On Sunday, Pakistan was defeated by England in the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. In this article, we will analyze what went wrong for Pakistan during the competition, as well as the specific areas in which they ended up losing the match.
Pakistan suffered frequent wicket losses
When the 11th over was finished, Pakistan had 84 runs on the board and had lost just two wickets. This gave them hope that they would be able to post a total that would be competitive. However, everything came crashing down when the England bowlers staged an outstanding comeback and restricted them to a total of 137/8. During the final nine overs of their innings, Pakistan scored at a rate of less than six runs per over, which resulted in the loss of six wickets and a total of just 53 runs.
Costly Powerplay
While defending their total of 137, Pakistan took three wickets from England during the powerplay, but at the same time, they gave up 49 runs, which turned out to be very valuable. When there are not many runs scored, it is especially important for the team that is defending to not only take wickets but also limit the amount of runs scored. Although Babar Azam’s team was successful in taking wickets, they were unable to stem the tide of runs scored against them.
This alleviated a lot of the strain that the English middle-order was under, which made it easier for them to bide their time at the crease and carry the game further. It didn’t matter how hard Pakistan fought; England’s batters just kept nudging about, and that was enough to get them through the match.
Shaheen ignites Pakistan, but injury dashes hopes
Not only did Pakistan need to get out to a quick start in order to protect their low total, but they also needed to do so in order to limit the amount of damage England might cause in the Powerplay. While England scored 49 runs in the final of the T20 World Cup, they did so at the expense of their in-form openers Jos Buttler and Alex Hales, as well as Phil Salt.
England had previously averaged the most runs (52) in the Powerplay at the T20 World Cup with the cost of only one wicket. Shaheen Afridi, Pakistan’s inspirational pacer, began the attack with a ripping yorker, which resulted in the dismissal of Hales in the opening over and immediately boosted Pakistan’s prospects.
The role that Afridi was going to play in the death match was also going to be very vital. However, it was observed that he was hobbling off the field with an injury. He did make an effort to bowl again, but after delivering the first ball of the 16th over, he was forced to give up and leave the game. Iftikhar Ahmed, a part-time spinner, was brought into the attack to finish off Afridi’s over, but he ended up allowing 13 runs to be scored off of his five deliveries, which gave England the opportunity to regain their footing in their batting innings.
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