‘We couldn’t finish off close games, and, as a team, we weren’t good!’
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam rued the mistakes his side made against India and the United States of America in their earlier Group A matches, even as the former champions bid adieu to the T20 World Cup with a consolation three-wicket victory over Ireland at Lauderhill, Florida, on Sunday rummy bo.
Babar was there to take Pakistan home against the Irish outfit, scoring an unbeaten 32 in a chase of 107 that they nearly botched up.
“I think with the bowling, conditions suited our bowlers. But in batting we made few mistakes in the matches against the USA and India. When you lose wickets, the pressure is on you,” said Babar, at the post-match presentation ceremony.
“We couldn’t finish off close games, and, as a team, we weren’t good,” he added.
Pakistan lost their first two Group A matches against India and the USA before beating Canada and Ireland.
However, he was happy that his team ended the tournament with a victory.
“Yes, we finished well. We took early wickets with the ball, but with the bat we didn’t finish well. We lost back-to-back wickets, but got over the line in the end.”
Babar said Pakistan will have to regroup quickly, though did not give any definite answer to his future as captain.
“Let’s see, what (the) team needs. I’ll be okay with it. We have a good bunch of players; we’ve to go home, chat and see where we lacked, and then come back,” he added.
Fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi, who was later adjudged as player of the match, said they did not play the right brand of cricket in the tournament.
“We haven’t played the kind of cricket our country demands; have a few areas to improve on. It’s tough (the result),” said Afridi.
Ireland captain Paul Stirling said they never really got the team balance right rummybo.
“It’s getting that balance right. T20… we probably haven’t got that this time around. It’s been a difficult couple of weeks. We’ll go back, regroup and see if we can come back stronger.”