Babar Azam in action© AFP
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam was a relieved man after finally getting a win in the T20 World Cup but said the batters could have done better while chasing a small total against the Netherlands in the T20 World Cup, in Perth on Sunday. Pakistan bowlers set the tone by dismissing Netherlands for a lowly 91 for 9 but their batting was not as clinical as they lost four wickets to achieve the target in 13.5 overs. “I am very happy. Team did well with the ball and bat. I think the length was crucial. They needed to bowl on a good length because there was bounce on the surface. Everyone executed well,” Azam said during the post-match presentation.
“In my opinion we could chase better than this. But win always gives you confidence. We are taking the good things forward to the next game.” Despite being blown away by the Pakistan bowlers, Netherland skipper Scott Edwards justified his decision to bat first.
“That was still the right decision to make. We haven’t batted first all tournament, we just were not good enough on the day. We were on 30 or so and 15 [19] after the powerplay. We couldn’t string in the boundaries with the bat.
“Bowlers put their efforts in, but 90 was never enough.” Shadab Khan, who was adjudged the player of the match for his three-wicket haul, said the experience of playing against some of the Dutch players in county cricket helped.
“I think this is a true pitch. I just tried to bowl on the stumps. I bowled to these players in the last series as well as in county cricket,” said the 24-year-old, who played for Yorkshire this year.
“Our bowlers put pressure in the powerplay and I could strike and that is what is about a team game.
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“It is horrible feeling to go in there with one run remaining. But we could not finish the games in the last two games and today was about finishing it.”
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