The Men in Green were totally outclassed by India in Colombo.
Opting to field first, the Men in Green conceded 175/7 in 20 overs on a sticky pitch as India opener Ishan Kishan (77 off 40) took their bowling attack to the cleaners.
In reply, Pakistan’s innings folded for 114 in 18 overs. Usman Khan waged a lone battle with the bat, scoring 44 off 34 balls.
Reflecting on the loss, Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha acknowledged that his bowlers failed to execute their plans. He also rued the careless approach of batters, which allowed India to strike at regular intervals.
"We were believing in our spinners and they had an off day today. Execution was missing in some parts of the game. We were obviously going to always believe our spinners, because they've done really well in last six month. And with the batting I think we didn't start well and in T20 games if we lose 3 or 4 wickets in powerplay, you are always chasing the game,” Agha said at the post-match presentation.
He also explained his decision to bat second after winning the toss. “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,” Agha stated.
Talking about pressure in big matches, the Pakistan captain remarked, “In these kind of games, the emotions are always going to be high. We just need to deal with that because we have played enough cricket and we have played enough these games, games like that. So, it's just we need to gather ourselves very quickly and we have a game in two days' time and we need to look forward for that as well.”
Looking ahead to the rest of the tournament, Agha stressed staying positive and focusing on the bigger goal.
“Yeah, obviously, you have to see the bigger picture. We have a game in two days' time. We need to win that game and qualify for the Super Four and then it's a new tournament start again,” he concluded.
Pakistan now sit third in Group A with two wins and one loss. They will have to win their last group-stage game against Namibia to qualify for the Super 8s of the tournament.