Mirpur, March 18: It’s not often that a team ends up losing after putting up 329 runs on board. Pakistan, however, had to suffer that fate against India, thanks to a dazzling 183-run knock by Virat Kohli.
Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq had little to say at the post-match media interaction, after his team lost by six wickets. The dispirited captain was gracious in accepting Kohli’s knock as the best he’s seen.
Excerpts
On 329 being a good total, but 429 being a more appropriate score in hindsight
Looks like that [probably 429 would have been enough]. They played wonderfully well, especially the way they started – Sachin Tendulkar played very well and then Virat Kohli played an exceptional knock.
On where his team went wrong
Credit goes to their batsmen, they batted very well. We didn’t bowl well, didn’t bowl to the fields. It’s easy batting under lights here but still, 329 was a good score. We’ve got to give them credit for the way they batted.
On Virat’s knock
It was the best innings I’ve ever seen.
On the team’s plans going into the final
We have to ensure we find out where we’re going wrong and correct those things. We’ve got to go into the final with a positive frame of mind.
On whether Pakistan preferred to play India or Bangladesh in the Asia Cup final
I can't control this.
On the target that they had set India
I think 329 is not a bad total. When you try to score 350-370, even making 329 is difficult. With our bowling, 325-330 was our target. I think it was a good total but the way they played, we didn't have any answers.
On the performance of the teams
I think both [teams] played very well. [Our openers] set a good platform for the team. It's a good prospect for us that the openers are getting centuries and putting a good partnership at the top [of the innings].
On opting to bat first and on Wahab Riaz not having a good day in the field
We planned to bat first, so we strengthened our bowling. [Riaz’s] confidence was good; he took five wickets against India [in the ICC World Cup 2011 semi-final] . We took him [in the side] on [the basis] that, but sometimes your decisions don't pay off. It was a bad day for him. I think our bowling has won us a lot of games. If you look at the performance in the last year-and-a-half, they have done really well. It was a [tough] test against India, so such a day was [likely].
