Pakistan men’s cricket team batting coach Mike Smith has said that the pitch will not be blamed for the team’s performance, admitting that it was not assessed as it should have been.
Speaking at a press conference after the tri-nation series match against Sri Lanka in Lahore, Mike Smith said that the team had not played good cricket that day. He added that they believed in themselves and were confident of winning under any circumstances.
He said they would speak with their batters about how to improve their performance. Smith described Fakhar Zaman as a world-class player and expressed hope that he would score runs in the final.
Mike Smith said the team had not scored enough runs, but the lower middle order had been performing well.
Speaking about the final, he said the team that played better cricket under pressure would win.
Regarding the form of experienced batter Babar Azam, Mike Smith said that Babar’s failure to score runs was not a cause for concern. He expressed hope that once Babar started scoring runs, he would deliver an outstanding performance.
Earlier today Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan by 8 wickets in the fifth match of the tri-nation series involving Pakistan, England and Sri Lanka.
In the match played at Gaddafi Stadium, Sri Lankan captain won the toss and elected to bowl first. In response, Pakistan were bowled out for 110 runs in 25.3 overs.
Sri Lanka comfortably chased down the target of 111 runs in the 19th over, losing just two wickets. Kamindu Mendis remained unbeaten on 62 runs.
The final league match of the tri-nation series will be played between Sri Lanka and England on Thursday, while the final between Pakistan and Sri Lanka will take place on Saturday.
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