T20I Tri-nation: "Batting was not up to the mark", Babar Azam on Pakistan's loss against New Zealand

Pakistan struggled to bat against the Kiwi bowlers (PC: Twitter)

Pakistan were taken to the cleaners by New Zealand in their return match in the ongoing T20I tri-nation series. The home side captained by Kane Williamson choked the visitors' batters, who were coming off two consecutive wins, including a dominating victory over the BlackCaps on Saturday. 

On a sluggish track, Pakistan captain Babar Azam and other batters despite getting starts failed to cash in.  Apart from Azam, only Iftikhar Ahmed and Asif Ali managed to cross the 20-run mark, making 27 and 25 runs, respectively.

Speaking at the post-match ceremony, Azam, who scored 21 off 23, blamed the batters for scoring just 130 runs in their quota of 20 overs.

"First innings was a little bit slow, our batting was not up to the mark. Lot of things to discuss and a day off tomorrow, we will ensure we don't repeat the mistakes in the next game. 

We had a bad day, if we had got 160 would have been good but 130 is easy for the Black Caps."

Pakistan takes on Bangladesh on Thursday in an attempt to book a place in the final on Friday.

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