NEW DELHI: The Men in Green lost the
T20 World Cup
by 5 runs to the USA, largely due to tactical errors committed in the
Super Over
, according to former chairman of the
Pakistan Cricket
Board (PCB), Ramiz Raja.
Pakistan was left in shock at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, as the USA camp exploded in joyous celebrations.
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With their clinical pace in the last four overs, Pakistan managed to raise chances of victory on a day when they were primarily chasing their opponents.
The USA took the game into the Super Over despite Haris Rauf having to defend 15 runs in the last over.
The co-hosts, who batted first, scored eighteen runs, largely due to
Mohammad Amir
's inability to stay consistent.
The ball was given to Saurabh Netravalkar, a left-arm pacer, to defend the total. Left-handed hitter
Fakhar Zaman
was on the non-strikers' side, while right-handed hitter Iftikhar Ahmed was on strike.
Ramiz said that the Pakistani team made a tactical blunder because Fakhar was the best player to take on Netravalkar.
"Left-arm batter plays a left-arm pacer better. Shadab (Khan) worked a lot to score those 40 runs. It doesn't mean he has form or can go in the crunch moments and score fours or sixes. We don't have fancy shots, we didn't use reverse flick or a ram shot. Fakhar Zaman got left at the non-striker's end. So tactically, this was a big mistake," Ramiz said on his YouTube channel.
After making an impact in the penultimate over of the second innings, Amir was given the ball for the Super Over ahead of Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Amir's strategy was questioned by Ramiz, who said he ought to have stayed true to his strengths rather than attempting something "fancy".
"Pakistan made mistake after mistake in the selection and strategy aspect. Mohammad Amir tried to do fancy things his go-to ball is Yorker, but there was no control it was a dispirited performance. Nobody looked motivated to fight in the game," Ramiz added.
Pakistan will now play their bitter rivals India on Sunday at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York
(With ANI inputs)
English (US) ·