T20 World Cup
\n Karachi
\nCaptain Babar Azam defended his decision to play an extra fast bowler in Thursday\u2019s shock Twenty20 World Cup defeat by Zimbabwe but said the 2009 champions were not up to the mark in all departments after their campaign was left in tatters.
\nPaceman Mohammad Wasim\u2019s inclusion at the expense of batter Asif Ali looked to have paid off initially after he claimed 4-24 to restrict Zimbabwe to 130-8 but a batting collapse meant that Pakistan managed only 129-8 in 20 overs at Perth Stadium.
\nIt was Pakistan\u2019s second defeat in as many games following a heart-breaking last-ball loss to arch-rivals India and they now face a must-win game against the winless Netherlands on Sunday to keep alive their slim semi-final hopes.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s very hard as a team or as a captain. We weren\u2019t up to the mark in all three departments, but we\u2019ll sit and discuss the mistakes and then we\u2019ll come back strongly,\u201d Babar said.
\nBabar said he did not think an additional fast bowler had left their middle-order weakened.
\n\u201cThis pitch required fast bowlers, so we had that in the planning and that\u2019s why we had an extra fast bowler,\u201d Babar said, before urging his team to regroup quickly.
\n\u201cTo be honest, it\u2019s hard, but we have two days and we\u2019ll have a sit together and discuss.\u201d
\nPakistan must believe in World Cup miracle: Shan Masood
\nMeanwhile, batsman Shan Masood warned that his \u201cdemoralised\u201d side must pick themselves up quickly and keep believing if they are to salvage their fading World Cup dreams.
\n\u201cWe have three games that are in our hands, yes, we have to depend on [a] few other results, but that\u2019s the beauty of sport,\u201d Masood, who made 44 before Zimbabwe choked Pakistan to 129-8, told reporters in Perth.
\n\u201cThere are funny things that have happened in sports and we are going to believe and we are going to give it all in these three games.\u201d
\n\u201cThere is disappointment, no doubt. To lose two matches with fine margins is very demoralising as we know the importance of every point in this group,\u201d Masood said.
\n\u201cBut till the tournament doesn\u2019t end, we can\u2019t think ahead and can\u2019t look ahead. What we can do now is to find our mistakes and to win the next three matches.\u201d
\nHe added: \u201cTo overcome this disappointment we have to come out on the ground and play well. It\u2019s only a good performance on Sunday that will help us feel better.\u201d
\nPakistan have largely depended on Azam and his opening partner Mohammad Rizwan to fire the team to victory.
\nAzam fell for four and Rizwan for 14 in the modest chase and the rest of the batting fell apart despite Masood\u2019s 38-ball knock.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
T20 World Cup Karachi Captain Babar Azam defended his decision to play an extra fast bowler in Thursday\u2019s shock Twenty20 World Cup defeat by Zimbabwe but said the 2009 champions were not up to the mark in all departments after their campaign was left in tatters. Paceman Mohammad Wasim\u2019s inclusion at the expense of batter […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-292271","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n