Pakistan skipper Babar Azam is hopeful that the Men in Green will be “settled” before kicking off their campaign in the upcoming T20 World Cup following their defeat in the fourth T20I against New Zealand in Lahore.
Pakistan came close to going ahead in the series but fell short by four runs while chasing 179 which allowed New Zealand to take a 2-1 lead in the series at the Gaddafi Stadium.
After failing to secure the five-match T20I series, Babar gave his take on the team’s performance against a side that is missing their key players.
“We are trying something new and different in every game. Hopefully, we will be settled before going for the T20 World Cup,” Babar said after the game.
New Zealand got off to a brisk start with Tim Robinson and Tom Blundell picking the right spots and firing all cylinders in the powerplay.
In comparison, Pakistan struggled to replicate New Zealand’s success in the powerplay. They lost three wickets in the first six overs while the Kiwis lost just a single wicket.
Fakhar Zaman (61) and Imad Wasim (22*) got Pakistan back into the thick of the action with some sensational stroke play.
However, their standout efforts with the bat were not enough to help Pakistan chase down the total which according to Babar was “chaseable”.
“They started nicely but our bowlers made a good comeback, we stuck to a length. In the first six overs, we lost quite a number of wickets. Fakhar’s innings was outstanding, unfortunately, we couldn’t chase it down, Imad also played good innings. It was a different surface, the average score here is 190 and we did well to restrict them and it was a chaseable total. Our youngsters did well,” Babar added.
After failing to secure a lead in the series, Pakistan will look to end the series on level terms as they face New Zealand in the fifth T20I on Saturday. (ANI)
