Pakistan team mentor Matthew Hayden, during his final speech inside the dressing room, tried to lift up the squad’s confidence after the loss in the T20 World Cup final.
Matthew Hayden speaks inside the Pakistan cricket team’s dressing room. Image: Screenshot from ICC video
Pakistan fell short of lifting their second T20 World Cup title as they lost to England by five wickets in a low-scoring game on Sunday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. After the loss, the team was left quite disheartened.
Pakistan’s team mentor Matthew Hayden, during his final speech inside the dressing room, tried to lift up the squad’s confidence. He showered praise on the cricketers for their tremendous fighting spirit throughout the tournament. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has shared a clip of Hayden’s inspiring words on their official Instagram handle.
View this post on Instagram
The Aussie legend lauded the cricketers who could not get their chance to feature in the starting eleven but showed enough dedication in the practice session. According to him, their efforts equally helped the side. He also thanked the entire brigade for investing their 100 percent in the campaign. Hayden stated, “I just want to say thank you for sharing your dressing room, sharing your hearts, minds, and spirits, and for giving this campaign everything you’ve got.”
Hayden also reminded the players of the belief he showed in them before the World Cup started. He wasted no time in saying that he is still hopeful that this squad is capable of winning the World Cup someday. Hayden said the group has enough potential to perform well in the upcoming 50-over World Cup slated to be held in India next year. “We shall once more be enjoying getting close to the World Cup,” Hayden predicted.
In the end, Hayden tried to console the players and asked them to fight back harder in the future. The former batter revealed that he considered himself grateful for being a part of this Pakistan unit. He pledged that his association would be beneficial in earning them more positive results. “I’m so proud of you. I appreciate you letting me into your sacred space, and I hope that I was able to share my heart and my cricketing journey with you all as well. It is an honour for me to do so,” the batting maestro further added.
Pakistan’s batting woes made things harder in the final. The Babar Azam-led side managed to put up 137 runs only, which turned out to be an easy assignment for England. Though the bowling unit, led by Haris Rauf, tried to put some pressure, a match-winning half-century from Ben Stokes ( 52 runs off 49 balls) snatched the game away from them.
Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Find latest and upcoming tech gadgets online on Tech2 Gadgets. Get technology news, gadgets reviews & ratings. Popular gadgets including laptop, tablet and mobile specifications, features, prices, comparison.