'Such a defeat shakes the...' - Ramiz Raja's 'hard-and-fast-lined' remarks after Pakistan's defeat in 3rd T20I against NZ

Former PCB chief Ramiz Raja didn’t look happy with the performance of the Pakistan Cricket Team in the third T20I of the five-match series against New Zealand. Notably, the second-string team of New Zealand defeated the hosts by a margin of 7 wickets in the third T20I in Rawalpindi.

Babar Azam’s men posted a total of 178 runs for the loss of 4 wickets in the allotted 20 overs which was chased down by the Blackcaps in 18.2 overs, scoring 179 runs for the loss of 3 wickets.

Coming back to Ramiz Raja, he came up with a harsh analysis while speaking about the performance of Pakistan against this second-string side of New Zealand.

“Losing is a part of cricket, but such a defeat shakes the foundation a bit, especially with the World Cup just around the corner. Playing at home, on your favourite surface, against a team that isn't even a complete side - not a first-tier or even a second-tier New Zealand team - makes it an embarrassing loss,” said Ramiz Raja in a video on his YouTube channel.

"Pakistan scored fewer runs" - Ramiz Raja 

“Let's admit that in T20, anyone's luck can change, but such a drastic turn of tables within 24 hours is a blow to Pakistan's reputation. For some time now, there has been a notion that you can expect anything from Pakistan on a given day. Just 24 hours ago, Pakistan defeated them by 7 wickets, and 24 hours later, they suffered a 7-wicket defeat. This should not happen,” he added later.

Furthermore, he also spoke about the Pakistan batters who failed to convert the good starts in big knocks.

“The batters who are set should not get out after scoring just 20-30 runs. That's why the score is only 180. This pitch is worth at least 250 runs, as we know how many runs have been scored here before. Pakistan scored fewer runs, and no one played a long innings,” he said.