Two wins in two matches. Pakistan is on a winning trot ahead of February 15, when they will face India for the third group match. Ahead of the crucial match, skipper Salman Ali Agha noted some key points from today’s (February 10) match.
Pakistan defeated the United States of America team with ease, by 32 runs. In the previous game, they had to struggle in front of the Netherlands, mostly because of the poor batting display. The victory over the USA came as an output of a team game. Agha and his men dominated the whole match in all departments.
Pakistan skipper not happy with their batting
During the post-match presentation ceremony, Salman Ali Agha said that they might have gotten another win, but they will have improved their batting a lot more. Though, the captain praised the bowling efforts.
“We got the job done, but we needed to bat better in the middle overs. The bowlers did well. We haven’t batted to our best yet,” the Pakistan skipper said.
It was a surprise to the fans, when Pakistan went to bat first. Because of dew factor, in most of the cases teams elected to bowl first. But Agha and his team had different thoughts.
“We are Pakistan, we do things differently to the world (about wanting to bat first). We’re comfortable with chasing as well. Our batting order is flexible” he emphasized.
Summary of PAK vs USA match
Batting first, the Men in Green registered 190 for 9 in 20 overs. The team got most of the runs from Sahibzada Farhan, who scored 73 off 41 with eleven boundaries, including six 4s and five 6s.
Babar Azam was the second highest run scorer in the first innings with 40, and Shadab Khan played a fast-paced 30-run knock. The rest of the batter failed to deliver according to the expectations. It is understandable why Agha told about the batting preparations.
Against Pakistan’s 190, the United States cricket team managed to score only 158 for 8 in their 20-over limit. They were heavily engaged in the contest because of Shubham Ranjane (51), Shayan Jahangir (49), and Milind Kumar (29). It was the star pacer Shaheen Afridi, who was crucial with Ranjane and instantly pushed the USA behind. The wicket of Ranjane proved fatal for the batting second team, as the rest of their batting lineup remained mostly quiet.
We are ready for any challenge: Agha
“Shaheen (Afridi) is a match winner. His batting has improved. Abrar (Ahmed) has been outstanding. He is someone who is bringing us back into the games,” the captain said.
Two wins in a row must charge up the team’s morale ahead of their next assignment, according to schedule, which is against India. Without mentioning any team’s name, Agha claimed that they are prepared for any challenge ahead.
“We are ready for any challenge. If we play good cricket, we can be good against any side,” Agha said.
Salman Ali Agha especially mentioned Afridi and Ahmed, but it was Usman Tariq who took 3 wickets in 4 overs and a brace for Shadab Khan. One wicket each for Afridi, Ahmed, and Mohammad Nawaz.
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