Asia Cup: ‘Teamwork was key to success’

Misbah lauds players’ effort, rues criticism after India loss.

KARACHI:

Feeling the need for improvement despite lifting the Asia Cup, captain Misbahul Haq vowed an improved show in the future as Pakistan returned to winning ways after a poor show against England in the UAE.

Misbah returned home with the second batch of players from Bangladesh yesterday after Pakistan clinched the Asia Cup following a 12-year gap, beating hosts Bangladesh in the nail-biting final by just two runs.

“Bangladesh were a different team in the Asia Cup,” said Misbah upon his return. “They defeated the world champions as well as the losing World Cup finalists Sri Lanka.

And the way they played against us in both matches, they exploited their home conditions and looked like an emerging team.”

However, Misbah praised his players for putting up a team effort that led to the triumph.

“Every player was fighting for the team’s win and played his assigned role appropriately.  The win came as a result of team work and hopefully we will show better results in the future.”

Captain unhappy on criticism

Misbah, however, lamented the barrage of criticism on him and the team following the defeat against India after the world champions chased down the record 330-run target.

“It’s a game. One team wins and one loses. A bad result doesn’t mean that you start saying bad things about the team.

“People should think while looking at the stats. We have the best win ratio in the last 18 months and that should count for something. The team should be backed through thick and thin. If we get such support, our performance will improve.”

The captain was also undeterred with the criticism directed at  his individual performance.

“My focus is on cricket and will try to play best cricket for Pakistan,” he said

Plans not properly executed against India 

Commenting on the defeat against India, Misbah did give credit to Virat Kohli for his match-winning knock of 183.

“We posted a good total but Kohli should be credited. Some of our plans were also not executed properly in the game. But it happens when a batsman plays such an outstanding innings as pressure comes on the fielding side and mistakes happen.”

The captain added that although the team was heading in the right direction, improvement was needed for which the ‘players are trying their best’.

We rectified our mistakes, says Gul

Meanwhile, experienced pacer Umar Gul said the team overcame their earlier mistakes to beat Bangladesh in the final.

“I am delighted with the win. We played well in tough situations and every player gave it his best. The victory gave us confidence and hopefully we will continue the good work.”

Misbahul Haq

“We have the best win ratio in the last 18 months and that should count for something. The team should be backed through thick and thin. If we get such support, our performance will improve.”

Hammad Azam

“It was a memorable win for me. I enjoyed the tournament and I am very thankful to all the senior players who supported me throughout the event and gave me confidence for the future.”

Sarfraz Ahmed

“There was immense pressure on me to perform but to do that when your team needs it most is a feeling which can’t be described in words. My confidence level is really high now.”

Published in The Express Tribune, March 25^th, 2012.