NEW DELHI: Former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja expressed his displeasure as New Zealand clinched a seven-wicket victory over Pakistan in the third Twenty20 international at Rawalpindi.
Mark Chapman
emerged as the hero for the visiting side with an unbeaten 87 off 42 balls. His stellar performance steered New Zealand to successfully chase down Pakistan's target of 179 in just 18.2 overs.
Chapman's innings was a crucial factor in levelling the five-match series at 1-1.
Renowned cricket commentator and former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja expressed his thoughts on Pakistan's defeat on his YouTube channel. He highlighted the inconsistency of the Pakistan team, saying, "Losing is a part of cricket, but such a defeat shakes the foundation a bit, especially with the World Cup just around the corner. Playing at home, on your favourite surface, against a team that isn't even a complete side - not a first-tier or even a second-tier New Zealand team - makes it an embarrassing loss."
"Let's admit that in T20, anyone's luck can change, but such a drastic turn of tables within 24 hours is a blow to Pakistan's reputation. For some time now, there has been a notion that you can expect anything from Pakistan on a given day. Just 24 hours ago, Pakistan defeated them by 7 wickets, and 24 hours later, they themselves suffered a 7-wicket defeat. This should not happen," added the former
PCB
chairman.
Suggesting that Pakistan's total fell short of expectations, Raja continued: "The batsmen who are set should not get out after scoring just 20-30 runs. That's why the score is only 180. This pitch is worth at least 250 runs, as we know how many runs have been scored here before. Pakistan scored fewer runs, and no one played a long innings. The bowling performance was also quite mediocre. The frontline bowlers, Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi, had a very dull day."
Pakistan, batting first, posted a total of 178-4, thanks to
Shadab Khan
's 41 and
Babar Azam
's 37. However, the New Zealand openers, Tim Robinson and Tim Seifert, laid a strong foundation for their team's chase with quickfire scores of 28 and 21, respectively. Following their dismissal, Chapman, alongside Dean Foxcroft, who scored 31, established a 117-run partnership for the third wicket.
The home crowd, which numbered around 16,000, was left stunned by Pakistan's unexpected defeat, especially considering the strength of their bowling attack.
The loss was particularly disheartening for Pakistan as they had won the second match of the series comfortably by seven wickets, with the first game being washed out after just two balls.
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