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DUBAI: Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha opened up after his side’s six wicket defeat against arch-rivals India in the ACC Men’s Asia Cup 2025 here at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
This was Pakistan’s second loss against India in a week, having previously beaten by seven wicket in the group stage fixtures of the continental tournament.
For India, it was Abhishek Sharma ruthless knock that steered them to a commanding victory despite their sloppiness in the field during Pakistan’s innings.
After dropping the catches in the field, Abhishek went to score a sublime 74 from 39 balls, laced with five effortless sixes and half a dozen fours.
For Pakistan, Sahibzada Farhan was the lone-bright star, scoring 58 off 45 balls.
Speaking in the post match press-presentation, Agha said that Pakistan is yet to play at their best while mentioning that India took the game away in the powerplay.
“We are yet to play a perfect game, but we’re getting there. It was a great contest, though they really took the game away in the powerplay,” he said.
The skipper mentioned they were 10-15 runs short, particularly after the start they have got in the first 10 overs.
“We didn’t put enough runs on the board. At 91/2 after 10 overs, we should have pushed for 10–15 more. Still, 171 is a challenging total.
“Credit to them — their powerplay batting made the difference in the end.
In T20 cricket, if your bowlers are going for runs, you have to make changes. It’s about finding the right man at the right time,” Agha explained.
Despite the defeat, he remained confident, emphasizing the players contributions as a plus point and backed Pakistan for their next game against Sri Lanka.
“There are positives for us. Fakhar and Farhan batted well, Haris Rauf and Faheem Ashraf bowled strongly.
We’re still very much in it and looking forward to our next game against Sri Lanka,” he concluded.
READ: WATCH: Shaheen, Rauf engage in war of words with Sharma
