Pakistan lost the third T20I against New Zealand on Sunday
Pakistan head coach Azhar Mahmood has hinted at changes in the team’s batting order after suffering a loss in the third T20I against New Zealand on Sunday.
In the post-match press conference, Mahmood was asked if the top three are fixed in Pakistan’s batting order.
“I have said this before as well that your top three is fixed but after that we have to look at matchups and decide accordingly. In this match [third T20I] we wanted Rizwan to get some time in the middle since the first match was washed out due to rain. But going forward we will be flexible as far as the batting positions are concerned since one number is not set for a particular player,” Mahmood replied to the aforementioned question.
Saim Ayub, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were Pakistan’s top three in the batting order during the second and third T20I.
Azhar Mahmood
Mahmood also admitted that Pakistan were 15 to 20 runs short in the third T20I.
“We were 15 to 20 runs short on a level score. We started pretty well in the first six overs and scored around 54 runs. Shadab Khan played very well till the end. But I think we did it in the middle overs. “Lost like the ball. Was catching a bit,” he added
It must be noted that New Zealand made a stunning comeback in the five-match T20I series courtesy of Mark Chapman who led the visitors to victory by seven wickets in the third match at the Pindi Cricket Stadium.
The series is now tied at 1-1. While there are two matches left in Lahore. The matches are scheduled on April 25 and 27 at Gaddafi Stadium.
New Zealand started brilliantly with openers Tim Robinson (28) and Tim Seifert (21) for the target of 179 runs. Scored 42 runs for the first wicket.
The home side
The home side attempted a comeback with back-to-back dismissals of Naseem Shah and Abbas Afridi. But Chapman, paired with Dan Foxcroft, had his own plans. HD Live Sports
The left-hander was the aggressor in the partnership of 117 runs while Foxcroft supported him brilliantly. Chapman reached his eighth fifty in this format and finished on an unbeaten score of 87. He stroked nine fours and four sixes in his 42-ball innings
Foxcroft made Thirty-one off 29 balls with the chase completing in the 19th over.
Earlier, the hosts started well with Saim Ayub dominating the visitors. The opening duo of Saim Ayub and Babar Azam made 54-0. James Neesham caught Saim Ayub off Ish Sodhi’s bowling after scoring 32 runs from 22 balls at a strike rate of 145.45.
Meanwhile, in a 62-run partnership with Irfan, Shadab Khan stroked 41 runs off 20 balls with the help of 6 boundaries. Irfan Khan finished not out on 20-ball 30, smashing 3 fours and a six.