Babar Azam blames spinners after Pakistan’s USA shocker

New Delhi,UPDATED: Jun 7, 2024 02:09 IST

Babar Azam said that Pakistan were not up to the mark against the United States (USA) in their Group A match of the T20 World Cup 2024. On Thursday, June 6, Babar and Co. slumped to a defeat at the hands of the co-hosts at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas. The game went right down to the Super Over where the 2009 champions capitulated under pressure.

After being asked to bat first, Pakistan got to a respectable score of 159 for 7 on the back of Babar’s 44, Shadab Khan’s 40 and Shaheen Shah Afridi’s 23. Needing to defend 15 runs in the last over, Haris Rauf failed to take Pakistan home. In the Super Over, Mohammad Amir lost his composure and gave away 18 runs, after which the Men in Green fell away.

USA vs PAK, T20 World Cup Updates

Babar said that Pakistan were not up to the mark in the powerplay. The skipper also said that spinners not picking up wickets in the middle overs also hurt them big time. Babar, however, did not forget to credit the USA for their whole-hearted efforts.

‘USA played better than us’

“First 6 overs while batting we didn’t capitalise. Back to back wickets always put you on the back foot, as a batter you need to step up and build partnerships. We were not up to the mark in the first 6 overs with the ball. Our spinners also did not take wickets in the middle overs so these things cost us,” Babar said in the post-match press conference

“Very hard, all credit to USA; they played better than us in all three departments. A little bit of moisture in the pitch, it was also two-paced. As a professional, you need to assess the conditions,” Babar added.

USA go to the top of the table in Group A with wins in both their matches against Pakistan and Canada. Pakistan have their task cut out as they face Rohit Sharma’s India on Sunday in New York.