ENG vs PAK: Babar Azam blames these players for Pakistan's loss

Pakistan's white-ball captain Babar Azam opened up on the loss against England in the 2nd of a 4-match T20I series which took place yesterday in Edgbaston. 

The T20I series in England is the final pit stop for Babar Azam's side before they take the flight to the USA and West Indies for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. After the first T20I in Headingley got washed out without a ball being bowled, the English team led by Jos Buttler welcomed the Men in Green for the 2nd match. 

Both the teams had their sights set on kicking off the series with a win but the visitors once again lost the first match of the series. Their European tour started with a loss against Ireland in the 1st match before they won the series by 2-1. Against England, Babar Azam and co. got off to a similar start but they still have 2 more matches to stage a turnaround. 

The 2nd T20I as it went

Babar Azam had won the toss in Edgbaston and asked Jos Buttler to bat first. The hosts came out with a full-strength playing XI which featured players who recently shined in IPL 2024.

As expected, the Three Lions got off to a cracking start as Phil Salt and Buttler made the most out of the powerplay. But in the 4th over, Salt was bowled by Imad Wasim for 13 off 9. Then Will Jacks came in and smashed 37 runs at a strike rate of 160 and left the crease in the 11th over. 

While Jos Buttler remained firm on the other end, the middle and lower middle order flopped badly. Jonny Bairstow (21), Harry Brook (1), Moeen Ali (4), Liam Livingstone (2) and Chris Jordan (3) shared just 31 runs between them. From Pakistan's bowling front, Shaheen Afridi registered figures of 3/36 while Imad Wasim and Haris Rauf's 2 wickets each helped them restrict England to 183. 

In response, Pakistan lost Mohammad Rizwan in just the 3rd ball of the 1st over for a duck. Rizwan's partner Saim Ayub flopped once again as returned with 2 off 7. The onus was then on Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman to steady their team's ship. But after adding 53 runs in their partnership, Babar was dismissed by Moeen Ali for a score of 32 off 26. 

Wicket-keeper batsman Azam Khan, known for his explosiveness, scored just 11 runs while Shadab Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, and Imad Wasim scored 3, 23, and 22. Zaman missed out on his half-century by just 5 runs and Pakistan was eventually restricted to 160 with England winning by 23 runs. 

What did Babar Azam say about the loss? 

While speaking in the post-match presentation, Babar Azam admitted that he thought 184 was a par score and hailed his bowlers for the effort. When it comes to the batting front, the Pakistani captain said that the batters could not convert their moments into big knocks and the lack of a big partnership cost them the game.  

"It was a par score, our bowlers bowled very well. In the batting, there were moments, but we didn't finish well. Small partnership between me and Fakhar and later on, there was no big partnership. The way Fakhar dominated after wickets fell ... if me and Fakhar had batted for three more overs, it would have been a different ball game." - Babar Azam said after the match.