Shoaib Akhtar is upset with Pakistan’s shoddy fielding during the team’s 2023 World Cup match against Australia on Friday, October 20 at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Pakistan chose to field first after winning the toss. They had a terrible start, though, as Australian openers David Warner and Mitchell Marsh put together an incredible 259-run opening partnership.
Warner top-edged a short pitch from Shaheen Afridi in the fifth over, which would have given the Men in Green an early breakthrough opportunity. But Usama Mir made a straightforward catch at mid-on, giving the southpaw a significant respite.
To make matters worse, Warner was given another chance after being dropped in the 33rd over by Abdullah Shafique at deep mid-wicket while bowling for Usama Mir.
The Pakistani fielders’ efforts left Akhtar disappointed. He advised the fielders to seize such opportunities, particularly if the bowlers are having trouble getting going. The previous speedster penned on X:
It is important to note that in the 35th over, Steve Smith’s catch in the slips off Usama Mir’s bowling was also lost by Pakistan captain Babar Azam. Even yet, the hitter only managed to score seven runs before leaving the game, thus the error wasn’t especially expensive.
Warner, who was given two opportunities, finished with 163 runs off 124 balls. The southpaw delivered a strong blow that helped his team gain the upper hand.
Pakistan hold fourth rank in 2023 World Cup points table
In their initial match, Pakistan defeated the Netherlands by an impressive margin of 81 runs while holding them to a 287-run total. They then defeated Sri Lanka easily by six wickets, compiling the best run chase in World Cup history by chasing down a 345-run goal.
The Men in Green, however, suffered a significant blow when they were defeated by India in their second match. They lost the match by seven wickets after being bowled out for only 191 runs.
With one victory from three games, they have a net run rate of -0.137, placing them fourth in the 2023 World Cup points standings.
