Shoaib Akhtar bemused with Pakistan’s docile approach with the bat during the last match of the ‘Super 4’ stage of Asia Cup 2022.
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Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has been left clueless with the way Pakistan approached their innings after being invited to bat first by Sri Lanka in the final match of the ongoing ‘Super 4’ stage of Asia Cup 2022, at the Dubai International Stadium.
Under fire throughout the tournament so far, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam (30 off 29), did manage to get some runs tonight in this dead rubber, but his lack-of-intent approach in a T20 game was yet again criticized by the Pakistan fans, after he headed back towards the pavilion with a strike rate of 103.45.
None of the top-4 batters of the Pakistani batting line-up – Mohammad Rizwan (14 off 14), Fakhar Zaman (13 off 18), Iftikhar Ahmed (13 off 17), and Babar managed to get going with their innings, as they chewed up majority of the deliveries, to ultimately huff-and-puff towards 121/10 in 19.1 Overs.
Had it not been for a useful 26 (18) by Mohammad Nawaz, Pakistan would have struggled to even surpass the 100-run mark.
Shoaib Akhtar bemused with Pakistan’s batting approach
An understandably puzzled Shoaib Akhtar took to his social media handle to question the mood of the Pakistani batters tonight, as they played too defensively for a T20 innings, despite the match being of very little significance.
Boys kher hai? Kis mood main aaye hain aaj?
— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) September 9, 2022
Sri Lanka’s all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga was the star with the ball, as he returned with figures of 4-0-21-3, getting rid of Babar, Iftikhar Ahmed, and the dangerous Asif Ali (0 off 1) in the process.
Apart from Hasaranga, spinners Maheesh Theekshana (4-0-21-2) and Dhananjaya de Silva (4-0-18-1) tightened the noose around the Pakistan batters, who were batting on the very pitch where Virat Kohli had smashed his maiden T20I century the previous day.
