Kandy (Sri Lanka), February 24 – Pakistan captain Salman Agha admitted that his team fell short despite a promising start, acknowledging that Harry Brook's brilliance ultimately proved the difference in their defeat to England in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Super Eight clash in Kandy on Tuesday.
"We started well with the bat, but couldn't finish as we wanted to. But sometimes, you have to give credit to the other batters. I think Harry played brilliantly. Our score was a bit short. And then Brook took the game away from us. We tried everything against him," Salman said after the match.
England's bowlers set the tone. Pakistan chose to bat but could only manage 164 for 9. Sahibzada Farhan scored a solid 63, with useful contributions from Babar Azam (25), Fakhar Zaman (25), and Shadab Khan (23*). Liam Dawson was the most successful bowler, taking 3 for 24, while Jamie Overton (2 for 26) and Jofra Archer (2 for 32) kept control of the scoring.
Salman acknowledged Farhan's contributions while admitting that the rest of the batting unit did not fully deliver.
"I think he has played very well throughout the World Cup. Other batters haven't played the way we wanted, but that can happen in World Cups," he said of Farhan.
On the bowling front, Salman praised Shaheen Shah Afridi, who struck early as he often does against England. "He bowled really well today. He is famous for taking early wickets, and he did that today. Whenever we play against England and lose, it's always him. I have to give credit to him and the way he batted today. It was a very challenging performance. He can play all around the ground, so it can get challenging."
Despite throwing multiple options at Brook, Pakistan struggled to contain the England captain. Salman noted how England approached Usman Tariq smartly. "They batted really well against Tariq. They didn't try to attack him. Still, he got two wickets."
He also pointed to Mohammad Nawaz's penultimate over as a moment that briefly rekindled hope. "The way Nawaz bowled the 19th over, I thought maybe, you never know. Even if there's a 1% chance, my team will go for it."
