Pakistan's Batting Woes Cost Them in T20 World Cup Defeat to India

Pakistan's skipper Babar Azam has identified two crucial factors that contributed to their disappointing six-run defeat against India in the T20 World Cup 2024 match in New York: underutilizing the batting powerplay and accumulating too many dot balls in the middle overs.

"Our plan was to play cautiously and make the most of the first six overs, which would have given us a strong foundation for victory," Babar explained. "However, we lost an early wicket and failed to capitalize on the powerplay, scoring only 35 runs."

After restricting India to a modest total of 119, Pakistan's batting lineup struggled to gain momentum. They managed to reach 72 for 2 after 12 overs, but a collapse ensued as Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya claimed crucial wickets.

"In the middle overs, we played too many dot balls and lost wickets in quick succession," Babar said. "This put us under pressure and made it difficult to chase down the target."

Pakistan's inability to rotate the strike effectively and score boundaries at regular intervals proved costly. "We needed to play more aggressively and take calculated risks," Babar admitted. "But we were too cautious and allowed the Indian bowlers to control the game."

With two consecutive defeats to start the tournament, Pakistan's hopes of advancing to the next round are hanging by a thread. Babar acknowledged the team's struggles but remained optimistic about their chances.

"We have to win our remaining two matches and hope for favorable results in other games," Babar said. "We will analyze our mistakes and make necessary adjustments to improve our performance."

Pakistan will face Canada on June 11 and Ireland on June 16 in their final two Group A matches. They will need to secure victories in both games and rely on other results to determine their fate in the tournament.

Tags: #T20WorldCup2024, #PakistanCricket, #IndiaCricket, #BabarAzam, #BattingPowerplay