"We didn't really give ourselves a chance": Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson after India clinch high-stakes clash

Colombo [Sri Lanka], February 16 (ANI): Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson admitted that his side failed to adapt to match conditions in their high-pressure encounter against India after Men in Green suffered a one-sided 61-run loss in the Group A match at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup.
During the post-match press conference, reflecting on the contest, Hesson said India capitalised better on a surface that offered significant assistance to spinners early on.
"With the ball, obviously it was spinning quite a lot initially, and I think the way Ishan Kishan played took the game away from us," he noted.
Hesson admitted that India managed to push the total beyond what Pakistan believed was a competitive score on the surface. "To be fair to India, they probably got about 25 above par on that surface."
However, the Pakistan coach pointed to his team's batting performance as the bigger concern. According to Hesson, the side failed to adjust its approach after assessing the pitch conditions, ultimately costing them the contest.
"In terms of adjusting to conditions, we didn't really give ourselves a chance," he remarked.
Pakistan's head coach has dismissed suggestions that opting to ball first was a defensive move, insisting the decision was based purely on pitch assessment rather than caution.
"Yeah, I mean, I've answered it. Both sides were going to bowl first because the pitch was soft and the ball spun twice as much in the first innings as in the second. There was talk before about the Australia game, which was a day game; this is a night game. So, as I said, nothing to do with the toss, it was just execution." Hesson said.
Hesson defended his team's bowling strategy in their high-pressure clash against India, addressing questions about the late deployment of Usman Tariq. "Usman Tariq is a really good player when players are going after him, and he's got a pretty specific role for us."
"Yes, he could have. But I think, Abrar Ahmed has been doing a really good job for us, as has Shadab Khan post power play. They both bowled an over that didn't go their way in terms of the lengths. But certainly I'd back those guys any day to do that job as they have done in the last five wins. So it didn't work today, but as I said, Usman Tariq's got a very clear role and I thought he was exceptional tonight," Hesson added.
Coming to the match, Pakistan elected to field first after winning the toss and after Abhishek was out for a duck, Ishan's ruthless 77 and Tilak's calm 25 kept India stable, but the Men in Blue sunk to 126/4, losing their set batters and all-rounder Hardik Pandya (0).
However, skipper Suryakumar, Shivam and Rinku did the job of finishing the innings well, pacing their knocks perfectly in tough conditions. India scored 175/7, with Saim Ayub (3/25) being the top bowler for Pakistan.
In the run-chase, Pakistan sunk to 34/4 courtesy early strikes from Hardik, Jasprit Bumrah and Axar Patel. Usman Khan (44 in 34 balls, with six fours and a six) was the only one who showed up for the fight, as Team India packed Pakistan for just 114 runs in 18 overs, progressing to Super 8 stage with their third successive win.
Axar (2/29 in four overs) was the pick of the bowlers for India, with Hardik (2/16 in three overs), Bumrah (2/17 in two overs) and Varun Chakaravarthy (2/17 in three overs) also being amongst the wickets.
India stays on top with three wins in three matches in Group A, while Pakistan has sunk to number three with two wins and a loss, while USA currently occupies second place with two wins and two losses.
With the emphatic win over their arch-rivals in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup clash, India now leads 8-1. (ANI)