3 major factors behind Pakistan's early exit from T20 World Cup 2024
Pakistan were eliminated from the 2024 T20 World Cup Super 8 race following the washout in the United States versus Ireland match. The only way for Babar Azam and co. to stay in contention was if Ireland had beaten the US in the Group A match on Friday. However, the weather in Florida put paid to their hopes.
Pakistan, though, have only themselves to blame for being knocked out of the competition. They were poor in their first two group matches, going down to the US and India respectively. United States took the game into the Super Over and went on to win it. Pakistan then failed to chase down a target of 120 in the high-pressure match against India.
In the wake of Pakistan being knocked out of the 2024 T20 World Cup, we analyze three major factors behind their early exit from the tournament.
#1 Pakistan's inability to seize control in crunch moments
Pakistan were in ascendancy both against the United States and against India. However, in both matches, they ended up playing some very poor cricket to kick themselves in the foot.
Chasing 160, the USA were in a commanding position, but completely lost their way in the wake of some probing bowling from Pakistan's bowlers. The equation came down to 15 needed off the last over bowled by Haris Rauf. Shaheen Afridi dropped Aaron Jones' second ball at mid-off. Still, the US needed 13 off four balls.
Rauf, however, bowled two poor deliveries, conceding a six and a four as the US took the game in the Super Over. Mohammad Amir bowled the Super Over and was erratic, conceding as many as 18 runs. Needing 19 to win the match, Pakistan could take only 13 off Saurabh Netravalkar's over.
Shifting the focus to the match against India, Babar's men seemed to be cruising in a chase of 120 in New York. They were comfortably placed at 57-1 at the halfway stage. Even after losing a couple of wickets, they were ahead on paper at 80-3 after 14 overs, needing only 40 runs from the last six overs.
Mohammad Rizwan (31 off 44), however, attempted a wild heave against Jasprit Bumrah and was bowled. Pakistan pressed the panic button after his dismissal and kept losing crucial wickets. They eventually stumbled their way to 113-7 after 20 overs, losing the game by six runs.
#2 Failure of experienced batters to deliver in challenging conditions
While the pacers bowlers exploited the helpful surfaces on offer in the 2024 T20 World Cup to the hilt, the experienced batters failed to put their hands up under challenging conditions. This was one of the major factors behind the early exit of the 2022 runners-up.
Skipper Babar himself looked out of sorts. He made 44 off 43 in the match against the US. However, at one point in the game, he was batting on nine off 23 balls. It was only in the second half of his innings that he lifted his strike rate. But it was a case of too little too late. The opener was then dismissed for 13 in the high-octane clash against India.
Looking at Rizwan's performance, he was out for 9 in the game against the United States. The keeper-batter seemed to be holding the innings together against India but played an ill-advised stroke to get out. His dismissal proved to be the turning point of the India vs Pakistan match.
Pakistan would have had high hopes from Fakhar Zaman, given his experience, but he flattered to deceive again. The left-hander was dismissed for 11 against the United States and 13 against India.
#3 Questionable team selection
Pakistan's team selection for the 2024 T20 World Cup also left a lot to be desired. They picked at least three players who were found out at the top level.
Usman Khan, batting at the crucial No. 3 position, registered scores of three and 13 against the US and India respectively. Azam Khan had been in horror form with the bat and gloves heading into the T20 World Cup. He was still picked and bagged a golden duck against the USA.
Also, Iftikhar Ahmed is a reasonably experienced batter, but consistency has never been his forte. Pakistan's chances suffered due to the lack of contributions from his willow both against the US and India.