Pakistan captain and premium fast bowler, Shaheen Shah Afridi reacted to defeat against the Kiwis, as they succumbed to another defeat in the series by 45 runs on Wednesday.
The Shaheens have now lost three matches on the trot in a 5-match series as the Kiwis have gained an unassailable lead.
This was the Shaheen’s first ever series as T20I captain and he has faced a great amount of scrutiny and reproach by the media on his decision making as captain in the crucial T20I series.
His decision to bowl first in the third match has been subjected to criticism and raised a lot of questions as New Zealand set up an unassailable total of 224 for 7 in the first innings.
After the defeat in the 3rd T20I, the Pakistani skipper gave reasons as to why they decided to bowl first in the crucial encounter. He stated that given the history of the ground, they expected that chasing would be easier and the decision to bowl first was a collective decision by the team and the team management.
Unfortunately, we didn’t deliver in the powerplay as a bowling unit, and our bowling has collapsed in these three games. However, we need to give this team time if we are to think about the big events ahead
In the first innings Finn Allen decimated Pakistan’s bowling line-up, as he scored a dominating hundred, smashing 137 runs in 62 deliveries, helping New Zealand to set a tone to achieve a total of 224. He smashed 16 towering sixes and achieved the highest individual score for the Kiwis in T20 Internationals.
Haris Rauf faced the wrath of Allen as he was smashed all over the park, conceding 60 in 4 overs, with Shaheen and Nawaz conceding more than 40 runs each in their bowling spells.
Babar’s third fifty in this series was not enough to get Pakistan anywhere close to the daunting target. The Green Shirts suffered a middle order collapse once more as they lost four wickets for 39 runs after a good start which saw them post 95-2 in the first 11 overs.
The only player who supported Babar in the second innings was Nawaz as he scored 28 off 15 balls.
Pakistan will now face New Zealand in the fourth T20I of the five match series on Friday, January 19.
