Pakistan captain Babar Azam faced criticism from the fans after a disappointing loss to the United States of America in the 2024 T20 World Cup on Thursday (June 6) at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas. After a collective all-round performance, the USA beat the Asian team by five runs in a Super Over.
Pakistan batted first after losing the toss. The conditions favoured the bowlers initially, so the USA took advantage of it and got off to a great start by reducing Pakistan to 26-3. Babar Azam played watchfully and scored 4 (14) in the powerplay.
Shadab Khan played with intent and injected momentum into the innings with a knock of 40 (25). Babar also made up for his sluggish start by reaching 44 (43). However, both perished without converting their starts into big scores. Shaheen Afridi (23*) played a vital cameo at the death to push Pakistan's total to 159.
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USA reached 159-3 in their chase, resulting in a tie. The hosts then held their nerves in the Super Over and played well under pressure to edge out Pakistan by five runs.
Fans were disappointed with Babar Azam's batting and captaincy in the match. They took to social media to express the same by sharing hilarious memes. Here are some of them:
"Not a sign of a good leader" - Dinesh Karthik criticises Babar Azam's captaincy credentials after USA beat Pakistan in T20 World Cup
Former India cricketer Dinesh Karthik criticised Pakistan skipper Babar Azam for letting his teammates down with his comments at the post-match presentation after the loss against the USA.
Reviewing the game, Babar felt that they failed to capitalize in the first six overs in both batting and bowling, which eventually cost them the match. Speaking to Cricbuzz on the matter, Karthik opined that Azam should have handled the situation differently:
"It is one thing being honest, but it also one thing trying to understand what the dynamics of your team are. He is just newly appointed as a captain, a lot of the players are vulnerable right now, he needs to be saying things like, 'Yes, it was a bad day, we could have probably done somethings better.
"That is the kind of language to be used. But to say that we played badly and lost to many wickets, it is firstly stating the obvious, and secondly, if any Pakistan player reads it, which they will be, it feels like he is letting you down."
Karthik continued:
"The way he has conducted himself on the field, where he is having a go at the bowlers when boundaries go, is not a sign of a good leader. Showing disappointment is fine, but there is a way to show it, where the players do not get more nervous than they are already on the field."
Do you agree with Dinesh Karthik's views above? Let's know your opinions in the comments section below:
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