‘Not able to click in all departments at the same time’ - Babar Azam reflects on humiliating defeat against Afghanistan

Babar Azam, Pakistan captain, accepted the criticism of his side after suffering a third consecutive defeat in the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023. Pakistan were thrashed by Afghanistan by eight wickets in their fifth match contested at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

After deciding to bat first, Pakistan posted 282/7 with Abdullah Shafique (58) and Babar (74) scoring half-centuries. The Hashmatullah Shahidi-led side successfully chased down the target with an over to spare. Openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz (65) and Ibrahim Zadran (87) produced a 130-run stand for the first wicket before Rahmat Shah (77*) and Shahidi (48*) took Afghanistan home with an unbeaten 96-run partnership. Remarkably, it recorded Afghanistan's first ODI win over the Men in Green in eight attempts.

Babar believes that they did a great job while batting first and posting a reasonable total on board. The 29-year-old expressed his disappointment with the bowlers for not putting pressure on the batters at the spin-friendly Chepauk stadium.

"Yes, the defeat has hurt us a lot. We wanted to put up a total of around 280-290. After we achieved that, we were not up to the mark with our bowling and fielding. The spinners didn't bowl the way we wanted them to in the middle overs," Babar said after the game. 

"We started well in the middle overs, but we needed wickets. The pitch was helping the spinners even in the second innings. But we, especially our spinners, didn't hit our lengths. Every over we conceded a boundary, so there was no pressure on their batsmen," he added.

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I think we are lacking that a little bit as a fielding unit: Babar Azam 

Babar went on to say that his fielders were not being focused and proactive during the match. Pakistan’s bowling was not up to the mark as the bowlers focused on stopping runs and not picking wickets, according to the captain. 

"We are not able to click in all departments at the same time. When we do well in bowling, we don't do well in batting. When we do well in batting, we don't do as well in fielding. Fielding is all about attitude. And I don't see any attitude from the team. You need to put in extra effort and be fit. You should focus on the ball, not on other thoughts and when the ball comes to you, you have to be proactive as a fielder. I think we are lacking that a little bit as a fielding unit.

"In the bowling, we have not been able to execute our plans. When you are not able to hit the length you want to and end up conceding boundaries, your focus shifts to stopping runs. In that, you keep making mistakes, and that puts you under pressure,” the Pakistan captain added.

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The No. 1 ODI batter continued by saying that the bowlers failed to bowl within the stumps. He indicated that this is the same case for spinners who gave away so many boundaries. 

"Here, the margin of error for bowlers is very low. If you bowl a little bit away from the stumps, you get hit. So, we are lacking there a little bit. We are not able to bowl within the stumps. The same goes for the spinners. We bowl four good balls and then there are two balls that go for boundaries or runs, because the margin is very small. If you bowl consistently at one place, then there will be pressure. So that thing is missing,” Babar further said.