It wasn\u2019t easy for new batsmen but I think Shadab recovered well, skipper says at post-match ceremony
\nNews Desk
\nIslamabad
\nPakistan\u2019s skipper Babar Azam has opened up on the team\u2019s loss against New Zealand in the third T20I on Sunday, saying that the national side fell short of scoring the necessary runs to successfully defend their target.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t think it [slow run-rate during the middle overs] made much of a difference because we had caught up. You can say we were 10 runs short,\u201d Babar said while speaking at the post-match ceremony.
\n\u201cUnfortunately, we had a bit of a setback with Rizwan [injury] because it wasn\u2019t easy for new batsmen but I think Shadab [Khan] recovered well and had an outstanding partnership with Irfan. In Pindi, 180-190 is a par score. In batting, we did well,\u201d the skipper added.
\nHis remarks come as the Green Shirts posted a 179-run target at the loss of four wickets after being put to bat first at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
\nHowever, the Black Caps made a stunning comeback in the five-match T20I series, courtesy of Mark Chapman who led the visitors to victory by seven wickets in the third match at the Pindi Cricket Stadium.
\nNew Zealand had a great start to the 179-run target with openers Tim Robinson (28) and Tim Seifert (21), scoring 42 runs for the first wicket.
\nThe home side looked to stage a comeback with back-to-back dismissals by Naseem Shah and Abbas Afridi but Chapman, paired with Dean Foxcroft had their plans.
\nThe five-match series is now levelled at 1-1 with two remaining matches scheduled to be played on April 25 and 27 at Lahore\u2019s Gaddafi Stadium.
\nEarlier for Pakistan, the opening duo of Saim Ayub and Babar made 54\/0. Saim was caught by James Neesham off Ish Sodhi\u2019s bowling after scoring 32 runs from 22 balls at a strike rate of 145.45.
\nBabar looked in great touch but was caught by Jacob Duffy, bowled by Michael Bracewell, He contributed 37 runs off 29 deliveries at a strike rate of 127.5.
\nMohammad Rizwan had to retire hurt after scoring 23 runs from 22 balls, with Irfan Khan replacing him.
\nUsman Khan again couldn\u2019t score much and was dismissed after scoring 4 runs from 6 balls.
\nIrfan was joined by all-rounder Shadab and the duo smashed an explosive partnership with the latter dominating the proceedings.
\nIn a 62-run partnership, Shadab stroked 41 runs off 20 balls with the help of six boundaries.
\nMeanwhile, Irfan finished on 20-ball 30, smashing three fours and a six.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It wasn\u2019t easy for new batsmen but I think Shadab recovered well, skipper says at post-match ceremony News Desk Islamabad Pakistan\u2019s skipper Babar Azam has opened up on the team\u2019s loss against New Zealand in the third T20I on Sunday, saying that the national side fell short of scoring the necessary runs to successfully defend […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":401935,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-401897","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n