Pakistan captain Shaheen Shah Afridi said extra runs and early wickets proved costly in the second ODI against Australia at the Gaddafi Stadium on Tuesday.
Speaking in the post-match presentation, Shaheen admitted that conceding extra runs at the back end of the innings proved costly. The skipper added that early wickets and a tricky surface also contributed to his side’s defeat.
“I think we gave away 20-30 extra runs towards the end. We lost wickets early on and that built pressure on us. [Different surface than Pindi] It is a spinning track, not easy to bat on. Yes, in the second innings the ball comes nicely onto the bat, but the way Nathan Ellis bowled well; he bowled stump to stump and that brought him success,” Shaheen said.
Despite the defeat, Shaheen expressed confidence in bouncing back in the final ODI to seal the series.
“We will try to win the game. There’s just a day’s gap, so we won’t look too much at our mistakes,” he stated.
He also highlighted the pitch behavior, noting that bowling in the right channels proved effective and that his side was unable to make proper use of the older ball.
“Yes, on these wickets, the more you bowl in the line of the stumps, the more it helps since it doesn’t swing much. When it started to reverse, the ball was changed so our bowlers didn’t get much help from the old ball,” he concluded.
Earlier, Australia handed Pakistan a 41-run defeat to level the series 1-1, with the final match to be played at the same venue on Thursday.
Set 232, Pakistan were bowled out for 190 in 44 overs with Shadab Khan remaining the top-scorer for them. He scored 71 off 104, including three sixes and a four.
Nathan Ellis starred with the ball for the visitors, scalping four wickets for 33 in his nine overs. Matthew Short also chipped in with three wickets to his name.