Following their loss to Uganda, Papua New Guinea‘s captain Assad Vala attributed their defeat to the team’s inability to adapt to the conditions of the Providence Stadium pitch during the match on Wednesday. PNG struggled with the bat, being dismissed for a mere 77 runs, marking their lowest total in T20Is. This defeat marked their second loss at the T20 World Cup 2024, in a match that unfolded as a low-scoring affair for both teams.
Assad Vala Takes on PNG Batting:
Hiri Hiri emerged as Papua New Guinea’s top scorer with 15 runs in their low-scoring innings, with only two other players reaching double figures. Initially troubled by Uganda’s fast bowlers, PNG then struggled against the spinners. Captain Vala, who was dismissed for a duck in the opening over, expressed disappointment at the number of easy wickets his team gave away during their batting innings.
Assad Vala said, “Because it was a new wicket, we didn’t have a target set. We said to give ourselves a few overs then see how we go from there. As the game progressed, I think we didn’t do that. I think the batters that played today really let ourselves down. We didn’t do as we planned. We had a lot of soft dismissals. I think anything just over 100 was a good score on that wicket. It was a challenging wicket to bat on. They bowled really well but a lot of soft dismissals from us put them on top. They never gave us any chance to get back into the game. So, credit to them as well.”
Vala Also Praises Their Bowling Effort:
Assad Vala praised his bowlers for their exceptional performance, dismissing Uganda’s top order batsmen early on. Uganda struggled, reaching only 26 for 5. However, Riazat Ali Shah and Juma Miyagi steadied the innings with a partnership of 35 runs, helping Uganda recover from the early setback.
Riazat had a stroke of luck during his pivotal innings of 33, as he was dropped by fielder Charles Amini when he was on 8 runs. This was one of two missed opportunities by the PNG fielders during their defense of a modest target.
He said, “I thought that the effort from the bowlers really brought us back into the game. There weren’t enough runs on the board for them to defend. We started really well with three early wickets. You need everything to go your way in a small total. We created the opportunities at the same time. When we need to take those chances, I don’t know what to say anymore. It is a disappointing effort from us.”
He concluded, “We are coming up against two Full Member nations in Afghanistan and New Zealand in the next two games in Trinidad. I think we need to be up for that. We don’t get the opportunity to play against those teams so when the opportunity is in front of us, we need to make the best of it. I think we need to have the full energy, determination and attitude towards playing against top teams. We got outplayed today, to be honest. We didn’t play as well as we did against West Indies so we need to have the right attitude in the next two games.”
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