Post match reaction from Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq and South African Man-of-the-Match Hashim Amla after South Africa’s 67-run win in Group B of the Champions Trophy at Edgbaston in Birmingham, England on Monday.
Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan captain:
“Yeah, it is really disappointing. Two games on the trot and we could not score 170. It looks like an Asian pitch, you’re used to playing on these kinds of pitches. Really disappointing.”
“I think they were bowling well and they got momentum, When we just keep on losing wickets, it’s really difficult. Whenever we thought we were going to just take a chance, we lost wicket, kept on losing wickets and I think that was the reason that we just couldn’t pick the run-rate up.”
“I think the positive is the bowling. I mean, they are really, really bowling very well. The fielding is really improving… that’s the biggest positive, but as a bating unit, I think you can say it’s totally lost.”
Hashim Amla, South Africa batsman:
“That’s how the game goes, brother… It’s a fickle game, you know? Without a doubt, I mean, with not having obviously Dale (Steyn) and Morne (Morkel) in the team, any bowling attack without those guys is going to be… will miss them, and obviously with Jacques (Kallis) and Graeme (Smith) are not here, their experience is missed, but you know, that’s water under the bridge for us. We’ve got new guys in the team, we’ve got new energy and fortunately a victory like this boosts the confidence of everybody.”
“I don’t know (why I an able to bat on difficult pitches)… I’m just glad I managed to contribute to the team’s success today. It was a tough wicket and up front myself and ‘Colbie’ (Colin Ingram) kept chatting to each other… at times it felt, like, where are we going to find the next run, but in hindsight I think that was probably a really vital partnership, seeing out the first ten overs – I think we got about 30-odd – and I’m just fortunate to have contributed a bit.”
