Pakistan batter Saud Shakeel shared his views on his side’s defeat to hosts and arch-rivals India in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium on Saturday.
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Babar Azam’s team slumped from a solid 155-2 in the 30th over to be dismissed for a paltry 191.
India captain Rohit Sharma led the chase with a blistering 86, and the two-time champions eventually romped home in 30.3 overs with seven wickets in hand to maintain their unbeaten record against Pakistan in the history of the tournament.
Saud Shakeel, speaking about the lopsided fixture with a foreign news agency, said the Pakistan tried to go for extravagant shots when it came under pressure.
“I think we were under extra pressure so we tried to get out of that and wanted to play shots,” Saud Shakeel told AFP on Wednesday.
The smattering of Pakistani fans at the game were expatriates from the United Kingdom and the United States. Supporters from across the border are effectively banned after a failure to gain visas.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday had lodged an official complaint with the world governing body over the visa delays which have also kept many members of the country’s media at home.
The PCB also complained over what they described as the “inappropriate behaviour” of Indian fans towards the Pakistan squad at the Ahmedabad game.
“When you have your crowd then you get the support. We did not get that and it was not in our hands,” added Saud Shakeel.
Despite an eighth loss in eight World Cup meetings with their arch-rivals, Pakistan are still well-placed in the tournament after wins over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka.
Middle-order batsman Saud Shakeel scored 68 against the Netherlands before making 31 in the game with Sri Lanka. He was out for just six against India.
Next up for Pakistan is another high-profile duel, this time with five-time champions Australia in Bengalore’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday.
Saud Shakeel said the side must overcome the mistakes it committed against India, adding that their rank would get better if they beat Pat Cummins’ side.
“Australia are always good in the World Cup. They are a very good side. We know our strong areas and we must play good cricket. We had a good start to the tournament with two wins. We want to go match by match and not commit the mistakes we did against India,” he said.
Related – World Cup 2023: ‘Saud Shakeel could bat high up the order for Pakistan’
On Wednesday, all the Pakistan players with the exception of Mohammad Haris trained in Bengaluru. The batter is still suffering from a fever which laid low many of the squad when they arrived from Ahmedabad.
Star fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi and opener Abdullah Shafique were the worst hit but were present in the nets at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
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