Kandy (Sri Lanka), Feb 24 (IANS) Pakistan captain Salman Agha admitted his side fell short despite a promising start, conceding that Harry Brook’s brilliance ultimately proved the difference in their defeat to England in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Super Eight clash in Kandy on Tuesday.

“Started well with the bat, but couldn’t finish the way we wanted to. But some days you have to give credit to other batters. I think Harry batted brilliantly. Our score was a bit short. And then Brook took the game away from us. We threw everything at him,” Salman said after the match.

England’s bowlers set the tone. Pakistan chose to bat but managed only 164 for 9. Sahibzada Farhan scored a solid 63, with useful contributions from Babar Azam (25), Fakhar Zaman (25), and Shadab Khan (23*). Liam Dawson stood out with 3 for 24, while Jamie Overton (2 for 26) and Jofra Archer (2 for 32) kept control of the scoring.

Salman acknowledged the opener’s contributions while admitting the rest of the batting unit did not fully deliver.

“I think he’s batted very well throughout the World Cup. Other batters haven’t played the way we wanted to, but it can happen like that in World Cups,” he said of Farhan.

On the bowling front, Salman reserved praise for Shaheen Shah Afridi, who struck early as he so often does against England. “He bowled really well today. He’s famous for early wickets, and he did that today. Whenever we play against England and lose, it’s always him. Have to say hats off to him and the way he batted today. Very challenging, the way he batted. He can play all around the ground, so it can get challenging.”

Despite throwing multiple options at Brook, Pakistan struggled to contain the England skipper. Salman noted how England approached Usman Tariq smartly. “They batted really well against Tariq. They didn’t go hard against him. Still, he got two wickets.”

He also pointed to Mohammad Nawaz’s penultimate over as a moment that briefly rekindled hope. “The way Nawaz bowled the 19th over, I thought maybe, you never know. Even if there’s a 1% chance, my team will go for it.”

–IANS

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