‘We let the momentum slip’: Pakistan captain Babar Azam blames batters for loss against England in 1st T20I

England made a triumphant return to Pakistan after 17 years with a six-wicket win in the first Twenty20 on Tuesday in Karachi. Debutant left-arm fast bowler Luke Wood grabbed 3-24 to help limit Pakistan to 158-7 after captain Moeen Ali won the toss in his country of roots and elected to field. Alex Hales, in his return to England colors after more than three years, smashed 53 off 40 balls and led the visitors to 160-4 in 19.2 overs.

Notably, Pakistan couldn’t capitalize on Mohammad Rizwan (68) and captain Babar Azam’s (31) aggressive opening stand of 85 off 57 balls before the middle-order capitulated against Wood in the death overs. Speaking on the same during the post-match presentation, Azam said: “We utilized the batting powerplay well, but we let the momentum slip after the 10th over. Credit to their bowlers, but we were not up to the mark and we didn’t get the partnerships. They worked out the conditions well, but our batters should have done better.” Azam also said that his side is experimenting with team combinations ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022. “We’re trying different combinations before the World cup, we’ll test our bench strength and then go to the tournament with our best team.” Meanwhile, England’s stand-in captain Moeen Ali praised his team for all-round display and said, “Brilliant performance, they got off to a great start, but we pulled things back in the middle overs, the bowlers were excellent. On a tough surface, I thought the batters did well. Rashid and Wood’s debut was outstanding, and was a good all-round performance from the bowling unit. We were smart with the chase, Alex Hales, batting after such a long time, he was nervous but showed why he’s one of the best in the country. Brook showed why he’s rated so highly back home, their partnership was wonderful to watch.” Pakistan and England will now lock horns in the second T20I of the seven-match series on Thursday.