Bazid Khan: “That loss to Australia ultimately cost you a spot in the World Cup semi-finals because after that loss, no matter what you did you could not recover”

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Ex-Pakistan batsman Bazid Khan believes the national team’s loss to Australia ultimately cost them a spot in the World Cup semi-finals.

Pakistan lost to Australia by 41 runs, but Bazid feels that the conditions were perfect for the men in green.

Following the loss to Australia, Pakistan were defeated by arch-rivals India. But, they bounced back brilliantly after that as they beat South Africa, New Zealand, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

However, they fell agonisingly short of qualifying for the semi-finals as New Zealand had a better net run rate than them.

“That loss to Australia ultimately cost you a spot in the World Cup semi-finals because after that loss, no matter what you did you could not recover,” Bazid told cricketcountry.com. “Pakistan could not have asked for better conditions to win the game. If you see that match, in the first 15 overs, apart from the cut and pull shots, you were not getting anything. That, for me, is very disappointing and that game actually showed you the what-ifs.

“What if you had slightly got your selection right? If you had the option of Junaid (Khan) or Mohammad Abbas, bowlers with more experience who could bowl in those conditions, you could have easily won the game. Yes, the batting collapsed, but letting Australia get to 307 on that Taunton pitch was really poor.”

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