Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter, Mohammad Rizwan, has candidly addressed the need for improvement in the fielding department after Pakistan’s recent performance in their first warm-up match against New Zealand for the ICC World Cup 2023 held in Hyderabad.
The Men in Green faced some fielding challenges during the warm-up game, and Rizwan conceded the team’s need for enhancement in this area. “That’s true we need to improve in our fielding department. We have been doing good in fielding over the course of time but fielding I think cost us the match too because the positions were different. However, we need to work on it,” Rizwan remarked while reviewing the game.
While Pakistan showcased their prowess in batting, Rizwan emphasized the importance of addressing various areas of improvement before the main event. Warm-up fixtures provide an ideal opportunity for teams to assess their strengths and weaknesses. Rizwan stated, “The aim of warm-up matches is to see the areas where we need improvement. In this match, we also experimented, we tried different things. We got good things in returns but also we got some areas which require improvement.”
Rizwan also pointed out that experimenting with the squad is a crucial part of these matches. “You have to play 15 players, you have to test the bench too; you also have to do some experiments,” he explained.
Pakistan faced New Zealand in their first warm-up match, which they lost by five wickets. Although Pakistan posted a total of 345 runs while batting first, New Zealand successfully chased down the target in just 43.4 overs. The Pakistani bowlers fell short of expectations, raising questions about the team’s overall performance.
Despite this loss, Rizwan expressed confidence in Pakistan’s ability to adapt to favorable batting conditions in India. “We had an idea that India has favorable batting pitches. We had in our minds that we’ll read the conditions properly first,” he stated.
Pakistan will continue their preparations for the ICC World Cup 2023 with their second warm-up match against Australia on October 3. Their World Cup campaign officially kicks off against the Netherlands on October 6.
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