Pakistan ended their T20 World Cup win with a scratchy win over Ireland in their final group match. The side was already eliminated before the game following the losses to the United States and India in its first two matches. Their qualification chances to the Super Eight relied on Ireland’s win over the USA, but the match was washed out due to rain, confirming Pakistan’s exit.
The side produced an impressive bowling effort against Paul Stirling’s men in its last game of the tournament, restricting the side to 106/9. However, Pakistan’s batting faltered yet again, with the top and middle-order failing to shine as the side was left reeling at 57/5 in the chase. Babar, however, held one end and eventually remained unbeaten on 32, while Abbas Afridi (17) and Shaheen Afridi (13*) played a helping hand to see Pakistan off the finishing line.
Following the match, Babar reflected on the side’s poor performances in the tournament and stated that while its bowling attack had been good throughout the tournament, Pakistan’s batting let them down.
“With bowling, we were good because the conditions suited the fast bowlers. With the batting, we made a few mistakes, like against the USA and India. We were in a winning position, and when you lose the wickets, it brings pressure. There were positives in bowling,” Babar said.
On tricky surfaces in the USA, Pakistan scored 159 against the hosts in their first game, but a spirited comeback from the United States saw the match going into the Super Over, where the latter registered a thrilling win. Pakistan, then, bowled India out for just 119 but faced a batting collapse, reaching only 113/7 in their 20 overs.
“We had close games but we couldn’t finish well. As a team, we are not good. We have good players, but we couldn’t win as a team. We had individual performances,” Babar further said.
Babar on opening
Following the two defeats to the USA and Ireland, Babar dropped himself to no.3 in the batting order, with Saim Ayub opening alongside Mohammad Rizwan. When asked whether he would return to the opening role in the shortest format, Babar stated that he would do what’s best for the team.
“Let’s see. If the team needs me to open, I will open. If they need me at no.3, I will do that too. It depends on what the team needs,” said the Pakistan skipper.