The former India opener Navjot Singh Sidhu has criticized the batting performance of the Pakistan team in the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, where they were eliminated from the group stage after a very poor beginning with two back-to-back defeats against co-host United States of America and India.
For the whole tournament, it’s their bowling that has been helping them to come up with better performances, but on every single occasion, the batters have let the team down. In the very first game on a great surface at the Grand Prairie Stadium, they could put up 159 runs on the board, while in the second game, they failed to chase a small target of 120 runs.
When it comes to a situation, where they needed to get 120 runs under bright sunshine against India, they failed to hold their nerve and gifted the win to the opponents, even after being in a dominating position.
‘The heart was in the mouth’- Navjot Singh Sidhu
The former India batter Navjot Singh Sidhu questioned the Babar Azam-led side for making an easy chase quite tough against Ireland at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground in Lauderhill, Florida.
In a 107-run chase, Pakistan was 52/2 in eight overs and needed one good partnership from that position to seal the deal. But they lost the next three wickets for only five runs in nine balls, which included a few very poor shots from their batters, while the pitch started to show its color suddenly.
Babar, however, stood in the middle and put up a very vital 33-run stand for the seventh wicket as they went over the line with three wickets in hand, and almost made sure Ireland would escape with the game.
The Punjab-born Navjot Singh Sidhu was asked about his thoughts about the struggling chase of the Pakistan team in that game.
‘What can you do if the batters don’t perform? Only the captain scored 32 runs. Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Amir had put the match in the bag.’ Navjot Singh Sidhu expressed to Star Sports during a discussion of the game. ‘Mohammad Amir took two wickets, and Shaheen Shah Afridi and Imad Wasim took three apiece. Their balls were stopping and coming, and turning as well.’
He also felt that the bowlers were serving the game to the batter on a platter, but they kept on making the easy job difficult, as one should learn how to make life tough from the Pakistan team.
‘I felt they would win easily. It was mandatory to win peacefully. The pitch had become drier and better and the bowling was not that strong.’ Navjot Singh Sidhu elaborated. ‘You get fame when you make a difficult job easy. However, you should learn from Pakistan how to make an easy job difficult.’
The 60-year-old praised the 2009 champions for avoiding what could have been a very humiliating defeat, especially after where they were at the halfway mark and in the batting.
‘The heart was in the mouth. It seemed at one stage, when the sixth wicket fell at around 65, that the match was stuck. It was on an even keel.’ Navjot Singh Sidhu reflected in the same show. ‘However, people who don’t fight for their pride are meek. It doesn’t matter to the cowards but for the respectable, infamy is equal to death.’
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The veteran also shed light on how the victory to end a very unfortunate campaign could help the side in their revival for the future.
‘I feel, considering how much Pakistan have been criticized, this win will work as an elixir for them.’ The renowned commentator Navjot Singh Sidhu concluded. ‘When a person starts drinking poison every day, two drops of elixir are enough to live his life. Their bowling has been a very good takeaway.’
Pakistan’s next T20I series will be against Australia towards the end of the year.