PAK vs AUS: "We Lost The Grip When I Got Out" - Pakistan Skipper Babar Azam After 1st ODI Loss

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam was a disappointed man after his team’s loss in the first ODI against Australia in Lahore on Tuesday, March 29. Chasing 314 to win, the Men in Green were bowled out for 225 as they lost the match by 88 runs. They are now trailing by 0-1 in the three-match series.

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Babar Azam was dismissed for 57 after adding a 96-run stand with Imam-Ul-Haq. Imam went on to score a century but lacked support from the other end. Pakistan kept on losing wickets at regular intervals once the stand between Babar and Ima was broken by Mitchell Swepson. In the post-match presentation, Babar said that his dismissal was the turning point of the game.

I Got Out And They Got The Momentum: Babar Azam

“We wanted to restrict them to under 300. But we didn’t start well in the first ten overs, but we restricted them well in the end. I thought we lost the grip when I got out. It wasn’t easy for the new batsmen, but unfortunately, I got out and they got the momentum” said Babar.

The Pakistan batting line-up had a very fresh and young look with all their experienced players missing. Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez have both announced their retirement from ODI cricket. Babar said that the young batting lineup needs backing and support from the management after a failure against a good-quality bowling attack.

“When your main players aren’t available, you have to back the young players. The debutants did well though. We will discuss the mistakes we made and look to not repeat it in the next game” he further added.

Earlier in the game, Travis Head scored a scintillating century off just 72 balls while opening the batting for Australia. His knock set the game up for the Aussies with Ben McDermott (55) and Cameron Green (40*) coming up with crucial contributions.

“Nice to get a look at the top, and to take the opportunity. We thought it would be tough to bowl in the end with the dew and that’s why we wanted to get as much as we wanted. It was a different wicket and there were quite a bit of unknowns. Nice win. We needed it” said Head.

Both teams face off in the second ODI on March 31 at Lahore. The hosts need to win the game to keep the series alive, while Australia would look to win the game and bag the series.

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