For the second time in 10 months at the same venue, the finish line proved just a little beyond the reach of Pakistan.
A fabulous run at the T20 World Cup last October-November ended in a crushing loss to <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/bcci-announce-squads-for-icc-mens-t20-world-cup-2022-australia-south-africa-t20is-23245498" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Australia</a> in the semi-final with an inspired Matthew Wade playing the lead role.&nbsp;
At that tournament, Pakistan had seemed unstoppable, riding on the brilliance of Shaheen Shah Afridi, the opening combine of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, and the late-order pyrotechnics of Asif Ali.
Also Read: <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/jasprit-bumrah-harshal-patel-set-to-return-for-indias-t20-world-cup-campaign-report-23245321" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Jasprit Bumrah, Harshal Patel set to return for India`s T20 WC Squad: Report </a>
<h2>Babar&rsquo;s poor run</h2>
At the Asia Cup, despite making it to the final, Pakistan weren&rsquo;t quite the same force. Afridi missed the tournament through injury, Rizwan&rsquo;s runs came at too slow a pace to make a consistent impact and Asif went <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/australia-captain-aaron-finch-i-thought-the-timing-was-right-with-world-cup-next-year-23245265" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">AWOL</a>.&nbsp;
But the biggest setback was the lack of returns of Babar, the team&rsquo;s best batsman who sets the tone at the top of the order. Babar didn&rsquo;t bat badly at all, yet he finished with a top score of 30 and couldn&rsquo;t muster even 100 runs in six innings. That, combined with the fragility of the middle-order, brain-fades in the field and the propensity to get carried away by pace, all came at a heavy price.
Saqlain Mushtaq, the beleaguered head coach, fended off aggressive questions from the Pakistan media on Sunday night after the 23-run loss in the final, refusing to get involved in a verbal pow-wow, but he will know that there is plenty of work ahead of the team before the World Cup.&nbsp;
Also Read: <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/other-sports/article/us-open-2022-casper-ruud-advances-to-final-continues-world-no-1-quest-23245167" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">US Open 2022: Casper Ruud advances to final, continues World No.1 quest</a>
Pakistan&rsquo;s greatest high came when they bested India by five wickets in the Super 4 clash between the giants, but apart from decimating Hong Kong, they spluttered and stuttered, their batting coming apart in their last three matches.
<h2>Fabulous pacers</h2>
Despite losing Afridi and then Shahnawaz Dahani to injury, Pakistan still had a fabulous fast-bowling attack in Naseem Shah, Mohammad Hasnain and Haris Rauf, but with their batsmen badly letting them down, there was only so much they could do.&nbsp;
Pakistan made a meal of a target of 130 against Afghanistan, squeezing to a one-wicket win, and were shot out for 121 in their last league tie by the Lankans. In the final, they were never in with a chance once Sri Lanka recovered from 58 for five to post 170.&nbsp;
The only pocket of resistance came when Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmad, slowly, stitched a half-century stand for the third wicket, but when it came to the crunch, Pakistan folded meekly, losing six for 23 in an extraordinary meltdown.
Also Read: <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/my-only-goal-in-asia-cup-was-to-improve-t20-world-cup-is-our-target-virat-kohli-23245035" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">My only goal in Asia Cup was to improve; T20 WC is our target: Virat Kohli</a>
Fast becoming a dangerous trend, this is something Babar&rsquo;s men must address immediately if they are to make a statement at the World Cup.

A fabulous run at the T20 World Cup last October-November ended in a crushing loss to Australia in the semi-final with an inspired Matthew Wade playing the lead role

Bad batting let Pakistan down

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Bad batting let Pakistan down

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