Pakistan’s loss to the US is incongruous for former Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh. Yuvraj, the goodwill ambassador of the current World Cup, thinks that Pakistan’s defeat is due to the strategic mistakes of captain Babar Azam.
Pakistan scored 159 runs for 7 wickets yesterday at the Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium in Dallas. Batting in reply, USA needed 5 runs from the last ball to win. That said, Nitish Kumar made 4 runs in the super over.
Batting first in the Super Over, the United States collected 18 runs from Mohammad Amir. In reply, Pakistan to Sunil Netravalkar to collect more than 13 runs. Babar Azam’s team lost by 5 runs.
Yuvraj believes that Babar’s strategic mistakes have contributed greatly to Pakistan’s loss. According to this former Indian cricketer, Babar should have sent Fakhar Zaman on strike in the Super Over. Because only left-handed Fakhr could have done better against left-handed pacer Netravlkar. But the Pakistan captain has sent Iftekhar Ahmed on strike.
In yesterday’s match, Shadab Khan played the remaining 3 balls when Iftekhar got out in the super over. On the other hand, hard hitter Fakhar on the non-strike side could not play a single ball of the over. In other words, due to a strategic mistake, Pakistan was able to use Fakhar at an important time.
Yuvraj said, I don’t understand why Fakhar Zaman didn’t take a strike against a left-arm pacer. Whatever trap a left-handed bowler falls into, it is easy for a left-handed batter to deal with. Still, credit to Team USA for making smart decisions. Especially captain Manank Patel has to be credited for his decisions under pressure.
Pakistan’s next match is against India. The two teams will meet at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on June 9.
MH/ASM
