‘We also played like the world number one team’ – Iftikhar Ahmed shows confidence ahead of ODI World Cup, 2023
Pakistan has made their exit from the continental tournament, Asia Cup, 2023 after losing the game to Sri Lanka. The Pakistan bowlers gave a tough fight to the Sri Lankan middle order batsman towards the last few overs. During the commencement of the second innings, the mat seemed to be in the grasp of Sri Lanka, while Pakistan was out of the picture, however, they made a stunning comeback and fought till the end.
The Pakistan cricket board posted a video of Pakistan’s middle order batsman Iftikhar Ahmed as he showed optimism after losing the game, for the upcoming biggest cricket tournament in the world, the ODI World Cup, 2023. Iftikhar believes the team performed like champions while the squad is not disappointed, and they expect to make a great comeback in the World Cup.
Iftikhar Ahmed about the team’s elimination from Asia Cup 2023
“We are the number one [ODI] team, there is no doubt about it. We also played like the world number one team. The loss doesn’t mean that the entire team is disappointed. The way our team played on the field, I’m hopeful that we will produce good results during the World Cup”, said Iftikhar Ahmed.
“It was a tough match. The way we made a comeback in the last few overs, we were confident about winning. Zaman, who was on debut, was also confident that he could defend six to seven runs in the last over. This happens in cricket. They needed six runs in two balls but the next ball was edged for four. I think they were lucky and we were unlucky”, said Iftikhar Ahmed.
“In the end, we decided to bowl our best bowlers. That’s why I decided to bowl Shaheen the second last over and then we believed in Zaman Khan for the final over. SL played really well, they played better cricket than us, that’s why they won. We weren’t up to the mark with our bowling and fielding, that’s why we lost. (One major factor that could have been different) In the middle overs, we are not bowling well. That partnership (between Mendis and Samarawickrama) cost us. We are starting well, we are finishing well, but we are not taking wickets in the middle overs”, said Team’s captain Babar Azam about the loss against Sri Lanka.
