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DUBAI: Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha praised his team’s fighting spirit despite their defeat to India in the ACC Men’s Asia Cup 2025 final.
India outplayed Pakistan by five wickets in a last-over thriller, a game that saw ups and downs from both sides.
The Men in Blue chased down the target of 147 runs on the fourth ball of the final over, with Tilak Varma starring. The left-hander played a gutsy knock under pressure and scored an unbeaten 69 from 53 balls.
Pakistan endured the same middle-order collapse after Sahibzada Farhan’s and Fakhar Zaman’s strong opening partnership of 84 runs.
Despite a strong foundation, Pakistan were bowled out for 146 in 19.1 overs, thanks to Kuldeep Yadav’s spin magic, who picked up a four-wicket haul, including a three-wicket over.
After the match, Salman Ali Agha expressed his disappointment over the defeat and rued the middle-order collapse after a strong opening foundation.
“It is tough pill to swallow. We could not finish well in the batting. Bowling, we gave everything. If we could have finished well, it would have been a different story. We could not rotate the strike properly and we lost too many wickets,” he said.
“That was the reason we could not score what we wanted. We have to sort out our batting very soon. They bowled really well, outstandingly well,” he added
He further emphasized the last six overs of the match while pointing out batting flaws.
“They needed 63 off six overs, I thought we had the game. The bowlers bowled really well, we have to give them credit, but the batting was a concern. Very proud. We fought really well. We are proud as a team. So much to look forward to, we will improve and come back stronger,” he concluded.
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