Pakistan lost the crucial T20 World Cup match against England on Tuesday, with the result handing a significant blow to their semi-finals aspirations.
The Green Shirts are still alive in the tournament, but they need a victory against Sri Lanka plus other favourable results to secure a place in the final four.
Pakistan had a brilliant opportunity to beat England, whose performances in the World Cup have been unconvincing.
However, key stars failed to deliver at crucial moments, resulting in a disappointing defeat at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.
Here are the three biggest culprits behind Pakistan’s loss against England.
Babar Azam
Babar Azam walked on to bat when Pakistan were struggling at 27/2, with Saim Ayub and Salman Ali Agha losing their wickets early on.
As an experienced batter, Azam was expected to consolidate the innings, which he did along with Sahibzada Farhan.
But he took too many balls to settle down as the team’s run rate suffered.
Just when it looked like he was ready to accelerate the innings, he was bowled out by Jamie Overton, scoring 25 from 24 deliveries.
Salman Ali Agha
Salman Ali Agha failed to impress with the bat and also made questionable decisions as a captain.
The 32-year-old scored just five runs before being dismissed by Liam Dawson.
He brought in Usman Tariq in the eighth over, and he made an immediate impact by removing Tom Banton with his first delivery.
But the highly talented off-spinner was replaced, despite the Green Shirts needing another wicket to build more pressure on England.
Tariq later returned for the 12th over, where he again picked up Sam Curran’s wicket.
Shadab Khan
Shadab Khan’s selection and role in the team have been a point of debate recently.
He contributed useful runs to Pakistan’s 164 total, scoring 23 off 11 balls. However, he was ineffective as a bowler, conceding 31 runs in his three overs.
Pakistan desperately needed wickets during the middle overs, but the 27-year-old failed to pick up any.
Khan delivered a standout performance against Namibia, but he has failed to make the same impact against India and England.
