Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt voiced strong criticism of the Pakistani cricketers following the team’s narrow defeat against India in the T20I World Cup Group A clash at the Nassau Cricket Stadium, New York.
Speaking to a local channel, Butt remarked, “Pakistan team always finds a way to lose the match. Rizwan had one job, to bat till the end.”
The much-anticipated match saw Pakistan winning the toss and opting to bowl first. It was a good decision on a difficult pitch for the batters, as they managed to restrict the Indian team to 119 all out, with Rishabh Pant’s resilient 42 runs proving to be the difference between the two sides.
Butt pointed out that India’s total was more a consequence of poor shot selection rather than difficult pitch conditions. “In my opinion, India got out for 119 runs because of their extravagant shots; otherwise, they could have scored 140-150 on this pitch. They played a lot of poor shots to get out, but so did Pakistan,” he stated.
Despite a commendable bowling performance, Pakistan’s batting lineup faltered in the chase. Jasprit Bumrah’s stellar figures of 3-14 played a crucial role in restricting Pakistan to 113-7, securing a narrow 6-run victory for India.
Naseem Shah was the only ray of hope as he finished with a splendid bowling spell of 3-21 in his 4 overs and also scored 10 runs off 4 balls that went in vain in the end.
Butt’s remarks reflect the frustration of a nation that had high hopes for their team in the World Cup, only to see them fall short once again against the old nemesis.
Pakistan will lock horns with Canada tonight at the Nassau County Cricket Stadium in New York in their third match of Group A in the showpiece event. If Babar Azam’s side fail to win this game, they will be knocked out of the tournament.
Check out the latest updates regarding the T20 World Cup 2024 here!
