DURBAN, Sept 15: Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif, who demolished India’s top-order batting, expressed his disappointment over the way his team lost against arch-rivals in the Twenty20 World Championship match on Friday night.

Asif destroyed the Indian batting order, taking one wicket each in all of his four overs in the match which ended in a thrilling tie and then India won it 3-0 in the bowl-out stage.

“Seeing that result at the end of the day was disappointing as we were just in sight of a victory which turned into a defeat despite our best efforts,” Asif said on Saturday.

Asif, who has established his reputation as a seasoned pace bowler, said though he helped his team get control of the match but, he added, in the end despite a good team effort the victory slipped out of their hands.

On the Pakistan-India matches Asif said these games always carried tense moments, excitement and that was why, he continued, people loved to watch these.

The pace bowler expressed the confidence that Pakistan would come up with a better combination to play against Australia in the Super Eights match in Johannesburg followed by another Super Eights game either against Sri Lanka or New Zealand.

“But the task is not easy because there are two top teams of the world in line and we’ll

have to do it flawlessly,” he asserted.

He emphasised that one defeat did not mean end of the fate for Pakistan, adding the team can do better.

“There is always room for improvement. Against India I took four wickets and I can claim more wickets in the next two games but for that I have to put in a bigger effort,” he stated.

—APP

Opinion

Editorial

A difficult story
Updated 12 Jun, 2026

A difficult story

Unless productivity becomes the dominant target of economic policy, Pakistan will continue to oscillate between crises and fragile recovery.
Rough waters
12 Jun, 2026

Rough waters

AMONGST the key potential triggers for fresh conflict in South Asia is water. The Indian state is behaving in an...
Politicised football
12 Jun, 2026

Politicised football

ALMOST three-and-half years since Lionel Messi led Argentina to FIFA World Cup glory, the latest edition of...
GB polls’ aftermath
Updated 11 Jun, 2026

GB polls’ aftermath

The new administration must address the region’s issues proactively.
Peace in retreat
11 Jun, 2026

Peace in retreat

THE ceasefire announced in April was supposed to create space for negotiations. Instead, it has been repeatedly...
A few good men
11 Jun, 2026

A few good men

IT was a brave move, no doubt. This Tuesday, in the land of the Afghan Taliban, a few good men decided to take a...