ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 – Gary Kirsten laments Pakistan’s ‘bad decision-making’

“It’s a disappointing loss, that’s for sure,” Kirsten said. “I knew 120 wasn’t going to be easy. If India only got 120, it wasn’t going to be easy. But I think the game was 72 for 2 with six or seven overs to go. We crossed the line from where we came in. “

Kirsten was asked where the game got out of their hands. “Decision making,” he said. “Maybe not the best decisions. You’ve got the game, you’re running the ball, you have eight wickets, you make decisions at that moment. That’s the game. It’s international cricket for you. You make mistakes like that, you’re going to win. I paid for it. I thought we made some bad decisions at key stages of the game at the end.”

Mohammad Rizwan scored 31 off 44 but fell trying to bowl the first ball of Bumrah’s new spell. Bumrah went on to win his second Man of the Match award in two matches.

“The best thing for us is to be calm because when we batted in the morning, there was more help,” said Bumrah. “And when we started to bowl, the sky opened up and the ball stopped stitching and there was no movement from the side. So, we had to be more consistent and more accurate and as a unit we were calm and very clear on what we wanted to do, so, we are very happy that as a unit we were able to contribute and build that pressure and we were able to win.”

Bumrah said that taking the emotions out of his bowling helps him.

“I was trying to focus on what is the best option here with a wicket like this,” he said. “How do I make shooting difficult? What are the best options for me? So in that way, I try to stay in the moment and focus on what I have to do. Because if I look at the noise outside, if I look at people and stress and emotions take over, then things don’t really work for me, I try to do my bubble, and I try to focus on that and try to put my best foot forward.”

Kirsten knows that Pakistan’s chances of reaching the Super 8 are already dependent on the results of other teams, but she also knows that they need to improve a lot in order to rely on other teams to push them.

“It wasn’t a small total on that wicket,” said Kirsten. “It was perfect. We knew that. But we still got a chance in this tournament. We still hope things can play into our hands. Obviously we have to play better cricket than what we are playing. good, we did everything we needed.

Kirsten said she needs time to start getting the best out of the players. “Everyone is responsible,” he said. “We accept the defeat and we take the heat because the team didn’t do well. And we will do our best to try to fix it. I have been here for 12 days so it is a new journey for me to understand the players that they will win games for Pakistan, which is what you want.”