On Monday (Oct 7), Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan by 35 runs at Gaddafi Stadium in the second T20I of the series. By winning the first two games of the three-match series, Sri Lanka registered their first T20I tournament win over Pakistan in seven attempts.
Talking to media ahead of the last T20I match, Pakistan’s head coach and chief selector expressed his disappointment.
“Losing is never good, especially against the second-leg Sri Lankan team, which is without their major players, and it’s an eye-opener for us,” said Misbah.
Mishab mentioned that Pakistan’s team failed to execute its plan while praising the visitors for their performance.
“We can see deficiencies in every department: bowling, batting and particularly the way we got out against spin, and also our death bowling. There was a clear difference between both sides. Despite being an inexperienced and young side, the visitors were disciplined and did everything right, while we completely failed to implement our plans,” he added.
Misbah pointed out that the team’s past T20I record had a lot to do with Babar Azam’s individual contribution, and his failure in the tournament exposed their weakness.
“It is true that we gained the number one ranking in T20s, but if you dig deeper, you will see Babar Azam remained the main strength behind earning this top slot, but he didn’t score in two games, and we have been exposed,” told Misbah.
The head coach is eying at the ICC T20 World Cup scheduled for next year and would be conducting experiments to figure out the right combination.
“To buildup the right combination for the mega T20 event, we need to make some experiments,” said Misbah.
The last game of the tournament will be held on Wednesday, Oct 9 at the same venue.
