Pakistan captain Younis Khan was bemused, frustrated and at a loss for words after his team's Super Eights campaign began on a wrong note as they lost to Sri Lanka by 19 runs yesterday.
Pakistan captain Younis Khan was bemused, frustrated and at a loss for words after his team's Super Eights campaign began on a wrong note as they lost to Sri Lanka by 19 runs yesterday.
According to Younis, Pakistan's achilles heel has been the inability of both the batsmen and bowlers to provide the team with good starts. Yesterday too, Pakistan failed on both fronts as the Sri Lankan opening pair of
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flop: Pakistan's Sohail Tanvir appeals unsuccessfully against Sanath Jayasuriya yesterday. PIC/AFP |
Tillakaratne Dilshan and Sanath Jayasuriya raced to 65 in the first six powerplay overs. Later, Pakistan were in trouble at 35 for 3 before Younis and Misbah-ul-Haq carried out some damage control. But Muttiah Muralitharan's double strike in two balls that knocked off Misbah and Shahid Afridi ended Pakistan's hopes.
The Pakistan captain was utterly disappointed with Sohail Tanvir. Pakistan's bowlers gave away 20 extras with Tanvir being the biggest culprit with five wides and three no-balls.
"He has been one of the best bowlers especially in the shorter form of the game but he is not clicking. He is one of the matchwinners but is struggling with form."
Younis added partnerships, which were very important to keep the momentum going, but for that the top-order needed to play responsibly and make sure that they stuck around for long.
"We lost back-to-back wickets so we were playing catch-up. We needed our top-order to go all the way and we needed partnerships," the Pakistan skipper said.
