Leeds, June 24 (IANS) Pakistan captain Fatima Sana admitted her side produced their poorest performance of the tournament after suffering a 113-run defeat to Australia in their Group A ICC Women’s T20 World Cup clash at Headingley.

The loss left Pakistan winless after four matches, with Sana urging the team to honestly assess the shortcomings before their final group fixture against the Netherlands.

Reflecting on the defeat, the skipper did not shy away from acknowledging where Pakistan fell short. “I think we just played our worst cricket in this game, and as a whole team we need to accept that. We need to go back, reflect, and improve ourselves,” she said post-match.

Pakistan entered the World Cup after an extensive preparation phase, and Sana believes the groundwork before the tournament had been encouraging. However, she stressed that translating those preparations into performances on the field remains the team’s biggest challenge.

“Personally, I think we got a lot of good practice in before coming here, but we still need a response from the team. That’s what we need right now. Otherwise, we had some really good practice sessions and preparation,” Sana added.

Despite the disappointing result, Sana found positives in the efforts of her new-ball bowlers, who kept Australia under pressure in the early stages before the innings gathered momentum. Left-arm spinners Nashra Sandhu and Sadia Iqbal finished with two wickets apiece, but Pakistan were unable to sustain that pressure as Australia’s batting depth took over.

Highlighting the areas that offered encouragement, Sana said the bowling unit deserved greater support from the rest of the side, as she stated, “I think our bowling was very good, especially the way we started. Nashra and Sadia bowled really well, which was awesome. We just need more players to support them because we struggled in other areas. We have good players and they can perform, but we need more contributions from everyone.”

Pakistan will now turn their attention to their final Group A fixture against the Netherlands, hoping to finish their World Cup campaign on a positive note after a difficult tournament.

–IANS

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