Pakistan captain Babar Azam has revealed the reason behind the loss in the second T20I against England at the Edgbaston Stadium, Birmingham, on Saturday.
Babar Azam and Co. were bowled out for 160 while chasing a target of 184. This was England's eighth win in the last 11 T20Is against Pakistan.
After the game, Babar reflected on the shortcomings and said that if he and Fakhar Zaman had batted more, the result could have been different.
"The way Fakhar dominated after the early wickets fell. I think if me and Fakhar had batted for four or five more overs, then we could have won," he said.
"Our batting had moments but we were not close to finishing well. If someone scored 40 or 50 then I think we'd have definitely have won this game," he added.
On the other hand, Babar shed light on the roles batters have been given before the series.
"Mostly we are flexible and everyone knows their role. Before the series we decided to go with these roles, so we're clear," he maintained.
He concluded by appreciating all-rounder Imad Wasim for contributing both with the bat and ball. "He's a very clever bowler and his batting is improved. So it's very good for us."
Fakhar Zaman starred for Pakistan in a losing cause as the left-handed batter played an explosive knock of 45 runs off 21 balls with the help of three fours and five sixes. Babar scored 32 runs on 26 balls as he was the second-highest run-getter.
Meanwhile, down the order, Iftikhar Ahmed (23 off 17) and Imad Wasim (22 off 13) provided crucial runs but they weren’t enough to propel Pakistan to victory.
For England, Reece Topley picked three wickets. Moeen Ali and Jofra Archer bagged two each while Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid and Liam Livingstone picked one.
Earlier, Jos Buttler played a captain's knock and scored 84 runs on 51 balls with the help of eight fours and three sixes. He paired with Will Jacks and formed a 71-run partnership.
The hosts looked on course of reaching a massive total but the impressive comeback by Pakistani bowlers especially Haris Rauf, Imad and Shaheen stopped them.
Jacks scored 37 off 23 with six boundaries while Jonny Bairstow contributed 21 runs. Meanwhile, the likes of Harry Brook, Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone failed to score in double digits.
Jofra Archer scored 12 runs in the last over which helped England conclude their innings at 183/7 in the allocated overs.
For Pakistan, Shaheen bagged three wickets while Imad and Rauf picked two each. While Shadab Khan and Mohammad Amir failed to take a single wicket.
Pak vs Eng series schedule of remaining matches:
28 May — 3rd T20I, Cardiff
30 May — 4th T20I, The Oval
- Babar Azam