The fielding abilities of the Pakistan cricket squad have drawn quite a bit of criticism recently. The spectators were angered by a number of dropped catches and poor fielding during the Test series against Australia.
Once again, Pakistani supporters were let down after Babar Azam failed to make an incredibly simple catch. This happened during Friday’s opening Twenty20 International match in Auckland against New Zealand.
As Williamson misplayed a shot off Abbas Afridi’s delivery, the ball headed straight for Babar at mid-on. It ought to have been a straightforward catch, but Babar miscalculated the situation and lost a straightforward opportunity. Fans began mocking him on social media for the lost chance, which infuriated them.
Dropped catch by Babar azam ????????
Its okey Babar king??????
You are our hero??#PAKvsNZ #PakistanCricketTeam#BabarAzam? #ShaheenAfridipic.twitter.com/4FmA5mBiFz pic.twitter.com/Zk4sdUo0XJ
— Abdul_Basit (@abdulbasit_true) January 12, 2024
On a superb batting pitch, Pakistan opted to bowl first which was a surprising call. NZ were certain about utilising the most of the circumstances. Although they lost Conway shortly into the first innings, Finn Allen quickly recovered the innings with some superb shots. Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell each hit fifty runs. But NZ’s cameos from lower middle order batting propelled them to a huge 226/8 total.
The Pakistani openers got off to a fast start, but none of them could sustain it. Babar Azam reached fifty runs, but other than a few pointless cameos, the other batters did not really help him out. The most effective bowler was Southee, who claimed four wickets while being the most economical. That was, to put it briefly, a clinical effort by the Kiwis. It was enough for the hosts to seal a convincing 41-run win against Pakistan in the first T20I.
“We need to be accurate and use our variations” : Shaheen Shah Afridi
Shaheen Shah Afridi spoke to the media after the first T20I as he spoke about the concluded game and where his side went wrong. He also pointed out the fielding mistakes committed by his side during the contest.
The Pakistan skipper said, “Proud moment to captain the team, proud moment for any player to lead his country. We played good cricket, we’ll try to give our best in the next games. Williamson and Mitchell played really well. We have to take those catches, need to work on that. Ayub played a good knock, Abbas was impressive on his debut, those are the positives. We need to be accurate and use our variations going forward.”
