'Good to See Him Play His Natural Game': Babar Azam Lauds Fakhar Zaman's Knock as Pakistan Rout Bangladesh

Team Pakistan earned a 7-wicket win over Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday to knock the Bangla Tigers out of the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 in India.

Bangladesh, who won the toss and opted to bat first were wrapped up by the Pakistani bowling unit for 209 runs. Pakistan then managed to chase down the target in 32.3 overs as openers Abdullah Shafique and Fakhar Zaman both notched up half-centuries.

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Speaking after the win, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam credited his team as they displayed a good performance across all spheres of the game on the day.

“All credit to the boys the way we played in all three departments,” Azam said.

He also congratulated Zaman on his brilliant 81-run knock off 74 deliveries, which earned the batsman the Man of the Match award.

“We know, if Fakhar bats for 20-30 overs, it’s a different ball game. It is good to see him play his natural game,” Azam continued.

Pakistan hold onto the hope of booking a semifinal berth by finishing in the top four spots with two group-stage games remaining for the Azam-led team, who take on New Zealand and England in their upcoming two games.

“We are trying to win the next two matches, we’ll see where we stand,” Azam said.

Azam also credited his bowling unit, as Shaheen Shah Afridi scalped three wickets to go atop the Golden Ball rankings.

“We started well, the way Shaheen started. After 15-20 overs, they built a partnership, our main bowlers picked wickets. And we also got wickets in the middle overs,”

Azam concluded by thanking the fans who have thrown their support behind the Pakistani team.

Bangladesh skipper, Shakib al Hasan reflected on a poor showing with the willow, which led to the loss, but congratulated Pakistan for the win.

“The wicket was really good but we did not put up enough runs on the board,  we lost early wickets again. There were some partnerships, but not big partnerships. We were disappointed with the bat,” Shakib said.

“Credit should go to Pakistan, the way they bowled and the way they batted in the first 10 overs.”

“We are not getting many runs from the top four batsmen. I was batting in the top four, I wasn’t scoring. My confidence was low too, but, luckily I got some runs, and I am feeling better now,” he opined.

The captain of the Bangla Tigers however said that his team look to bounce back in their upcoming two outings against Sri Lanka and Australia.

“At this moment, changing too many things gets difficult. We have to keep moving forward. We have to perform together. We need collective performance, which is not happening. Two more matches, hopefully we can bounce back.”

Having been eliminated from the race for the semifinal of the tournament, Shakib said that the Bangla Tigers seek to come up with good performances in their remaining two games as they look to give something back to their fans.

“Everywhere we go, the fans keep supporting us. We have to give something back to them so they can smile,” the Bangladesh skipper concluded.