Pakistan suffered a significant setback in their Cricket World Cup 2023 journey when they narrowly lost to South Africa by one wicket. Despite a disappointing DRS call going against them, Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam handled the loss with grace.
In a crucial moment during the match, a Haris Rauf delivery appeared to have Keshav Maharaj caught on the pads, leading Pakistan to make a DRS appeal. However, the ball tracking revealed that it would have just clipped the leg stump, and Maharaj survived the appeal due to Umpires’ Call, which left the entire Pakistan team in distress.
Babar Azam when asked about the DRS call, responded :” It’s part of the game. This is umpire’s call so I think it’s just part of the game. Had he given it out, it would have favoured us“
“I think it’s disappointing everyone, we had the opportunity to win this match and stay in the tournament but we missed it. We will try our best in our next three matches and put our effort so let’s see where we stand after the three matches.”
“Very disappointing, we fought back well but we were 10-15 runs short. I think the way fast bowlers bowled, they did well but unfortunately the result was not in our side.” South Africa captain Temba Bavuma didn’t mince words while pointing out that they need to address the issue of losing close games and was glad that they could win a tight contest.”
“Pressure with us chasing, we haven’t done well to rectify that. It will be easier to have those conversations especially after the win. You need to have the guys in the best situations and truly speak out as to what they were thinking.“
It’s difficult to confirm at this moment, but those discussions will definitely take place. This is a topic we’ve talked about and considered.
We have a clear strategy when we’re batting first, but we can’t confidently say we have the same when we’re chasing a target. We aim to improve our batting performance significantly performance Providing an update on Kagiso Rabada, Bavuma mentioned, KG (Rabada) is in good condition.
The precautionary measures were due to some lower back issues. He will have a couple of days of rest before the New Zealand match and will be in contention. Bavuma also expressed his delight for Tabraiz Shamsi, who was awarded the Player of the Match for his excellent four-wicket performance.
He praised Shamsi’s all-round skills, saying, “We’ve noticed Shamsi showcasing his batting prowess on social media. This trend will likely continue for the next two weeks. It’s wonderful to see a senior player like Shamsi contributing significantly with the bat.
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