After losing to India for the second time in the ongoing Asia Cup on Sunday, Pakistan T20I skipper Salman Ali Agha blamed the conditions, saying they didn’t allow his team to post a total of over 200 after batting first at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
At the halfway mark, Pakistan looked well set to breach 200, having scored 91 in the first ten overs for the loss of just one wicket. However, post-drinks, they lost three wickets, and despite the lower middle order’s best efforts at the end, they could only post 171 in the allotted 20 overs — a target India chased down comfortably with seven balls and six wickets to spare.
In home conditions, Pakistan have consistently piled up big scores, but away from home, they’ve struggled to post totals of 200 or more. When asked about this, Salman said: “The series you’re talking about (Pakistan vs Bangladesh) was in Pakistan, where the par score is 200. After that, we played in Bangladesh, America (vs West Indies), Sharjah (tri-nation), and now in Dubai. These conditions are not for 200. These conditions don’t allow you to score 200. You have to respect the conditions.”
Salman openly admitted that his team would be able to score 200 runs or more if provided with ‘good pitches’.
“I think the conditions didn’t allow us to score 200. If you give us good pitches, then you’ll see the same batting you saw against Bangladesh. So I think there’s a big difference in the conditions,” he said at the press conference.
So far in this tournament, Pakistan have played four games, batting first in all of them. Despite playing against the associate teams like the UAE and Oman, they haven’t breached 200 even once.
The Men in Green will be in action tomorrow at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, where they’ll take on Sri Lanka.
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