After Bangladesh Humiliation, Pakistan Captain Azhar Ali Admits Team Failure
Bangladesh scored their first ever one-day series win over Pakistan with an emphatic seven-wicket victory in Dhaka on Sunday.
Bangladesh rubbed salt in Pakistan's wound by winning their first ODI series win with a convincing seven-wicket win in Dhaka on Sunday. Pakistan captain Azhar Ali admitted his team's abject failure and inability to play decent cricket.
The new-look Pakistan, with just four World Cuppers in their ranks, needed a massive improvement after their 79-run defeat in Friday's opening match. But a top-order collapse pushed them in a corner and left the tourists seeking a consolation win in the third and final match at the same Sher-e-Bangla stadium in Dhaka on Wednesday.
"It is a big blow for us," Azhar said. "We are going through a rebuilding process. We have new guys in the team but we didn't expect to lose here. We wanted to win, but we didn't play good enough cricket."
Pakistan's batting failed once again and later the bowling, led by the remodeled Saeed Ajmal, were treated with disdain as Tamim Iqbal led the home team with a run-a-ball unbeaten 116 as the hosts, chasing Pakistan's 239 for six, cruised home in the 39th over to take an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
"I think the wicket was good. I think we lost wickets at bad times, very quickly to start with. I think the wicket was easily 300-plus. It was coming on to the bat. We didn't play well," said Azhar.
"When you go inside and have runs on the board you have to believe. We had to believe with the bowlers we had. I think we could have made a better effort. We definitely could have bowled better, 240 shouldn't have been made like this," lamented the Pakistan captain.
Wednesday match will be Mission Salvage for the former world champions, clearly reeling from the absence of the dependable Misbah-ul-Haq and the mercurial Shahid Afridi. Azhar is expecting a better show from the team.
"We can't just put our head down. Our heads should be up. We have got to work and play better cricket. We have to bat well, field well. It is a simple message that we have to improve in all three forms," he said.