T20 World Cup: Babar Azam rues collective failure for Pakistan's shocking loss to USA

Pakistan captain Babar Azam blamed the team’s collective failure as reason for suffering a shocking loss at the hands of the USA at the 2024 T20 World Cup in Dallas, Texas, the other night. Pakistan’s opening game of the tournament went on till the Super Over, where the co-hosts emerged victorious, sitting at the top of the points table in Group A with two wins in as many games.

Utterly disappointed with the result, Babar addressed the media after the game, saying they failed to do well across all three departments. Be it taking on the USA bowlers upfront or trying to take early wickets despite having some purchase for the seamers, the Pakistan Team was far from their best on the day.

Praising the USA seamers for not allowing them to settle or score upfront, Babar said they clicked as a unit and made the most of the conditions - something the Pakistan team lacked.

The Men in Green batted first and lost three wickets inside the Powerplay, with the attacking duo of Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman departing early. Captain Babar Azam stuck around but failed to accelerate as the USA bowlers kept it tight throughout the innings. He scored 44 off 43 balls, hitting two sixes and three fours.

"Today's wicket had help for the fast bowlers in the first six overs," Babar said at the post-match presentation.

"But later on, I didn't feel it was a different wicket. It settled down a bit. Because of the early start - the matches are starting at 10.30 am - the fast bowlers will obviously get a little help. There was some juice in the pitch early morning. So they utilised that and executed their plan,” he continued.

The USA owned the second innings, with Captain Monank Patel completing a crucial fifty off 38 balls during the chase.

The star-studded Pakistan pace attack, including Shaheen, Amir, Naseem and Haris Rauf, could pick only three wickets among them, while Shadab Khan went wicketless in his three-over spell.

"We are better than that in the bowling. We did not take wickets in the first six overs. In the middle overs, if your spinner is not taking wickets, then the pressure is on you. After ten overs, we did come back, but I think the way they finished the game in the Super Over, the credit goes to the US team,” Babar Azam said.

Did Pakistan take the USA lightly?

Pakistan entered this tournament as one of the title contenders, while the USA are appearing for the first time. Asked if the last edition runners-up took the newcomers lightly, Babar said they prepared for the challenges butfailed to execute their plans.

"See, whenever you come to any tournament, you do the best preparation always," Babar said.

"You can say it's a kind of mindset. When you come up against a team like this, you relax a little. If you don't execute your plan against any team, then whatever team it is, they will make you pay. So, I believe that our execution was not up to the mark. We were doing well in the preparation, but in the match, we did not execute our plans as a team,” the Pakistan captain added.

Meanwhile, Pakistan will next playarch-rivals India in the marquee clash in New York on Sunday (June 9).

(With inputs from agencies)