• Pakistan captain Babar Azam feels losing against South Africa cost them in World Cup 2023

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    Pakistan captain Babar Azam feels losing against South Africa cost them in World Cup 2023

    "Look, there should be hope at all times. At any stage, at any work you do, you should have positive hope and I firmly believe in that," Babar said.

    Digital Desk: Pakistan's captain, Babar Azam, stated that their World Cup 2023 chances were ruined by their team's heartbreaking loss to South Africa in Chennai. With New Zealand handily defeating Sri Lanka in their last World Cup 2023 match, Pakistan has almost no chance of making it to the tournament's semifinals.

    In their last group stage encounter, Pakistan, who are now ranked fifth in the league table, have to beat England by 280 runs. Regarding the current situation, Babar Azam stated that Pakistan will want to end the competition with a strong performance.

    "I think that one match is left. It's never sure. It's cricket; we will try to finish on a good note and then see," ahead of Pakistan's match against England in Kolkata, Babar Azam stated. 

    "I think the South Africa match cost us and we should have won that match, but unfortunately, we didn't win that because of which we are at this stage," Babar stated.

    Pakistan controlled the match on October 27, in Chennai, limiting South Africa to 250/7 in the 40th over while holding them to 271 runs. However, South Africa's last two players, Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj, sent the team home, stopping Pakistan from winning the match. Following the game, Babar Azam was clearly upset and prominent Pakistani players were observed animated chat on the pitch.

    But the skipper maintained his composure during today's news conference, stating that Pakistan could only feel hopeful heading into their match against England.

    "Look, there should be hope at all times. At any stage, at any work you do, you should have positive hope and I firmly believe in that," Babar said.

    "You cannot blame the batting, fielding, or bowling for that. We were unable to perform as a team. It is not possible for us to claim that we won or lost a lot of runs while fielding. We didn't play as a team or follow the strategy; this included fielding, bowling, and batting declining to point the finger at any specific player, " the skipper said. 

    The captain said that Pakistan have to learn from their mistakes in World Cup 2023.

    "We will try to learn from this, as the quicker you pick up lessons from significant life situations, the more likely you are to recognise your flaws. It appears that this situation has a very little margin of error. Because any team will steal the match from you if you allow them even a small amount of space. This is the World Cup's area of expertise. The game is more intense. These are high-stakes contests since you play against every team. Thus, in my opinion, everyone on the squad had to learn from their errors," Babar Azam concluded.