Salman Agha Blames Lack of Partnerships, Middle Order Collapse for Pakistan’s Defeat to South Africa in 1st T20I

Lahore, Oct 29: Pakistan’s T20I captain Salman Agha expressed disappointment over his team’s lacklustre performance after their 55-run loss to South Africa in the first T20I of the series, saying that the middle-order’s failure to build partnerships was the main reason behind the defeat.
Chasing a challenging target of 195, Pakistan were bowled out for 139 in 18.1 overs, struggling against a disciplined bowling attack led by Corbin Bosch and George Linde. The defeat gave the Proteas a 1-0 lead in the three match series.
Speaking after the match, Agha said his side started poorly and failed to maintain momentum during the chase. “We didn’t start well with the ball but managed to pull things back in the middle overs. However, our batting is where we lost the game  we are losing too many wickets in the middle and missing crucial partnerships,” he said.
The Pakistan skipper stressed the need for better rotation of strike and building partnerships to chase competitive totals. “We have to take singles and doubles and build partnerships. That’s what’s missing right now. If we can do that, we’ll be in a position to chase these kinds of scores,” Agha added.
Reflecting on the team’s bowling performance, Agha admitted that Pakistan failed to capitalise on the powerplay. “We didn’t bowl well in the powerplay. It was a pitch where if we had bowled consistently on top of the off stump, we could’ve restricted them. We improved in the middle overs, which is a positive, but we need to start better,” he said.
Pakistan will look to bounce back when they face South Africa in the second T20I at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Friday, followed by the third and final match at the same venue on Saturday.