Skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed said that fielding was the decisive factor between Pakistan and England in the Trent Bridge match played on Monday.
Pakistan shocked England by 14 runs at Trent Bridge as they ended a long losing streak in one-day internationals despite two centuries for the World Cup host nation.
The skipper speaking in the post-match ceremony credited ‘great team effort’ for the win against the tournament favorites. “Fakhar and Imam started well. The match starts at 10.30pm and the first ten overs is important. They got a good start and that’s why we got 350,” he said.
The skipper said that unlike in the match against West Indies where the team had a crushing defeat, he didn’t shy to do experiments in the game.
“We tried a few different things – we started with Shadab because they weren’t good against spinners,” he said. “Fielding is an important part and it was the main difference. This gives a lot of confidence to the team.”
It was a remarkable turnaround for Pakistan, whose opening match of this World Cup had seen then slump to 105 all out in a seven-wicket defeat by the West Indies at the same ground.
That defeat was their 11th straight loss in completed one-day internationals, including the recent 4-0 series defeat by England.
But they started strongly at Trent Bridge on Monday and made 348 for eight, Mohammad Hafeez top-scoring with 84.
No side had previously made more batting second to win a World Cup match than Ireland, with 329 for seven against England at Bangalore in 2011.
