India defeated Pakistan by 61 runs in the 27th match of the T20 World Cup at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. This was their 8th win in the history of the mega event over Pakistan and yet another humiliating defeat for the men in green. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi was in attendance to watch the match alongside the dignitaries from the other Asian cricket boards as well but he left the venue early looking at Pakistan’s situation in the game.
As soon as Pakistan lost their eighth wicket with the score reading only 97 in the 176-run chase, Naqvi was spotted leaving the Premadasa Stadium in his car and, naturally, would’ve been disappointed with the team’s performance. Pakistan created a lot of drama over the last two weeks as they had also decided to boycott the marquee clash to stand in solidarity with Bangladesh, who were ousted from the T20 World Cup.
Naqvi was at the centre of all the drama as he also met the Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to brief the matter. The latter first ordered the team to boycott the clash and then made a U-turn, five days before only for the Pakistan team to be annihilated in front of the world, yet again.
On expected lines, PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi would’ve been miffed with the team’s performance as Pakistan went below the USA in the points table with this loss.
What did Pakistan captain Salman Agha say after the loss?
After the match, Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha backed his decision to bowl first while admitting that their spinners didn’t execute their plans as expected. He also noted that batting ot better in the second innings as there was less turn in comparison as well.
“I think, to be very honest, like in first inning it was a bit tacky. The ball was gripping as well. So, the execution was, I think, missing when it comes to bowling, but I think the pitch better played better in the second inning than first inning. But our bowlers, like, we didn’t bowl according to the situation. And when it comes to batting, we didn’t apply ourselves and gave us a chance to go deep in the game,” Salman said in the post-match presentation.