After suffering a humbling defeat to Afghanistan in the 2023 World Cup at Chennai’s Chidambaram Stadium, Pakistan’s captain, Babar Azam, criticized his team’s weak fielding performance.
Afghanistan, driven by remarkable innings from Ibrahim Zadran (87), Rahmat Shah (77 not out), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (65), and captain Hashmatullah Shahidi (48 not out), successfully chased down Pakistan’s 283-run target, securing their second victory in the tournament.
During a post-match press conference, Babar attributed their third consecutive loss to subpar performances in both bowling and fielding.
He expressed frustration with the lack of focus among players during fielding and acknowledged that the team was disheartened by the day’s defeat. Babar also pointed out that the spinners failed to apply enough pressure on the Afghan batters during the middle overs.
Babar clarified that his captaincy responsibilities did not add extra pressure, and he maintained a distinction between his roles. He denied claims that the team felt pressured after losing to India and stated that their game plans were not producing the desired results.
While congratulating Afghanistan on their historic victory, Babar expressed his commitment to winning the remaining matches of the World Cup.
On the other hand, the winning captain, Hashmatullah Shahidi, was in high spirits and described the victory as satisfying.
He praised his team’s professional approach to the chase and expressed confidence in their ability to replicate such performances in upcoming games. Shahidi mentioned that the team had carried over their confidence from their win against England and emphasized their commitment to playing positive cricket for their country.
With both Pakistan and Afghanistan having two wins and three losses in their five group games, they now rank fifth and sixth on the points table, respectively.
This victory marked Afghanistan’s first win against Pakistan in their eight one-day internationals (ODIs) encounters, with the score now standing at 7-1 in favor of Afghanistan.
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