Babar backs ‘fighter’ Hasan after dropped catch in Australia defeat
DUBAI: Pakistan skipper Babar Azam on Thursday described Hasan Ali as ‘a fighter’ who will bounce back from dropping a catch off Matthew Wade in a key moment of the T20 World Cup semi-final which Australia won by five wickets on Thursday.
Marcus Stoinis (40) and Wade (41) put on an unbeaten stand of 81 to pull off the chase with a flurry of sixes to break thousands of Pakistan hearts in the near-packed stadium. The left-handed Wade smoked three straight sixes off Pakistan pace ace Shaheen Shah Afridi to bring up victory in the 19th over after being dropped by Ali in the deep moments earlier.
“I don’t feel like that,” Babar said on the defeat being blamed on Hasan’s dropped catch. “He is my main bowler and he has won many matches for Pakistan. Players drop catches but he is a fighter and I will back him.
“Everybody doesn’t perform everyday. There is a day when one performs, it was just not his day. He is down and we will lift his mood. People will talk but we keep playing.”
Ali was trolled on social media as fans blamed the spilled chance for their World Cup miss after coming into the semifinal unbeaten and favourites.
“Best ever team performance from Pakistan cricket team in world cup has just been undone by Hasan Ali alone,” said a Twitter user. But Wade refused to take the dropped chance as the turning point and insisted Australia had already got the momentum.