In a thrilling encounter at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, Australia emerged victorious against Pakistan, winning the 18th match of the ODI World Cup 2023 by a margin of 62 runs. The Australians posted a formidable total of 367/9 in their allotted 50 overs, thanks to outstanding centuries from their openers, David Warner and Mitchell Marsh.
Babar Azam opens up on the defeat
Following the disappointing loss, Pakistan’s captain, Babar Azam, provided insight into what went wrong for his team. Babar attributed the defeat to a subpar performance in the bowling and fielding departments. While acknowledging the resilience of Pakistan’s pacers and spinners in the latter part of the first innings, he pointed out that fielding lapses and a lackluster performance in the initial overs contributed to their defeat.
“First 34 overs in the bowl and field cost us. We dropped Warner and such batters to ensure they cash in. Credit to quicks and spinners for coming back in the last 15, who hit their lengths and the stumps,” said Babar during the post-match ceremony.
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Batting woes and lack of partnerships
Babar also touched upon Pakistan’s batting struggles in the match, emphasizing the team’s failure to build substantial partnerships. He expressed the importance of substantial middle-order partnerships, stressing that they were required to chase down the target successfully.
“The message for the batters was that we can do it. We’ve done it, and the ball comes well under lights. We started well. We got small partnerships but needed big ones in the middle. Honestly, we have to get up to the mark in the first ten with the ball and partnerships in the middle with the bat,” Babar Azam remarked.
