Pakistan beat the USA by 32 runs in the T20 World Cup, with captain Salman Agha praising his team's batting and flexibility. USA captain Monank Patel cited a lack of batting intent and panicking as reasons for their loss.
Pakistan captain Salman Agha credited his side's overall performance for their 32-run win over the USA in the ongoing T20 World Cup fixture on Tuesday at Colombo's Sinhalese Sports Club. He praised his team's batting in the middle overs. Agha also emphasised his team's flexibility in batting, stating they can chase or bat first, and have finishers who can adapt to different situations. Agha also mentioned areas for improvement, including being more clinical in the powerplay and maintaining consistency in their bowling performance.
Shadab, Farhan secure Pakistan's second win
Shadab Khan's all-round brilliance and Sahibzada Farhan's explosive fifty propelled Pakistan to a comfortable 32-run win over the USA, securing their second victory in the T20 World Cup 2026 at Colombo's Sinhalese Sports Club on Tuesday. With this win, Pakistan are on top of Group A with two wins in their two opening games, earning four points.
'Comfortable with chasing as well': Salman Agha
"Clinical win. In the last game, we didn't bat well in the middle overs, but today we did. Once we scored 190, we knew we could defend that. I would've batted first after winning the toss. With the kind of bowling we have, we know we can win even with 160-170. We're comfortable with chasing as well. Our batting order is flexible. First three will probably go in the same order but we're flexible after that... Always room for improvement. We like to bowl well in powerplay. In patches, we were good, but we can be more clinical," Salman Agha said after the match.
'We panicked a bit': Monank Patel
USA captain Monank Patel acknowledged his team's decent bowling in the power play. "We bowled decent in the powerplay but didn't bowl well in the middle overs. Came back in the last four overs where the pacers bowled well. Played well in the power play but couldn't show intent in the middle overs. While batting, we didn't show intent. Their spinners were not giving enough pace, and it was hard to hit the boundary. We panicked a bit and that cost us the game. We've been playing really good cricket since the last 12-15 months. Coming here for the second game, we were confident enough. Just small mistakes in the game. Want to make sure we finish this World Cup strong with two wins. It's not easy playing at different venues. Now we'll go to Chennai. We'll have one session there. Will work hard to come back stronger," Monank Patel said.
Brief Score
Brief score: Pakistan 190/9 in 20 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 73, Babar Azam 46; Shadley van Schalkwyk 4/25). Vs USA 158/8 in 20 overs (Shubham Ranjane 51, Shayan Jahangir 49; Usman Tariq 3/27).
(ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)