Waqar: We were 30-40 runs short

News

Cricket365
March 1, 2016

Pakistan coach Waqar Younis said his side were '30-40 runs short' as they crashed to a five-wicket defeat to their arch-rivals India in the Asia Cup on Saturday.

On a surface offering a lot of assistance to the bowlers, Pakistan were bundled out for just 83 after India won the toss and predictably chose to field first.

Waqar said: "There weren't many runs on the board. We fought well with our bowling but there weren't enough runs.

"I think we were 30-40 runs short. The way we bowled, it would have been a better game had we got around 120-125 runs on the board at least.

"Look when you lose six wickets in the first seven overs, who to blame? You can blame everyone. We tried. It is not that we didn't try.

"We had the plans of someone staying out there but I think also credit should be given to them. Couple of runouts, that didn't help. Nehra has been bowling pretty nicely in this tournament."

Waqar gave credit to his left-arm paceman Mohammad Amir who produced a fiery spell of fast bowling to reduce India to eight for three to keep Pakistan in the game.

Virat Kohli, who scored 49 as he anchored India chase, also praised the Pakistani quick as the 23-yea-old Amir continues his comeback after a five-year ban for spot-fixing.

Waqar continued: "Look he is bowling well. When someone is bowling well, he is always an inspiration for the younger fast bowlers. The way he swung the ball, the pace, the length, it was outstanding.

"He is definitely world class as Virat Kohli also said. He is coming back and coming stronger and stronger. He is getting better and better. He is going to be an asset for Pakistan in the next few years."