Pakistan coach Gary Kirsten reacts to devastating defeat to fierce rivals India at ICC T20 Cricket World Cup. India posted just 119 all out but Pakistan fell 6 runs short, finishin 113 for 7
Nassau County International Stadium, New York, USA
Nassau County International Stadium, New York, USA
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 Thank you everyone for joining us for this post match press conference with Pakistan coach Gary Kirsten.
00:06 A reminder please to put your hand up before you ask a question and to make sure you've got a microphone on your hand.
00:12 And just a reminder please, no photographs, no videos of post match press conferences.
00:18 And also no selfies please at the end of these interactions. Many thanks.
00:26 Gary, we have lost a very good opportunity of coming back and in the World Cup.
00:33 120 runs, winning target. Can't you expect this was easily achievable or where we faltered?
00:45 It's a disappointing loss, that's for sure.
00:50 I knew 120 wasn't going to be an easy target because if India only got 120 it was always going to be not the easiest.
00:58 But I think we had the game at 72 for 2 with 6 or 7 overs left at that point.
01:06 So disappointing not to get across the line from the position we got ourselves into.
01:11 Gary, at what point in time do you think we lost the plot because we were cruising to victory?
01:18 I thought it would be over by the 18th or 19th over. We couldn't convert, we couldn't hit the boundaries.
01:24 What precisely do you think was the reason, one big reason why we couldn't do it?
01:29 We couldn't get past the finish line?
01:32 I think decision making. Maybe not so great decision making when you got the game on.
01:38 You know how to run a ball, 8 wickets in hand, decision making at that point.
01:42 That's the game, it's international cricket for you. You make mistakes like that, you're going to pay.
01:47 So I thought we made some poor decisions at important phases in the game.
01:53 For us to get across the line, we had the game in our hands. I thought Rizwan played really well for us.
01:59 We knew it was going to be a tough wicket to bat on.
02:02 So we managed the chase really well and then just let it slip at the end.
02:09 Gary, it seems like Pakistan is virtually out of the tournament. It was a small total.
02:16 What makes the difference between the two teams in the low scoring match?
02:21 First of all, it wasn't a small total on that wicket. It was a good total.
02:25 I think we knew that. It was always going to be a good game.
02:29 And secondly, we've still got a chance in the tournament.
02:33 We get two wins, we've still got a chance to go through.
02:36 We're still hopeful that things can play in our hands.
02:40 Obviously we've got to play a lot better cricket than what we are playing.
02:43 I think it just comes down to executing our skills together as batters and bowlers.
02:50 I thought the bowlers bowled outstandingly today.
02:53 Probably gave away 10 or 15 runs at the end where we shouldn't have.
02:57 I knew it was going to be a really tight game because it's not an easy wicket to bat on.
03:01 Sometimes a small little attention to detail can make a massive difference.
03:06 But credit to the bowlers. I thought they did a great job in the hole.
03:10 To be honest with you, we had that game for 35 of the 40 overs.
03:18 Really, we had the game. We played good cricket and did everything we needed to.
03:22 So it's a disappointing loss.
03:24 What is the real secret of these poor performances?
03:28 You cannot win against the weakest team of the tournament.
03:30 You cannot win against the best team of the tournament.
03:32 Who's responsible for these poor performances?
03:35 Everyone's responsible.
03:40 We accept the loss and we take the heat because the team hasn't done well.
03:46 We'll do what we can to try and rectify it.
03:49 I've been here for 12 days. It's a new journey for me.
03:55 Understanding the players that are going to win games for Pakistan, which is what you're looking for.
04:00 Are you satisfied with the captaincy of Babar Azam?
04:04 And also, if Tihar Ahmed and Shadab Khan don't perform well, say something about that.
04:10 I thought Babar captained really well today.
04:13 He did a good job with the bowlers, spread them across nicely.
04:16 Got his bowling changes pretty much spot on.
04:20 These guys are all international players.
04:24 They're aware that when they're not performing at their best, there's going to be pressure put on them.
04:30 That's understandable.
04:32 But a lot of these guys have played a lot of T20 cricket around the world over many, many years.
04:36 And it's really up to them to decide how they're going to take their games forward.
04:40 There was a lot of talk about the track after the first few games here.
04:45 People saying it was dangerous and unacceptable.
04:48 It was obviously a tricky one to bat on.
04:50 How would you describe that surface for a T20 World Cup game?
04:54 I think it wasn't dangerous.
04:59 The odd one rose up, but not many.
05:03 Generally kept a little bit lower.
05:05 Difficult to score for both batting sides and also a fairly slow outfield.
05:10 It was never going to be a big total.
05:13 I would have said 140 would have been a really good score on that pitch.
05:17 India didn't get that.
05:19 I thought we had the game.
05:22 We knew it was going to be tight.
05:24 Sometimes it's fun seeing games like that as well.
05:27 It's not always about sixes and getting two 30s and two 40s.
05:34 You can actually have a really entertaining game on a 120 chase.
05:37 I don't think it's bad for the game.
05:39 I'm Irfan from Sunonews.
05:41 My question is that the big team always hold their nerves.
05:44 In one match we cannot defend the total.
05:46 In another match we cannot chase the total.
05:48 What is the mental block? What is the issue?
05:50 Whether the capacity, whether the players are not gelling in.
05:53 What is the exact issue? What do you explain as a coach, head coach?
05:57 Thank you.
05:59 As I said, I've only been here a handful of days.
06:02 I'm having a look into the environment and looking at what the issues are.
06:07 I look at these players. I've watched them play many years on TV.
06:13 Getting to know them, they're fantastic guys.
06:16 They're playing for their country.
06:18 They really are pumped.
06:19 There are a lot of very disappointed guys in the change room now.
06:22 I think for me the most important thing for every international player
06:26 is that you continue growing and developing as a player.
06:28 Understanding what the demands of international competition are.
06:31 The game is changing pretty much every year.
06:34 If you're not up to it and you're not improving, you're going to get found out somewhere.
06:38 Coach, Akir Abbas here.
06:40 Winning the toss, bowling first.
06:42 We saw that there was a game plan when Pakistan were doing bowling.
06:46 But chasing 120 runs, what was the message or what was the decision
06:51 when the openers, Babar and Izvan, went in?
06:56 What was the game plan in the middle of the match?
06:59 After 10 overs, you rushed to the field as well.
07:02 You had a quick meeting with the guys, Rizwan and Usman.
07:06 What was your message and why were they not able to execute your strategy?
07:11 The message from all of us was look for the odd boundary.
07:18 Try and capitalize on the loose balls.
07:20 Make sure that you can get as many ones as you can through the innings.
07:24 I thought we did that brilliantly for 15 overs.
07:26 We kept it at a runner ball.
07:28 Then we lost wickets.
07:30 We stopped scoring ones and then we were looking for boundaries.
07:33 Once you got to that point, it was always going to be hard.
07:37 The message was to do what we executed on for 15 overs.
07:42 Gary, as a coach, do you think in T20 cricket, modern day batters
07:47 have forgotten the importance of tapping the ball around
07:50 and running for ones and twos?
07:53 I think certainly on a pitch like that, it is really, really important
07:56 to be able to rotate the strike.
07:58 I agree with you.
08:01 Sometimes it is fun to watch a game like this where it is not only about
08:05 hitting boundaries, but you also have to be able to use 120 balls really well.
08:10 As I said, we did for 15 overs and then we lost the plot.
08:15 Gary, focusing on the positives you can take away from today's match,
08:21 if you compare the performance in the first to the second match,
08:24 in the first match, Pakistan only took three wickets against the USA.
08:28 Today, you bowled out India.
08:31 Obviously, the pitches are different, but was there something in the bowling attack
08:36 coming together?
08:38 Is there something that you saw among the team that happened that led to
08:43 at least a much stronger bowling performance?
08:45 Yes, I was very excited by the bowling performance.
08:47 It got better and better.
08:49 We have tracked the stats over the last 15 odd games and they have been
08:52 an incredible bowling unit from overs 10 to 20.
08:55 We did that again today.
08:57 I think our record between overs 10 to 20 as a bowling unit is up there
09:01 with the best.
09:03 We have got four fantastic seamers and Imad Wazim, I thought,
09:06 bowled really well today as well.
09:08 We have got some nice options on the ball with the team.
09:12 I think we are going to be a difficult team to bat against if we bowl like that.
09:18 That is a positive going forward.
09:20 Obviously, there is a concern around how we can put our innings together
09:24 and structure it.
09:26 We did really nicely in the last game against USA where Shadab Khan and Baba
09:30 put on a partnership of 70 when we were 26 for 3.
09:33 But period, we are losing too many wickets.
09:35 As a batting unit, you cannot lose as many wickets as we are losing.
09:39 Players have got to take responsibility when that opportunity comes.
09:46 Could you give us the thought process behind promoting Imad Wazim
09:50 and Shadab over Iftikhar?
09:52 It was just that Imad came in.
09:56 We just wanted to have left-hand, right-hand combinations throughout,
10:00 especially if they were going to use their spinners.
10:03 So that was the decision.