We have to be at our best in all departments vs India, says Sarfraz

Sarfraz Ahmed

Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed on Sunday said his team will have to produce its absolute best in all three departments to outwit India in the six-nation Asia Cup ODI tournament.

Pakistan defeated Hong Kong by eighth wickets to make a positive start to their campaign but Sarfraz pointed out a few things which his team need to work on before they clash with India on September 19. "As a captain, I saw couple of things which we should work on. We should have finished this match with 9 or 10 wickets and we need to ball better with the new ball. Ball didn't swing for us with the new ball, that is alarming for us," Sarfraz said after the match.

"We will work on it in our next practice session. To win against India we have to be at our best in all the three departments," he added. Usman Khan was adjudged the Man-of-the-Match for his three wickets in an over that helped Pakistan bowl out Hong Kong for a paltry 116. Pakistan then scored 120 for 2 in 23.4 overs to win the match.

"When I came to bowl in the first spell, I tried to pick wickets with the new ball, but luck was not with me. Second spell, I got the ball to reverse swing and I managed to take wickets," Usman said.

"It's alright. I was bleeding from my feet but all is fine right now and I am fit. I just slipped a little bit so I thought it would be safe to get it checked. "I'm happy with the bowling and I managed to bowl like I wanted to. It's fun to bowl with competition, some healthy competition amongst the bowlers, and we play our cricket from session to session and give our best at all times."

Hong Kong skipper Anshuman Rath blamed his batsmen for not being able to put enough runs on the board. "Lots of soft dismissals. 120 (116) was not enough. It was a good wicket. Credit goes to the Pakistan bowlers," he said.

"Our offspinners are top class, but we just didn't have enough runs on the board. I think early on, it swung a bit, there was a bit of bounce. "We got through the start, but we couldn't convert it. One fifty-run partnership is not enough to post a good total."

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