Pakistan captain Babar Azam is optimistic that the national team will find their footing before commencing their journey in the upcoming T20 World Cup, despite their loss in the fourth T20I against New Zealand in Lahore. While Pakistan nearly clinched victory in the series, falling short by four runs while chasing 179, New Zealand’s win at the Gaddafi Stadium gave them a 2-1 lead in the series.
Following the team’s failure to secure victory in the five-match T20I series, Babar shared his perspective on the team’s performance against an opponent without 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 made a rapid start with Tim Robinson and Tom Blundell finding the right areas and performing at their peak during the powerplay.
In contrast, Pakistan faced difficulties matching New Zealand’s success in the powerplay, losing three wickets within the first six overs compared to the Kiwis’ solitary wicket. However, Fakhar Zaman (61) and Imad Wasim (22*) propelled Pakistan back into contention with their sensational stroke play.
Nevertheless, their exceptional performances with the bat couldn’t propel Pakistan to 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.
Having missed out on taking the lead in the series, Pakistan aims to level the series as they confront New Zealand in the fifth T20I on Saturday.