"Learn from Pakistan how to make an easy job difficult"- Former Indian opener absolutely thrashes Babar Azam and co
Pakistan ended its T20 World Cup 2024 campaign with a win over Ireland. But the victory wasn’t as straightforward as it looked to be during the mid-innings break. Chasing 107 to win, the Men in Green slumped to 62-6 at one point, thus making the mood in the dressing room tense. But skipper Babar Azam made sure to stay till the end and take his team home.
Babar scored a crucial 32* off 34 balls and hit 2 fours during his knock. Abbas Afridi and Shaheen Afridi also impressed with handy lower-order knocks. Earlier, Pakistan produced a brilliant display of fast bowling to reduce Ireland to 32-6.
Shaheen Afridi picked up 3 wickets in his fiery opening spell that broke the back of Ireland’s top order. Mohammad Amir also picked up 2 wickets while left-arm spinner Imad Wasim cleaned up the tail with figures of 3-8 in four overs.
Navjot Sidhu blasts Pakistan’s batting approach against Ireland
Despite an excellent display by the bowlers, Pakistan’s batters failed to live up to the expectations. This was not the first time that Pakistan’s batting has struggled in this tournament.
Former India cricketer Navjot Sidhu slammed Pakistan’s batting for making their life tough against Ireland. Sidhu felt that the bowling was not that tough but Pakistan found a way to make an easy job difficult.
“What can you do if the batters don't perform? Only the captain scored 32 runs. Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Amir had put the match in the bag. Mohammad Amir took two wickets, and Shaheen Shah Afridi and Imad Wasim took three apiece. Their balls were stopping and coming, and turning as well," Sidhu said while reviewing the game on Star Sports.
"I felt they would win easily. It was mandatory to win peacefully. The pitch had become drier and better and the bowling was not that strong. You get fame when you make a difficult job easy. However, you should learn from Pakistan how to make an easy job difficult," he added.
The former India opener, however, also lauded Pakistan for fighting till the end despite losing 6 wickets for 62 runs at one point.
"The heart was in the mouth. It seemed at one stage, when the sixth wicket fell at around 65, that the match was stuck. It was on an even keel. However, people who don't fight for their pride are meek. It doesn't matter to the cowards but for the respectable, infamy is equal to death," Sidhu stated.
Pakistan had a disappointing campaign in the T20 World Cup 2024. They lost their opening game to the USA in the Super Over. Following that, they lost a close match to arch-rivals India by 6 runs. The victories in the last two games against Canada and Ireland didn’t matter as they remained on 4 points while the USA sneaked ahead with 5 points.
