New Zealand defeated Pakistan by 2-1 in the three-match ODI series that concluded on Friday. This continued a worrying trend for Pakistan on their home soil as they were beaten by England 3-0 recently in a three-match Test series, and also were defeated by Jos Buttler and his team in a seven-match T20I series.
Now, former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has slammed the approach used by the pacers during the series loss against New Zealand in the ODI series. He said that the Pakistani bowlers were missing pace in the series. According to him, they didn’t even try to bowl a yorker.
“I’m most disappointed with the Pakistan bowlers. What were they doing? Ye speed kya bank me jama karaani hai? (Do you have to deposit the speed in the bank?) Neither did you bowl bouncer nor did you bowl a yorker. The batter smashed you for midwicket and front of square towards six. No yorkers, no bouncers! At one point, I think Haris Rauf bowled 10 slower balls in his two overs,” Butt said.
“You are a genuine pacer. You bowl fast. Where is your speed? Why didn’t you bowl a yorker? Even if you had missed a yorker, it’s not easy to smash a lower full toss for a six,” Butt further added.
Pakistan suffered another home series loss
Talking about the third match, Pakistan opted to bat first after winning the toss. However, it was a bright start for the visitors as they picked up two quick wickets inside the first Powerplay. Shan Masood departed for a silver duck, and a rare failure for Babar Azam meant that the hosts were on the back foot. After that, Zaman and Rizwan got together and rebuilt the innings really well, mixing caution with aggression to perfection.
Their 154-run stand gave their side the much-needed boost. Once they departed, Pakistan lost their way a bit but a cameo from Agha at the end meant the home side finished on a high. Zaman smashed a brilliant century and Pakistan ended up scoring 280 runs. Chasing the target, the Kiwis started well. It was the duo of Devon Conway and Kane Williamson, once again, who dig in and kept the scoreboard ticking. A 65-run stand between them was cut short by Agha Salman. However, Glenn Phillips kept his cool and took his side over the line with 2 wickets in hand and 11 balls to spare
