T20 World Cup 2024: “They probably didn’t deserve to reach the Super 8s this time” – Mohammad Kaif on Pakistan’s elimination

“It’s a massive shocker. Pakistan reached the final last time. They play well and have good players, but they committed mistakes and the batting didn’t fire. Whenever there was pressure, Pakistan weren’t ready this time. If you talk about Mohammad Amir’s Super Over where he was bowling wides – extremely poor bowling,” Mohammad Kaif said on Star Sports.

“When Iftikhar Ahmed got to bat under pressure, the bat didn’t fire. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan weren’t in good form. They were playing at a run-a-ball. They committed many mistakes and they had to pay for it. Whenever there was pressure, Pakistan totally disintegrated. They probably didn’t deserve to reach the Super 8s this time,” the former India batter added.

USA was able to stun Pakistan in the Super Over contest and Kaif reckons the Monank Patel-led team deserved to go to the next stage.

“The Pakistan match was a huge one. The team was under pressure. Saurabh Netravalkar bowled splendidly in the Super Over there. The batting was also decent. They have a batter like Aaron Jones. They were the deseFormer Indian batter Mohammad Kaif reckons Pakistan doesn’t deserve to reach the Super 8 stage after the Babar Azam-led team was knocked out of the tournament. Though Pakistan won their last group stage match against Ireland by three wickets at Florida on Sunday, they were already eliminated from the tournament after the USA’s match against Ireland was abandoned due to rain. 

Pakistan lost their opening match of the tournament against the USA in the Super Over contest by five runs. Furthermore, the Men in Green could not chase 120 runs against arch-rivals India despite being in a winning position at one stage.

Pakistan’s middle order could not deliver the goods and it led to their downfall in the tournament. The Babar Azam-led team had made it to the finals in the 2022 T20 World Cup but they could not replicate the same show this time.

Kaif reckons Pakistan’s batting could not deliver the goods for the team as the batters could not absorb pressure at crucial stages.

rving team because they won two good games,” he reasoned.

America was also able to beat Canada by seven wickets and created history as they qualified for the next round.

“They defeated Canada by chasing close to 190 and then delivered when everyone was saying this team wouldn’t be able to beat Pakistan. They lost to India after that and the next match was a washout but the two games they won at the start, USA went ahead because of that. It’s a win for cricket and their local fans,” Kaif observed.