Colombo, Feb 11 (IANS) Pakistan captain Salman Agha appeared relaxed and satisfied after leading his team to a 32-run victory over the United States in their Group A match at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup at the Sinhalese Sports Club on Tuesday. He called the performance clinical but also highlighted the potential for further improvement.

Asked about his demeanour after the victory, Agha brushed it off with trademark humour before turning his attention to the team’s all-round effort, particularly the improvement in the middle overs with the bat.

“I always smile. When have you seen me not smile? (laughs). Clinical win. Last game, we didn’t bat well in the middle overs, but today we did. Once we scored 190, we knew we could defend that,” Agha said during the post-match presentation.

Agha said he would have opted to bat first regardless of the toss, backing Pakistan’s bowling resources to defend even modest totals while underlining the team’s distinctive approach to the game. “I would’ve batted first after winning the toss. With the kind of bowling we have, we know we can win even with 160-170. We are Pakistan, we do things differently from the world,” he said.

Despite his preference, the skipper stressed that Pakistan were equally comfortable chasing, pointing to the adaptability within the batting unit as he said, “We’re comfortable with chasing as well. Our batting order is flexible. First three will probably go in the same order, but we’re flexible after that.”

Explaining the depth and versatility in the lineup, Agha said Pakistan’s options allowed them to respond to different match situations without compromising intent. He was pleased with the overall performance and reiterated that the side was far from complacent, highlighting areas that could still be sharpened as the tournament progresses.

“We have finishers who can go early if we don’t get too many wickets at first. But if you get early wickets, we still have a batter who can go and obviously take the game to the deep and then allow the finishers to come and finish the game as well. Always room for improvement. We like to bowl well in Power-play. In patches, we were good, but we can be more clinical,” Agha concluded.

–IANS

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