Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has lashed out at the national team’s batting department after they failed to chase down 131 in the T20 World Cup 2022 Super 12 match against Zimbabwe on Thursday, October 27. According to the veteran, Zimbabwe’s bowling had nothing exceptional, yet Pakistan struggled with the bat.
However, Pakistan’s T20 World Cup 2022 campaign has hit a major blow following their one-run defeat to Zimbabwe in Perth in a Group 2 match. They had earlier lost to arch-rivals India by four wickets as well.
Dissecting Pakistan’s below-par batting effort against Zimbabwe, Inzamam-ul-Haq said on his YouTube channel: “The same problem existed during the Asia Cup as well. As soon as the top two got out, others couldn’t do anything. Babar and (Mohammad) Rizwan got out early and we couldn’t chase 130 against Zimbabwe. There was no reason for them not to chase it down.”
He continued, “There was no extreme pace on offer from Zimbabwe bowlers. (Sikandar) Raza is a part-time spinner and Pakistan struggled against him as well. Their bowlers were bowling at speeds of 130-135 and yet our batters were beaten at least 40 times. This is not a one-off batting display. This has been happening for a while now.”
While stating that Iftikhar Ahmed and Shan Masood have done quite well with the bat, the former player opined that one-off performances are not going to win them the T20 World Cup as well.
He expressed: “We all knew Pakistan would struggle if Babar and Rizwan don’t score. Yes Iftikhar Ahmed and Shan Masood scored runs in the first game. But there is no point of this form where you score one fifty and then go to sleep for the next three to four games. You cannot win any tournament like this.”
While Iftikhar smashed 51 against India and five against Zimbabwe, Masood registered scores of 52* and 44 as well. Chasing 131, Pakistan were 88/3 in the 14th over, but a batting collapse saw them failed to chase the score.
“I don’t know where Pakistan stand now because South Africa is the other danger team in the group. Just like Pakistan, South Africa also have a number of good fast bowlers. They thrive under these (Australian) conditions. Their batting also is in form as they scored 200 (against Bangladesh). Things have become very difficult for Pakistan,” Inzamam-ul-Haq concluded.
Notably, Team India are at the top of the points table in Group 2 with four points and a net run rate of +1.425. South Africa are second with three points and a run rate of +5.200 as well. Pakistan are in the fifth position with 0 points and a run rate of -0.050 as well.
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