After suffering a two-wicket defeat at the hands of India in their World T20 match at the Eden Gardens, Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik has highlighted that the batting needs to improve and also credited Mahendra Singh Dhoni's side for their resilient performance on a difficult track.
"Victory and defeat happen in the game. I think there are a few areas where we need to improve, especially our batting, even though it was a tough pitch to bat on. I think that we could have set a better target. There is another thing: we may have lost matches to other teams, not beaten them in World Cups, but when it comes to India, it just becomes bigger. But we must give credit to the Indian team for the way they played on a difficult pitch," the 34-year-old was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
Lavishing praise on Virat Kohli for his match-winning knock, Malik said that Pakistan could draw inspiration from the Indian batting mainstay as he was well aware of the way to back his skills even on most difficult situations.
"Our total was not enough to defend against such a great batting line-up. We should give credit to Virat Kohli's innings. He was the only difference between the two teams. He backs his skills and that's the key. He reads the situation well. He knows how to play on any track, whether flat or tricky. That's why he's very consistent. You're the best coach of yourself. If you talk to yourself, you will have all the answers. As a batting unit we also need to do the same thing,"he added.
Kohli, who was declared 'man of the match', smashed seven boundaries and a six in his blistering unbeaten knock of 55 runs off 37 balls to help his side chase down the modest target of 119 runs with 13 balls to spare.
India, who have registered their fifth win over the arch-rival in the World T20, have gained two points in the Group B table. The Men in Blue, however, are still lacking behind Pakistan in terms of run rate.
India will next face Bangladesh at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday.