T20 World Cup 2022: "We didn’t finish it but we knew that we are a better side than them" - Shadab Khan on losing to India
Pakistan all-rounder Shadab Khan believes they were the better side despite ending up on the losing side against India in the T20 World Cup 2022. The star cricketer stated that the clash against India is undoubtedly a pressure that both sides feel they have to win.
India and Pakistan played a nail-biting game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in the group stage, with the former coming out victorious. Defending 159, Pakistan's bowling attack reduced the Men in Blue to 31-4; however, Virat Kohli's unbeaten 82 carried India to victory on the final ball of the innings.
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Speaking to Nasser Hussain in a chat with Sky Sports, Shadab remarked that their objective was to give 100 per cent and felt that victory didn't decide India was better. The 24-year-old conceded that the encounter against India has always been a high-pressure one.
"We just wanted to give our 100 percent. We knew if we give our 100 percent, the result will come on our side. And that game, we gave our 100 percent. We didn’t finish it but we knew that we are a better side than them. Pakistan-India game is a big game. For us. For them as well. So we have to try to win that game. Since childhood we also think, doesn’t matter about the other things, if we are winning the World Cup or not….we have to beat India. And the same pressure we are feeling now. That’s the pressure you carry."
Although Shadab bowled well in the semi-final, he played a rash shot, leading to his dismissal. After scoring an elegant boundary, the youngster holed out to long-on off Hardik Pandya's bowling.
"He is that type of player who always scores runs" - Shadab Khan on Babar Azam
Shadab also addressed Babar Azam's underwhelming tournament with the bat, saying that class players only need one shot to return to form. He recalled how the skipper got back to scoring runs in the semi-final after a cut shot, saying:
"Definitely he is under pressure because he is that type of player who always scores runs. And if he isn’t scoring runs he’s feeling the pressure. He was middling the ball in the nets as well. I talked to him in the nets and I said, ‘Brother, world class players only needs shots’. Like for us we need innings but these type of players, they just need….like if he plays a cover drive for four runs, he is in. Like in the semifinal, he played a cut shot and it went for four and he was in."
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Until the semi-finals against New Zealand, Babar had managed only 39 runs in five innings in the tournament. However, he scored a 42-ball 53 in the crunch game against Kiwis, striking seven boundaries to help Pakistan chase down 153.