Babar Azam couldn't keep composure: Shoaib Akhtar explains why Pakistan lost T20 WC semi-final
Shoaib Akhtar said Babar Azam couldn't keep his composure under pressure in the semi-final.
Pakistan bowed out of T20 World Cup 2021 on Thursday with a five-wicket loss at the hands of Australia in the semi-final. The Babar Azam-led side enjoyed a stellar run in the tournament with five wins in five matches in the Super 12 to finish on top of Group 2 and enter the semi-finals as one of the favourites for the coveted title. However, their dream run was halted by Australia, who secured a spot in the final against New Zealand.
Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar recently spoke about Pakistan's performance in the semi-final, in a video shared on his YouTube channel and explained why the Men in Green lost against the Aussies. Akhtar said it was quite evident that Pakistan skipper Babar Azam couldn't keep his composure in a crunch situation while the Aussies, who are an experienced side, didn't lose the plot and emerged victorious.
"You have to agree here that our (Pakistan) captain is young and new and in the end could not keep composed. On the other hand, Australia is a mature team and there they used their experience, culture, base to remain composed and did not get scared. Pakistan team, though, did not get scared but panicked," said Akhtar in the video.
Batting first, Pakistan got off to a brilliant start in the semi-final against Australia as opener Babar and Mohammad Rizwan posted an opening stand of 71 runs. Rizwan, who slammed a superb knock of 67 runs off 52 balls, then combined with Fakhar Zaman (55 off 32) to help Pakistan post 176 runs on the board.
However, Australia chased down the target with an over to spare as Matthew Wade (41) and Marcus Stoinis (40) posted an unbeaten stand of 81 runs for the sixth wicket and bailed Australia out of crisis to take them over the line in a pressure run chase.
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Akhtar said it was Pakistan's best chance to win the T20 World Cup this year but their best was not enough to beat Australia on Thursday as Aaron Finch & Co. entered the final with a convincing win.
"He (Babar Azam) is a new captain and I understand that but winning 5 out of 6 games, I thought this was Pakistan's World Cup to win. This could have been won. We might not get such an easy chance ever again. We tried our best but the best was not good enough for yesterday. The better team won," Akhtar said.
Australia will now lock horns with New Zealand in the final of the T20 World Cup 2021 on Sunday (November 14). A new champion will be crowned on Sunday as both teams have not won their maiden T20 World Cup titles yet.