Pakistan brought South Africa back to earth says the skipper Temba Bavuma after suffering a 33-run defeat against Pakistan on Thursday in a crucial match of the T20 World Cup 2022.
Temba Bavuma attributes the defeat to the poor fielding of the team during the match against Pakistan. In his press talk, he said, “A team like Pakistan, as you know, is very dangerous when you give them any type of momentum.”
“I don’t think it’s a big concern. Yes, there are talking points for us, areas that we can learn from.
This is for my entire team who have supported me throughout. I try to give it my all for them and for the fans of Pakistan cricket. Will always keep believing and working hard no matter what. #PakistanZindabad pic.twitter.com/aO6QAe9IKl
— Shadab Khan (@76Shadabkhan) November 3, 2022
Shadab Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Haris Rauf. 🫡
No matter how the tournament ends, you guys have really come thru during the dark hours for us. #T20WorldCup
— Asim Azhar (@AsimAzharr) November 3, 2022
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“Maybe it’s a performance that we needed to … maybe bring us down back to earth,” said Bavuma.
He did not blame the poor weather condition for the loss. South African fielders had dropped a few catches in the last overs of the first innings. “Up until this game, our fielding has been very good. We fielded at night,” he said.
One of my big takeaways from the last Asia cup was how brilliant a cricketer Shadab Khan is & what great value he adds to a team as an all rounder! One of the best going around!
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) November 3, 2022
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“We fielded during the day. We fielded in wet conditions.
“Maybe the intensity lowered a bit for the guys. Individually, the guys know but it’s definitely not the standard of fielding that we pride ourselves on,” Bavuma added further.
On the other hand, Pakistan is looking to control the controllable things to qualify for the semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2022. Shadab Khan was a star performer for Pakistan in yesterday’s match. He said his 52 off 20 balls was his best in international cricket. Adding that more importantly, his knock was helpful for the team. “Our captain said ‘just express yourself and don’t worry about anybody or anything else,” Shadab told reporters after the win.
“Because we can control the controllable things, so we just think about that.” He also praised the performances put up by Iftikhar Ahmed and Muhammad Nawaz. “It’s good because, if you score runs and have a winning cause, that’s more important and right at that situation. Especially I think credit goes to Nawaz and Iftikhar,” Shadab said.
“They played brilliantly, and they put pressure on the bowlers. When I go, it’s a little bit easier.”