LAHORE , APRIL 25 : Pointing out the Pakistan cricket team’s middle-order crisis, Former Test cricketer Inzamam-ul-Haq has said Babar Azam XI has been lucky to win matches in the recent past.
The former cricketer, speaking on his YouTube channel after Pakistan lost to Zimbabwe in the second T20I by 19 runs, said the team had been facing a middle-order crisis but the team management failed to address the issue.
“If you look at today’s performance, nothing was different except the luck which didn’t favour them this time. Pakistan has had middle-order batting issues for quite some time now,” he said.
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“It was Pakistan’s first-ever defeat against Zimbabwe in T20I and it badly exposed so many things. In previous matches, Babar, Fakhar, Rizwan scored so it helped Pakistan save the game,” he stressed.
Inzamam pointed out the selectors picked boys who had very little first-class experience. “It can work for bowlers as they get enough time to make their way through but batsmen only have one chance,” he explained.
Zimbabwe defeated Pakistan by 19 runs in the second fixture of the three-match T20I series at the Harare Sports Club after the Men In Green failed to reach the 119-run target.
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Zimbabwe bowled Pakistan out for a meagre 99 runs, with one ball to spare — marking their first victory against the Men In Green in the T20Is.
Pakistan’s wickets started falling after opener Mohammad Rizwan was dismissed for 13 runs. Fakhar Zaman was sent back to the pavilion after he scored 2 runs, Mohammad Hafeez made 5, Danish Aziz 22, Asif Ali 1.