COLOMBO: Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha attributed the 61-run loss against arch-rivals India in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at the R Premadasa Stadium on Sunday.
After winning the toss and putting India into bat, the 2009 champions took advantage of the situation here and fielded a spin-heavy attack.
But their in-form spin department was dominated by Ishan Kishan, who powered India to a formidable total of 175/5 in 20 overs with a magnificent half-century.
In Pakistan’s spin department, Abrar Ahmed and veteran all-rounder Shatab Khan struggled noticeably, conceding 38 runs in three overs and 17 runs in one respectively to go wicketless, and their captain Agha insisted they had an “off-day”.
The Green Shirts were equally disappointing with the bat as they piled on 114 for 18 overs and Agha insisted that Pakistan’s disastrous start in the run chase forced them to chase the game immediately.
“We went with four spinners; they had a day off. Some areas lacked execution. With the bat, we didn’t start well,” Agha said in the post-match briefing.
“When you lose 3-4 wickets in the powerplay, you are always chasing the game. In the first innings, it was a bit sloppy, and the ball was getting nicked.
“The pitch played better in the second innings but we didn’t bowl to the conditions and we didn’t apply ourselves with the bat.”
The Pakistan captain further stressed the need to overcome the pressure in nerve-testing matches against arch-rivals India, but insisted on focusing on winning the remaining group-stage game against Namibia to qualify for the T20 World Cup 2026 Super Eights.
“In these games, emotions are always high; we have to deal with it. We’ve played enough (of these games) and there’s a game in two days that we have to look forward to. We have to win it and qualify. Then it’s a new competition.”