SYDNEY: Pakistan’s white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan termed dropped catches a major factor leading to the team’s narrow defeat in the second T20I of the three-match series against Australia here at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Saturday.
During the post-match presentation, the Pakistan captain said dropping catches at crucial stages of the game hurt the touring side, highlighting the difficulty of taking 16 wickets – due to drop catches – against a strong team like Australia.
"If you drop crucial catches at crucial times, it will cost you always. Australia in Australia isn't an easy team. If you give them chances like that and you have to get 16 wickets (due to the drops), it won't be easy for any team,” said Rizwan.
The right-handed batter, who scored scratchy 16 runs from 26 deliveries in the 148-run pursuit, also labelled the pitch difficult to bat on.
“We all know that the pitch wasn't easy to bat on, so the catches were crucial," he added.
Chasing a modest 148-run target, the green shirts only managed 134 before getting bundled out in the final over.
The touring side had a dismal start to the pursuit, having been reduced to 44/4 in 9.3 overs.
Middle-order batter Usman Khan and Irfan Khan offered notable fight with gutsy knocks but their efforts could not make up for the slow start provided by the top-order.
Usman remained the top-scorer for Pakistan with a gutsy 52 off 38 deliveries, laced with five boundaries including a six, followed by Irfan, who scored an unbeaten with a 28-ball 37, featuring as many boundaries.
On the bowling front, Haris Rauf, Abbas Afridi and Sufiyan Muqeem delivered stellar performances and forced Pakistan’s comeback by reducing Australia to 147/9 in 20 overs.
For the unversed, Australia now lead the three-match series 2-0 with the final fixture scheduled to be played in Hobart on Monday.
- Mohammad Rizwan
