[Watch] Babar Azam expresses frustration towards Mohammad Nawaz after South Africa's win against Pakistan in a cliffhanger in 2023 World Cup

Pakistan captain Babar Azam expressed his frustration towards Mohammad Nawaz after he conceded a four to South African lower-order batter Keshav Maharaj in the 2023 World Cup match on Friday (October 27).

South Africa reached home in the chase with those four runs and won the thrilling match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai by one wicket.

After opting to bat first in the contest, Pakistan got all out for 270 in 46.4 overs. Babar Azam (50) and Saud Shakeel (52) hit half-centuries, while Shadab Khan (42) chipped in with a useful contribution.

Aiden Markram (91) then played a good knock and laid a decent foundation for the Proteas team in the chase. The rest of the batters got starts and made mini contributions around him, but none of them could kick on and score substantially as Pakistan bowlers kept chipping away with wickets at regular intervals.

Pakistan managed to reduce South Africa to 260/9 in 45.3 overs and looked in control of the game, with two tailenders at the crease. As all the pacers finished their quota of overs, Babar turned to left-arm orthodox spinner Mohammad Nawaz to bowl the 48th over, with five runs needed for South Africa.

Nawaz could not do the job as he bowled a leg-stump line delivery on the second ball of the over, which was easily dispatched to the boundary by Keshav Maharaj to win the game for South Africa. Babar Azam was visibly disappointed with Nawaz's bowling effort and had a go at him after the conclusion of the match.

You can watch the incident in the video below:

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"We were very close but couldn't finish it" - Babar Azam

Speaking at the post-match presentation, Babar Azam reflected on the loss and opined that they fought well with both bat and ball.

He said:

"We were very close but couldn't finish it. Everyone in the camp is disappointed. We fought back really well but in batting, we were 10-15 runs short. This is part of the game, I think, if they give out, it would have been favor for us.

He continued:

"Umpire's call is part of the game. Yes, because we fought very well, at this point, we had the opportunity to win this match and stay in the tournament but it's looking difficult for us now. We will try our best in the next three matches. Let's see where we stand after those three matches."

Pakistan will next face Bangladesh on October 31 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.