for a run-rate of one per ball but faced a flurry of dot balls and consecutive wickets,” Babar explained. “Our strategy was simple – play smart and rotate strike while aiming for one boundary per over. However, we accumulated too many dot balls, leading to added pressure and the loss of crucial wickets.”
With two losses in a row at the World Cup, Pakistan now face a tough challenge to progress to the next round. Babar emphasized the importance of winning their remaining Group A matches and reassessing their performance.
“We have to win our last two matches. We will analyze our mistakes and focus on the upcoming games,” Babar said.
Pakistan’s next matches are against Canada on June 11 at the same venue, followed by a clash against Ireland on June 16 in Lauderhill.
