New Delhi,Updated: May 11, 2024 10:39 IST
Pakistan suffered an embarrassing loss against Ireland in the first T20I of the three-match series at the Clontarf Cricket Club Ground in Dublin on Friday, May 10th. With the 2024 T20 World Cup just around the corner, fans and former cricketers are not feeling well about this defeat as they have been bashing the players left, right and center for their dismal performance.
Former Pakistan fast bowlers Junaid Khan and Shoaib Akhtar took to social media to express their displeasure and express their dismay at Babar Azam and his men who recorded Pakistan’s first ever T20I defeat against Ireland. Akhtar was left speechless by Pakistan’s performance and posted several angry emojis on his X handle.
Meanwhile, coach Junaid said it was time to have a serious discussion about the team’s performance after the drawn series against an inexperienced New Zealand team and the shocking loss against Ireland.
“We need to seriously check what mistakes were made. With such a big event coming up, the team is struggling. Initially we were only able to level the series with a weak New Zealand team, Now we lost our first T20 match against Ireland. We needed a serious discussion,” the former seamstress wrote on the X handle.
Andrew Balbirnie stars against Ireland
Returning to the game, after coming into bat first, Pakistan posted a good score of 182/6 in their allotted 20 overs. The visitors were reeling from the early loss with opener Mohammed Rizwan dismissed for 1(4). However, the contributions of Saim Ayub (45 off 29), Babar Azam (57 off 43) and Iftikhar Ahmed (37 off 15) helped Pakistan cross the 180-run mark. In response, Ireland chased up the scores in the penultimate game, with captain Andrew Balbirnie top scoring with 77 (55).
Meanwhile, Pakistan, who trailed 0-1 in the series, will aim to make a comeback in the second match, which will be played at the same venue on Sunday, May 12. Babar Azam’s side do not have much time to rebuild as they next face England in a four-game series starting May 22. T20 World Cup 2024 starts on June 2nd.
