Losing ODI series to Bangladesh is a big blow for Pakistan, says skipper Azhar

Pakistan skipper Azhar Ali says the dismal defeat in the hands of Bangladesh in the second ODI and losing the series are a big blow for his side.

“We didn’t expect to lose here, we expected to win,” he said at the post-match press conference on Sunday.
 
The Tigers romped to a resounding seven-wicket win with 71 balls to spare in the second game of three-match series at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
 
After the 79-run win two days back, Bangladesh chased down a modest 240 runs with ease.
 
Pakistan now fear the worst – the prospect of getting whitewashed.
 
“I think the wicket was good. There is no doubt about it. I think we lost wickets in bad times very quickly,” said Azhar.
 
“I think the wicket was easily 300-plus. It was coming on to the bat, but we didn’t play well.”
 
He said it was definitely a big victory for Bangladesh.
 
“They played good cricket. We were outplayed in every department of the game.”

“When you have runs on the (score) board, you have belief in the bowlers like we had. I think we could have made a better effort.

“We definitely could have bowled better. We haven’t played good cricket today in all forms,” said the recently appointed captain of the Pakistan team.

Azhar Ali also praised Tamim Iqbal for his back-to-back tons in both matches.

“I think he played well in both games. He took his chances and played bravely. When he came in, he saw 240 (as the target) and he went to play his shots.”

“That why he (Tamim) put us under pressure,” he said.

Azhar said Pakistan had not played good cricket on this tour yet. “But we can’t just put our head down. We’ve got to work and play better cricket.”

He sent a ‘simple message’ to his teammates that they would ‘have to improve in all three departments’ for the last match on Wednesday.

“You can’t win on one or two performances. We have to perform as a team.”

“We all have to take this responsibility as a team. We can’t blame just one person.

“We lacked in all three departments. Performance especially in bowling and batting was not up to the mark,” he added.