CWC: "Our execution is not happening," says Pakistani opener Imam-ul-Haq ahead of clash with Afghanistan

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], October 22 : Ahead of the ODI World Cup match with Afghanistan at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here in Chennai on Monday, Pakistani opener Imam-ul-Haq said that the 'Men in Green's' "execution is not happening" at the ongoing cricket extravaganza.
"Our execution is not happening, but after that, we go again and try again and then we go to the ground. This is in our hands, this is controllable. The things that are out of our control, we cannot talk much about them and neither can we do it," Imam-ul-Haq said at the pre-match press conference here on Sunday.
Imam further stated that Babar Azam's side is trying to get big innings as soon as possible.
"See, all the batting I have done in the last few days, Alhamdulillah, Pakistan has won the match mostly. If you see my match-winning innings, 90% of the matches I have won are like this. When you chase a 367, you never feel like you have to slow down your momentum. So obviously you have to take risks. Unfortunately, yes, it is true that we are not getting big innings. I will say this for sure. So, we are trying to get a big innings as soon as possible. And we try to play the batting that we get according to the situation and do our best for Pakistan," he added.
The Pakistani opener accepted that they did not play well in the last two matches but still, they are confident to make a comeback in the upcoming matches.
"We have played 4 matches and we are 2-2. We are confident. We will accept that we did not play well in the last 2 matches. We will have to perform up to the mark. It matters a lot how you play on a given day. You can talk as much as you want. But it matters how you play on the day. We have talked about it. You will see a new team tomorrow in Chennai," he said.
"Look, in all your team meetings, we talk about execution. When we practice, they do it because our practice is so good that our execution is good. And see, this is how cricket is played. There is no guarantee in life or cricket. We can practice as tough as we can. Management has given our players a lot of confidence. So, you have to believe in that and go into the match with that confidence," he stressed.
"See, there are no such factors - we talk after the game. We know that we left some important catches in our fielding. We practice, we field and we depend on the individual. The same goes for batting and bowling. And then it depends on the individual, how they are thinking and what they are doing," he concluded.
Pakistan are coming into this match after losing against Australia by 62 runs. They are standing in fifth place on the ODI World Cup 2023 standings with four points.