"To be honest, it's part of the game" - Babar Azam on the late DRS call in Pakistan's one-wicket loss to South Africa in the 2023 World Cup
Pakistan captain Babar Azam has made peace with the on-field decision and the subsequent review taken during the dying stages of the contest against South Africa at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Friday. Pakistan's semi-final aspirations took a serious hit following the one-wicket defeat, which marked their fourth consecutive loss in the 2023 ODI World Cup.
Pakistan had opted to take a review off Haris Rauf's final delivery in the 46th over after trapping Tabraiz Shamsi in front of the stumps. On-field umpire Alex Wharf had given it not out and the DRS confirmed the impact and wickets to be umpire's call, leading to the decision not being overturned.
Had the on-field umpire given the close call as out, the contest would have ended then and there itself, with South Africa still eight runs short of the target.
Admitting that the team has to accept the decision, Babar Azam said during the post-match presentation:
"To be honest, it's part of the game. If the umpire had given OUT, it would have favored us. It's Umpire's Call on the drs and we have to take it."
"We showed great fight and took the game to the last over. If we had won this game, we would have kept ourselves alive in the competition. We will try our best in the next three matches. We will look to be at our best and play for Pakistan," he added.
Pakistan had scored 270 runs after winning the toss and opting to bat first. They were seemingly out of the contest under the lights but clawed their way back in with a flurry of wickets to put South Africa under some serious pressure.
"In the batting, we were 10-15 runs short" - Babar Azam
Babar Azam scored a fifty before being dismissed by Tabraiz Shamsi. The lower-middle order chipped in with some valuable runs to push Pakistan to 270, but for a second consecutive time at the same venue, their total proved to be not enough.
Opining that Pakistan fell short with the bat, Babar said:
"We were very close but disappointed not to finish on the winning side. We fought back very well. In the batting, we were 10-15 runs short. But the way we bowled was good. The spinners and the pacers were brilliant."
Pakistan are next scheduled to face Bangladesh at Eden Gardens on Tuesday, October 31.
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