PAK vs CAN: Babar Azam explains why Pakistan didn't attack in chase

Pakistan captain Babar Azam explained why the side didn't attack in the run chase against Canada despite bagging a seven-wicket in their third match of the T20 World Cup 2024 which was played in New York on Tuesday.

The Men in Green chased down the target in 17.3 overs but in order to improve their Net Run Rate (NRR) over the USA for Super 8 qualification, they needed to complete in 13.5 overs.

Pakistan need to win their last game and hope that the USA too lose their next encounters and then the team with better NRR will go to the next round.

While talking to the presser, Babar said the pitch was not allowing to bat aggressively.

"Good for us, we needed this win. We started well with the bowling, in the first six overs, we knew we had to be up to the mark. [On winning quicker to go level with USA's NRR] It was in our mind, to win before 14 overs but the pitch made it difficult," he said.

Babar got dismissed for the second consecutive time while playing a shot towards the third man but it went straight into the hands of the wicketkeeper.

"[On getting angry when getting out] Because I'm out with the same shot twice. This is my shot but sometimes you need success. I'll try my best," he added.

Chasing the 107-run target, Pakistan had a tough start as they failed to score a boundary in the first four overs. Saim Ayub soon departed for the pavilion after scoring just six runs, leaving the Green Shirts 20-1 in 4.2 overs.

However, Pakistan continued to play with caution as Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan formed a 63-run partnership.

Azam lost his wicket for 33 runs but Rizwan (53 off 53) remained on the pitch and took Pakistan over the line by chasing the target in 17.3 overs.

Earlier in the first innings, the day belonged to Pakistan bowlers as the Canadian batters had no answers to their attack. Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf all did their part with the ball as the Green Shirts managed to restrict Canada to 106-7 in New York.

For Canada, Aaron Johnson played a valiant knock and scored 52 runs on 44 balls with the help of eight boundaries.

Amir and Rauf bagged two wickets each while Naseem and Shaheen managed to take one each.