Azhar Mahmood, head coach of Pakistan, has pointed out the positives from the national team’s narrow loss against an inexperienced New Zealand team in the ongoing T20I series.
Pakistan team failed to chase 179 during the last-over thriller in Lahore’s iconic Gaddafi Stadium.
New Zealand are currently leading the five-match series 2-1. The two teams will square off in the last match of the series on April 27.
Despite the loss, Azhar Mahmood stated that Pakistan outperformed New Zealand in many areas of the game, but acknowledged that there were still areas for improvement.
“There were a few positives for us as we scored more boundaries than New Zealand. We also bowled more dot balls but they just took more doubles than us,” the former all-rounder said.
“These are areas of concern for us and we’re constantly working on it.”
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He also defended young batter Usman Khan, who failed to live up to the expectations during the series, scoring a meagre 28 runs in three innings.
“We always talk about showing intent. The way Usman Khan showed intent today was pleasant to watch. He played some good shots but couldn’t perform the way we wanted him to. But intent-wise, he was spot on,” he added.
Azhar Mahmood also stated that the team has all bases covered, but they were testing their bench strength during the ongoing series.
“We have an idea of our best playing XI but we wanted to test our bench strength as well before going into the World Cup,” he further added.
“We’ve almost every base covered. There are a few injury setbacks which is unfortunate.”
READ: Babar Azam opens up about Pakistan’s narrow loss against New Zealand