Asia Cup 2025: "Ball bounced before it reached the keeper…" Salman Agha on Fakhar Zaman's dismissal in India vs Pakistan clash

Salman Agha said that umpires might have made a mistake during Fakhar Zaman’s dismissal.

Pakistan Cricket Team skipper Salman Agha has raised doubts over Fakhar Zaman’s dismissal during India vs Pakistan Super Four clash in Asia Cup 2025 on Sunday, September 21. Agha feels that the ball bounced before reaching the wicket-keeper, Sanju Samson.

After being asked to bat first, Pakistan suffered the first blow in the third over when Zaman was caught behind by wicket-keeper Sanju Samson off Hardik Pandya’s delivery. However, the on-field umpires were not sure if the ball was carried properly and they reviewed the dismissal with the third umpire, who eventually termed Zaman out.

The left-handed batter started well with three boundaries but could not go big with the bat, scoring 15 runs off nine deliveries. After his dismissal, Sahibzada Farhan (58) and Saim Ayub (21) etched a crucial stand of 72 runs for the second wicket to provide a strong start to Pakistan.

To me, it bounced before it reached the keeper: Salman Agha on Fakhar Zaman’s dismissal

During the post-match press conference, Pakistan skipper Agha said that umpires might have made a mistake over Zaman’s dismissal. He also added that Pakistan could have reached a mammoth total if Zaman batted in the powerplay overs.

“I don’t know about the decision. It’s obviously the umpire’s job. Umpires can make mistakes. And I have no problem with that. But it does look like it bounced before it was carried to the keeper,” he said.

“But I might be wrong. I don’t know. You can say the way he was batting, if he batted throughout the powerplay, we probably would have scored 190. But yeah, that’s the umpire’s call. And they can make mistakes. I don’t know. To me, it bounced before it reached the keeper,” he added.

Agha also admitted that Pakistan should have posted a 180 plus total after a strong start to their innings. The Men in Green reached 91/1 at the end of 10 overs. However, their run-rate fell in the second half with a marvellous comeback by Indian bowlers, and they eventually ended with 171/5 on the scoreboard.

“It wasn’t a disappointing total, but we should have scored 10-15 more runs. After 10 overs, when the ball gets soft, it is not easy to score runs in this venue. But the start we had, we should have scored 180 plus,” he said.

Indian openers Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill gave a marvellous batting display during the 172-run chase, etching an opening stand of 105 runs. While Gill lost his wicket just ahead of his half-century for 47 runs, Abhishek hammered 74 runs off 39 deliveries to win Player of the Match award.

India eventually outplayed Pakistan by six wickets in the match, registering their fourth consecutive victory in the ongoing tournament. The defending champions will next clash with Bangladesh on September 24 at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

For more updates, follow Khel Now Cricket on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.