'Should be proud of the quality of cricket you all played' - Imran Khan lauds Pakistan's campaign till semi-final of T20 WC

Pakistan locked horns with Australia in the second semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2021 and the men in green suffered the first defeat of the tournament by five wickets. All was looking good for them until some berserk hitting towards the end by Matthew Wade and Marcus Stoinis changed Australia’s fortunes. However, Pakistan PM and former skipper Imran Khan has lauded his team for a great campaign this time around.

Khan took to his Twitter to boost the confidence of his team and stated, he knows the feeling through which they are going as he has been in the same shoes. However, the Pakistan team should be proud of the quality of cricket they put on the table in the 2021 T20 WC, the former skipper reckoned.

“To Babar Azam & the team: I know exactly how all of you are feeling right now because I have faced similar disappointments on the cricket field. But you should all be proud of the quality of cricket you played & the humility you showed in your wins. Congratulations Team Australia,” tweeted Khan.

Imran Khan also congratulates Australia for their performance

To Babar Azam & the team: I know exactly how all of you are feeling right now bec I have faced similar disappointments on the cricket field. But you shd all be proud of the quality of cricket you played & the humility you showed in your wins. Congratulations Team Australia.

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) November 11, 2021

Batting first, Pakistan posted a target of 177 runs for Aaron Finch and his men to chase. All was looking in Pakistan’s favour until the last two overs were left. 22 were needed in the last two overs and Hasan Ali probably came with the costliest mistake as he dropped Wade of Afridi in the 19^th over and the batter took no time to smash three straight sixes to storm Australia through the final.

“I thought we scored as many runs as we had planned in the first innings. I think if we give such teams a chance in the back end, it is going to be costly. The turning point was that dropped catch. Had we taken it, the scenario could have been different. The way we gelled and played the entire tournament, I am satisfied as a captain. Hopefully, we’ll learn from this for the next tournament,” said Babar Azam after the match.