Salman Ali Agha shamelessly warns India ahead of Champions Trophy clash in Dubai despite New Zealand drubbing

Pakistan vice-captain Salman Ali Agha is confident of his side putting a better performance on the field in the highly anticipated match against India. Salman asked his team to execute the plans in a better way than they did against New Zealand.

Salman Ali Agha shed light on Pakistan's missed opportunities against New Zealand which cost them the game. He feels that the slow start in the powerplay, in which Pakistan scored just 22 runs in 10 overs, cost them the game.

Pakistan started its Champions Trophy 2025 campaign disappointingly as they suffered a defeat to New Zealand.

The loss makes the road for the defending champions trickier as they need to win the match against India at any cost to stay in contention for the semi-finals.

Also read: "Get Out"- Wasim Akram to Babar Azam after Pakistan get mauled in Champions Trophy 2025 opener

Salman Ali Agha hints at Pakistan's strong comeback vs India

While speaking to the reporters after the match, Salman Ali Agha accepted the defeat and felt that Pakistan were not at their best against New Zealand. However, he expects his team to make a strong comeback as every day is a new day.

"Our game was not up to the mark. We didn't perform as expected. This is part of the game. We will try to forget it as soon as possible and focus on the next match. It's a big game, and we'll try to execute better. Every day is a new day, and we have a match against India; we will try to execute well against them," Salman said.

The match against India puts added pressure on Pakistan as the whole country wants them to win the match against the arch-rivals.

The high-voltage clash has been highly anticipated for months and Pakistan's do-or-die situation makes it even more important for them.

Salman Ali Agha speaks on Fakhar Zaman's absence at the top

Salman Ali Agha was further asked whether the team missed the opener Fakhar Zaman's batting at the top. He admitted that Fakhar's aggressive batting was missed in the powerplay and they didn't get a good start at the top.

"Like I said, the powerplay didn't go as planned, and you can say that Fakhar's absence is also a point because you will see in the last 5-6 years, or even more than that, Fakhar (Zaman) is such a power player in our team, who utilizes powerplay; no one does better than him in the last 5-6 years," the allrounder noted.

"In the powerplay, we did not even have 30 runs, so if we don't have that many runs, then it's difficult. Then, when I came, I had the idea that I would have to go for one ball and take the high risk. But I still feel that I could have extended the swing a little more," he added.

Fakhar Zaman suffered a freak injury while fielding during the first innings of the match and immediately left the field. He didn't return to the field for more than two hours and hence was prevented from batting for the first 20 minutes of Pakistan's innings.

Pakistan's batting falters badly

In place of Fakhar, Saud Shakeel opened the batting alongside Babar Azam. But the move didn't work as Shakeel was dismissed for just 6 off 19 balls. Skipper Mohammad Rizwan was also cheaply dismissed for just 3 off 14 balls.

Fakhar Zaman came in to bat at No. 4, however, he didn't look at his best and struggled to score freely. He played a few eye-catching shots but was finally put out of his misery by Michael Bracewell, who got his big wicket for 24 from 41 balls.

Baba Azam stayed till the 34th over but was hardly able to stamp his authority. He struck 64 off 90 balls. Salman Ali Agha and Khushdil Shah played quick cameos but they were not enough to carry Pakistan past the line.