TimesofIndia.com in Dubai: Salman Ali Agha has blamed Pakistan’s flat pitches for his team’s consecutive losses against India in the ongoing Asia Cup.Within a week, Pakistan were hammered twice by India. In the group stage, India defeated Pakistan by seven wickets, and on Sunday, the Suryakumar Yadav-led side registered a thumping six-wicket win.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!In Pakistan’s three-match T20I series against Bangladesh at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium in May, the Salman Ali Agha-led side crossed the 200-run mark in all three games. But since then, they have failed to showcase that kind of intent.“The series you are 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,” he told reporters.
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“I think the conditions didn’t allow us to score 200. If you give us good pitches, then you will see the same batting that you saw against Bangladesh. So, I think there is a lot of difference in the conditions,” he said.After an explosive start, Pakistan went 37 balls without hitting a boundary. The captain defended his batters, saying the Dubai pitch was not easy for new arrivals. He even cited the example of Indian batters. However, Tilak Verma, who walked out at No. 4, scored an unbeaten 19-ball 30 to see India through.“Wickets are such that it is not easy for a new batter to come and play shots straightaway. So, a set batsman should go till the end. Indian batters also found it hard to read the pace of the wicket. We lost two set batters in that phase and it derailed our momentum,” he said.In his post-match press conference, Salman Ali Agha looked defensive. He justified sending Hussain Talat ahead of Mohammad Haris, a natural hitter.“I think that Hussain Talat is a very good batsman against spin. At that time, we thought that if we kept the right and left-hand combination, it would be difficult for the bowlers. And when you keep that combination, it becomes difficult for the spinners to settle down,” he said.Pakistan’s spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi had another poor game against India. Meanwhile, spinner Abrar Ahmed also looked off colour. The captain defended the duo, citing their past records.“You can say that they had an off day. Both of them have been bowling so well. If you are bowling well, then I think it is not a big deal if you have an off day,” he said.The Pakistan captain was also grilled for bringing Faheem Ashraf so late into the attack, even though he dismissed Shubman Gill in his first over.“We follow our team’s plans. We have decided to use Faheem after 10 overs because his off-cutters and length balls are very effective then. That’s why he was so effective today. He bowled very well.“But when you lose, people say you should have brought a bowler earlier or later. Only after losing, you think about these things. But what if we had brought him earlier, and he had leaked runs?” he said.
