PAK vs AUS 2018, 2nd T20I: We Need to Work Harder - Sarfraz Ahmed
Published - 02 Jul 2018, 11:22 PM | Updated - 22 Aug 2024, 11:53 PM
Pakistan’s dream run as a T20I unit came to an abrupt end at the hands of Australia, as Sarfraz Ahmed-led men in green were found wanting in their second game of the tri-series in Harare.
Sarfraz takes the blame
With eight wins in their previous eight T20I outings as a unit, Pakistan entered the game with an air of confidence, against a side that was battered colossally by the hands of England recently.
Instead, the result stunned one and all, as pacer Billy Stanlake rattled Pakistan with his sheer aggression. The towering pacer made an impact right into his first over, as he sent back Mohammad Hafeez, and soon the southpaw Fakhar Zaman followed.
Stanlake’s entertaining spell of 4-8 in four overs had all but made the game into a mere formality. As Pakistan could only manage a mere 116 on the board in the first innings.
The experienced middle-order duo of Sarfraz Ahmed and Shoaib Malik did disappoint and now if Pakistan are to get back to winning ways, the side will have to come up with a better batting display.
Pakistan has to improve to shine
Skipper Sarfraz Ahmed addressed the defeat in the post-match presentation and admitted the need to improve at the earliest.
“The total is important here. If you lose too many wickets early, You can’t survive in the match,” said Sarfraz.
Lauding Stanlake for his spell, the skipper of the world’s number one T20I side added,
“Credit goes to them. Stanlake got pace, especially the first four overs and he found bounce as well. Time to work hard, hopefully, we will come back well next game.”
Billy Stanlake, who’s been in a rich vein of form of late, was named the Man of the Match, and the tall pacer opened up on the need to be aggressive.
“We had a pretty disappointing tour of UK, it was challenging and to get out here and perform was nice. My role is to be aggressive upfront and try to take wickets with the new ball,” said Stanlake.
“Hopefully, I can keep doing my best. With the early wickets, Finch just kept me going and got into a good rhythm. It was nice to get off to a great start,” the pacer added.
