Salman Ali Agha, the losing side captain on February 15th night, blames the spinners after a shameful defeat against the archrival India by 61 runs at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
Ahead of the India vs Pakistan match, the spinner of the Pakistan cricket team is considered their trump card. In reality, Ishan Kishan and captain Suryakumar Yadav exposed the bowling attack of Pakistan. Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, and Rinku Singh also added significant runs from their brief knocks.
Salman Ali Agha accused the spinners
Salman Ali Agha directly said that it was bad for business for their spinners. He pointed out that the spinner failed to execute in multiple moments. Agha repeatedly mentioned the execution, which they might have been unsuccessful in doing.
“Our spinners had an off day. Execution was missing in some parts. We believe in our spinners; they’ve done well in the last six months,” the Pakistan skipper said after the match.
Against India’s 175, Pakistan wrapped up their innings for only 114 runs in 18 overs. Ahead of the match, there were many talks around the controversial spinner Usman Tariq. Tariq, in his 4-over spell, took the wicket of Suryakumar Yadav against an economy rate of 6.00. Abrar Ahmed, another experienced spinner from Pakistan, proved very costly for the team. He spent 38 runs without claiming a single wicket in 3 overs.
Batters also failed to convince
The bowlers, precisely the spinners, might have failed to execute. But most of the Pakistani batters also failed to justify their skills. The total of 114 is the proof.
“We lost too many wickets in the powerplay with the bat. In the first innings it was tacky; the ball was gripping as well. The execution was missing with the ball. Pitch played better in the second innings than it did in the first,” Agha added.
Salman Ali Agha confident about bouncing back
Wherever the India vs Pakistan match takes place, crowds gather in large numbers to see the rivalry live. On February 15, Colombo was not an exception. The full house also could have put extra pressure on the cricketers.
“In these kinds of games, the emotions are always going to be high. Have to deal with it. Have played enough games like that. Have a game in two days’ time; have to look forward to that. Need to win that game and qualify for the Super Eights. Then it’s a new tournament again,” Salman Ali Agha concluded.
Pakistan will next face Namibia on February 18 at the SSC Cricket Ground in Colombo at 3.00 PM IST.
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